Spicy Basil Chicken

I have to say, this is one of the easier recipes I have found for Chinese Take Out Fake Outs.  You may recall seeing a glimpse of this in my Pork Egg Rolls post.  It is so simple yet packed with so much flavor.  I would suggest trying it…like ASAP. 

Musical Selection: Drift Away by Uncle Cracker.  I heard this the other day and it just screamed summer day to me.  BTW it was 85 degrees in Minneapolis today, holy crap, it's May. 

Start with combining the sauce.  The base is soy sauce...

White sugar

Corn starch

Siracha…and stir the sauce up.

Next you will need to chiffanade the basil.  Sounds fancy but it is easy.  First stack up the basil leaves.  I like to put the biggest on the bottom and the smallest on the top.

Roll it up

And slice it very thinly.  There you go, you chiffonading master.

Onto the cooking.  First drizzle a few teaspoons of canola or vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok.  Add 1/2 of a small onion. Let this cook for about 3 minutes.

Then add 2 or 3 cloves of minced garlic.  Let this sauté for a minute or two while you work on the chicken.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.

Add the chicken to the skillet/wok.

Cook for about 6 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked aka no longer pink in the middle.

Pour the sauce over the chicken, stir to coat.

The last moment of cooking, add the basil.

Serve and top with additional basil. 

These Pork Egg Rolls really make the perfect partner.

Spicy Basil Chicken

2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil
1/2 small onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce (more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons fresh basil, chi

Start by heating a large skillet or wok on medium high heat, add the oil.  Once the oil is warm, add the onion and sauté for about 2-3 minutes.  While the onion cooks, combine the soy sauce, sugar, corn starch and Sriacha sauce.

Add the minced garlic to the onion, sauté for about a minute. Chiffonade the basil.

Cut the chicken into bite sized chunks and season with salt and pepper.  Add to the wok.  Cook for about 6 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.

When the chicken is fully cooked, add the sauce.  Stir until combined.  Add the basil in the last minutes of cooking.  

Serve top with additional basil.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from: here