Despite a having a thriving bush of Thai basil in my patio, I hardly cook with them. I have always been partial to sweet basil variety, until I saw a lot of Thai Basil chicken recipes swarming the net. We have been craving for a light lunch for the weekend, so with some leftover rice I decided to go ahead and make some delicious thai basil chicken fried rice. Originally a Thai inspired recipe, this healthy one-pot meal requires minimum cooking but yes, you may need to marinade the chicken overnight for better flavour.
![thai basil chicken fried rice](https://www.cookinggoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/thai-basil-chicken-fried-rice-683x1024-1.jpg)
![thai basil leaves](https://www.cookinggoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/thai-basil-leaves-683x1024-1.jpg)
I have used chicken breast as it is also kid-friendly and gets cooked in no time. The marinade consists of garlic, soy sauce, Thai basil and homegrown chilli padi or bird’s eye chilli all pounded in a traditional way-pestle and mortar. Whilst you can easily use food processor to achieve the same result, I prefer using pestle-and-mortar. There is something therapeutic about it, and you can literally see the juice of the spices flowing.
![thai basil chicken fried rice-2](https://www.cookinggoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/thai-basil-chicken-fried-rice-2-683x1024-1.jpg)
Ask any Asians about fried rice and they will tell you the universal tip; cold leftover rice makes the best fried rice. This will ensure the grains are separated and not become a mushy clump upon frying. I have also added some fish sauce to get the Thai kick-ass flavour. Even if you are not a fan of Thai fish sauce ( i am not!), this little extra secret ingredient makes a lot of difference to the final umami flavour. We certainly clean off our hot steaming plates of the fried rice in no time!
Thai Basil Chicken Fried Rice
![](https://www.cookinggoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/thai-basil-chicken-fried-rice-3-693x1024-1.jpg)
Thai Basil Chicken Fried Rice, healthy one pot meal ready in no time
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 large chicken breast fillet ( around 200g), cut into small cubes
- For marinade:
- 3 cloves garlic
- a small bunch of Thai basil leaves
- 1 large red chilli or 2 chilli paid ( bird’s eye chilli)
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 large red onion, diced finely
- 2 large eggs
- salt to season
- 4 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- Pound the red chilli, thai basil and garlic until finely minced. You can also use a chopper or food processor.
- Marinade the chicken with the pounded mix, along with soy sauces, fish sauce and black pepper, ideally overnight or at least 2 hours.
- Heat the oil in a wok.
- Saute the onions until translucent.
- Add in the chicken with all the marinade juices. and simmer until chicken are cooked.
- Make a well in the centre and add in the whisked eggs. Leave for a minute before stir frying it.
- Add the cooked rice in batches and mix well so the rice is well coated with the rest of the ingredients.
- Season with salt if needed ( soy sauce could be salty enough), and serve warm.