Learn how to make a restaurant-worthy Thai Basil Chicken stir fry at home in under 30 minutes! Tender chicken and veg are cooked together in a slightly sweet, salty, aromatic sauce for that authentic-Thai flavor.
Looking for more easy Thai-inspired meals? Try my Thai Drunken Noodles, Thai Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk, Chicken Pad Thai, Baked Thai Pineapple Salmon in Foil, and my go-to Sweet and Spicy Thai Chicken!
Why This Recipe Works
It’s quick and easy: All you need to do is prep a simple sauce and do a bit of chopping before everything comes together in a skillet or wok in just 15 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights!
It has that authentic Thai flavor: A handful of authentic Thai ingredients such as oyster sauce, fish sauce and Thai Basil mean this Thai Basil Chicken recipe tastes just like one from a restaurant!
Ingredients
- Shallot: Use a banana shallot (also called an echalion shallot) as they’re much easier to peel and slice!
- 3-4 birds eye chili peppers: adjust to suit your preferred level of heat!
- Chicken breasts: cut in to bite-sized chunks.
- Thai Basil leaves: don’t be tempted to use Italian basil here as Thai basil’s unique flavor is key to this dish! If you can’t find it at the store try a specialist Asian grocer.
- Jasmine rice: to serve.
How To Make It
- Make the sauce: Combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside. (photo 1)
- Cook the aromatics: Heat the oil in a large wok or non-stick skillet over a medium high heat. Once it is shimmering, add the shallot, chillies and crushed garlic, and cook, stirring all the time, until the garlic and shallots are soft, and are just about to start taking on color. (photos 2-3)
- Cook the chicken: Add the chicken and continue to cook, stirring often, until no pink bits remain on the chicken. Add the salad onion pieces, and continue to cook everything until the chicken is just cooked through. (photos 4-6)
- Add the sauce: Add the sauce and the basil leaves, and allow the sauce to reduce until it is sticky and coats the chicken. Serve immediately with jasmine rice. (photos 7-8)
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Use thigh meat instead. The chicken breast can be substituted for thigh meat. You need roughly 2 skinless boneless chicken thighs per large chicken breast.
- Adjust the heat levels. Thai red chili peppers are quite spicy, so if you’re not good with heat switch them out for a single regular red chili pepper. Seeds and the white membrane inside is where all the heat is, so cut some or all of these out to also help tone down this recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, sub the soy sauce for tamari, and check there are no gluten add-ins in your brand of oyster sauce.
I like this just as-is, but if you want to add a chopped red bell pepper cook it at the same time as you add the chicken. Alternatively, you could serve it with fried rice which contains more veg, or with a crunchy Asian-style slaw.
More Dinner Recipes
- Best Honey Walnut Shrimp Recipe
- Spaghetti Carbonara with Pancetta
- Simple Mango Chicken Curry without Coconut Milk
- Easy Creamy Pesto Chicken Recipe
- Simple Asian-style Pineapple Chicken
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Thai Basil Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 shallot - thinly sliced
- 3-4 birds eye chili peppers - adjust to taste
- 1 tbsp crushed garlic
- 1 lb chicken breasts - cut into bite-sized chunks
- 2 green onions - cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
- 1 cup Thai basil
- jasmine rice - to serve
Instructions
- Combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar and water in a small bowl, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large wok or non-stick skillet over a medium high heat. Once it is shimmering, add the shallot, chillies and crushed garlic, and cook, stirring all the time, until the garlic and shallots are soft, and are just about to start taking on color.
- Add the chicken and continue to cook, stirring often, until no pink bits remain on the chicken. Add the onion pieces, and continue to cook everything until the chicken is just cooked through.
- Add the sauce and the basil leaves, and allow the sauce to reduce until it is sticky and coats the chicken. Serve immediately with jasmine rice.
Can you use Thai basil from a bottle, like McCormick’s, in place of fresh leaves?
Sure! I would use 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of dried herb that the recipe calls for fresh herb 🙂
The flavors in this dish are spot-on for any of my favorite Thai restaurants and I love that I can whip up at home in just 30 minutes! Don’t be tempted to use Italian basil though, the Thai basil is what makes this dish so special!
I made your zuppa Toscana and it was delicious.We drive 1-1/2 hours to eat at olive Garden. It is my very favorite place to eat,so I was happy to have one of their soups.I get the zappa, and chicken scampi. Do you have the recipe for the chicken scampi ??
Darn it, I don’t! Maybe in the future I can make one tho! 😉 Glad you enjoyed this recipe so much. Thanks for your feedback, Donna!
I don’t get the salad story ??????
I love tortellini and this sauce looks amazing. Beautiful photography…made me hungry!
Once I realized the problem I would definitely have told the server to add my salad to the bill. Problem solved.
Ahhh this looks delicious! I love simple pasta dishes and this looks perfect, need to make this, printed and pinned!
This looks delicious! Thank you for sharing it. I may be a “Ditz” but I didn’t understand the “salad” story! I am not a frequenter of The Olive Garden. Too noisy for me! But, why did the waitress (excuse me, “Server”, in today’s parlance,) place a chilled plate in front of you if it wasn’t for salad? I would have been confused, too!
Yummmm. Love all the colors and that creamy tomato-basil goodness! 🙂
Tiffany, this story cracks me up! I don’t frequent olive garden either so that would have totally gotten me too. Plus, your MIL offered!!! 🙂 This looks like the perfect weeknight meal.
I know right?! I blame half of it on her, and the other half on the restaurant for enticing me with the salad plate and giant bowl. I think it was a ploy to get me to “order” the salad, nickel and diming us at every corner. Those sneaky buggers.
The olive garden story is hilarious!!
Also, the sauce looks amazing and decadent and delicious!
Tortelliniiiiiiii – my fave!! Love this simple meal!
This dish looks really good, a perfect cheerful summer recipe. Sometimes restaurants can be so strange…