Thai Basil Chicken – (Gai Pad Krapow)

You can’t beat this one pan Thai Basil Chicken recipe for a super fast and super flavorful dinner!  We use chopped boneless chicken thighs but ground chicken meat can easily be substituted.  Spicy red chili’s give it a bit of kick…add a little or add a lot depending on your love of spice!

We did our best to create this popular take-out dish with minimal specialty items from the Asian section of the grocery store.  Simple, flavorful and easy, just the way we like our dinners around here!

Ingredients for Thai Basil Chicken (Gai Pad Krapow) –

• Boneless chicken thighs –  or ground chicken can be substituted.
• Fresh Basil – authentic Thai Basil Chicken calls for Holy Basil  which can be very hard to find. We substituted good old Italian Basil.  Readily availble in your garden or at your grocery store.
• Garlic
• Green Onions
• Hoisin Sauce
• Soy Sauce
• Brown Sugar
• Vegetable Oil – this has a higher smoke point then olive oil and works great for the high heat used in this recipe.
• Fish Sauce – don’t make a special trip to the store for it, but we love the extra rich flavor it adds.
• Red chili peppers – we used Serrano Peppers which were plenty hot for us!  You could also try small Thai Chili as well,  but if you are not a fan of big heat, go low.  About one pepper did it for us.
• White rice – or brown rice.

Thai Basil Chicken

Start by dicing your boneless chicken thighs.  You want a fairly small cut, about 1/4 – 1/2 inch.   Set aside while you prepare the sauce and heat your skillet.

Prepare your sauce – Combine the broth, Hoisin,  soy, fish sauce, and brown sugar in a small dish and set aside.

Heat your skillet to medium high heat . Add the oil.   Add your chicken and cook until just cooked through.

Increase heat to HIGH.  Add one tablespoon of sauce, onions,  garlic and red chili peppers.  NOTE: We started with one pepper and were glad we did, plenty of heat for this palate.

Cook until you see some browning on the chicken and very little  liquid remains in the pan.

Pour in remaining sauce and cook, cook, cook!  Let is bubble and carmalize turning the chicken into a beautiful brown.  Turn off burner and remove from heat. Add basil.  Stir, allowing the basil to wilt.

Serve with cooked white rice.  Try our super easy Oven Baked Rice recipe.  You can bake the rice while you are cooking your chicken!

More easy one pan chicken recipes we think you will love!

• Chicken and Orzo – pasta chicken dinner in 25 minutes!
• Chicken and Olives – restaurant quality dinner in a hurry.
• Cheesy Chicken and Mushrooms – this one skillet meal will become a new fave!
• Pico de Gallo Chicken – super healthy and fresh.  Everything in the baking dish and in the oven!

Let’s Eat!

Kathi & Rachel

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Thai Basil Chicken - (Gai Pad Krapow)

A one skillet dish! This Thai Basil chicken is fast and easy to make and packs a punch of flavor!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Kathi & Rachel

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless chicken thighs - minced - or ground chicken
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce - optional but adds depth of flavor
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 1/3 cup green onions - sliced`
• 1-2 Thai red chilies - or serrano chilies. These are very hot. Use only one if your sensitive to heat.
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves - thinly sliced
• White Rice

Instructions

• In a small bowl combine chicken stock, hoisin, soy, fish sauce and brown sugar. Mix until sugar is fully dissolved.
• Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Add vegetable oil. Saute minced chicken until just cooked through.
• Increase heat to HIGH. Add one tablespoon of the sauce, along with the green onion, garlic and sliced red chilies. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the chicken is starting to brown. About 3 minutes.
• Add remaining sauce and continue to cook on high until chicken is deeply brown and sauce has incorporated into chicken. About 3- 4 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in basil. Combine until basil is wilted.
• Serve with white rice.

Notes

NOTE: Nutrition information does not include rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 661mg | Potassium: 370mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 428IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg