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Thai basil chicken over jasmine rice with a crispy fried egg in a white bowl on a blue background.
Dinner · Thai

Thai Basil Chicken

A Thai street-food staple that comes together faster than delivery. Ground chicken cooks in minutes and soaks up the salty-sweet sauce, and the basil goes in off the heat so it stays fragrant. Holy basil is classic, but regular basil works fine.

Quick facts

20 min(8 prep, 12 cook)

2 servings

  • Dairy-free

Contains: Egg, Fish, Soy, Wheat

Step 0

Get it all out

Tick things off as they hit the counter.

  • 3 cups cooked jasmine rice, leftover or from a microwave pouch
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil, like canola
  • 2 large eggsoptional
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil, for frying the eggsoptional
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1–3 Thai red chiles, thinly sliced
  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 cup holy basil or regular basil leaves, loosely packed, picked from the stems

For the sauce

  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp water
Then

Let 'em cook

Tap Done as you go. Each step lists what goes in.

  1. 1

    Stir the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and water together in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.

    • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
    • 1 tbsp soy sauce
    • 2 tsp fish sauce
    • 1 tsp sugar
    • 2 tbsp water
  2. 2

    Put the rice in a microwave-safe bowl, break up any clumps with a fork and cover the bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, then microwave until steaming hot all the way through, 1 to 2 minutes more. Leftover rice should read 165°F on an instant-read thermometer. For a pouch, follow the package directions. Keep it covered.

    • 3 cups cooked jasmine rice
  3. 3

    If you're not adding eggs, skip to the next step. Heat 1 tbsp of oil for the eggs in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Crack in the eggs and fry until the whites are set and the edges are brown and crispy, about 2 minutes. Flip them and cook until the yolks are set, about 1 minute more. Move them to a plate.

    • 1 tbsp neutral oil
    • 2 large eggs
  4. 4

    Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and chiles and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

    • 1 tbsp neutral oil
    • 4 cloves garlic
    • 1–3 Thai red chiles
  5. 5

    Add the ground chicken, then wash your hands and anything that touched the raw chicken. Break the chicken into small crumbles with a spatula and cook, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until no pink remains, some bits are browned and an instant-read thermometer in the thickest clump reads 165°F, 5 to 6 minutes.

    • 1 lb ground chicken
  6. 6

    Pour in the sauce and stir until it coats the chicken and most of the liquid has bubbled away, about 1 minute.

    • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
    • 1 tbsp soy sauce
    • 2 tsp fish sauce
    • 1 tsp sugar
    • 2 tbsp water
  7. 7

    Turn off the heat. Add the basil and stir until the leaves wilt and turn dark green, about 30 seconds.

    • 1 cup holy basil or regular basil leaves
  8. 8

    Divide the rice between two plates, spoon the chicken over the rice and top each plate with a fried egg, if using. Refrigerate any leftover chicken and rice within 2 hours.

    • 3 cups cooked jasmine rice
    • 2 large eggs