Thai Basil Chicken is arguably the gold standard of Thai Chicken stir fries! An incredibly fast and easy Thai recipe that truly tastes just as good as you’ll get at your favourite restaurant, served over jasmine rice. BONUS: No hunting down unusual ingredients!
If you’re feeling inspired, indulge in a Thai banquet at home with Chicken Satay Skewers, Thai Fish Cakes, Thai Green Curry or Red Curry, and Thai Fried Rice!
Thai Basil Chicken
Wowser. I LOVE Thai Basil Chicken. Just looking at these photos and writing up this post has me peeved that I’ll shortly be reheating leftovers instead of firing up the wok. (That’s a nice insight into the immaturity that is me.)
This is a recipe I got from the mother of a friend way back when I was in uni. Obviously, a Thai friend!
And it’s one of the few recipes that I haven’t tinkered with at all. I usually can’t help it – even recipes from well respected chefs. But this one – it’s perfect as it is. It is truly just like what you get at (good) Thai restaurants and on the streets of Thailand!
What you need for Thai Basil Chicken
Here’s what you need for Thai Basil Chicken. The really nice thing about this Thai recipe is that you can get everything you need from the grocery store – at least, you can here in Australia!
Best substitute for Thai Basil
The best substitute for Thai Basil is normal basil. While it lacks the slight aniseed flavour that’s distinctly associated with this Thai dish, it is still very much worth making!
Thai Basil
Thai Basil is a key ingredient in this recipe, being the namesake and all. 😂
Thai Basil tastes like normal basil with a hint of aniseed flavour. Nowadays it’s fairly widely available in Australia in large grocery stores and green grocers (Coles, Woolies, Harris Farms).
In actual fact, the authentic version of Thai Basil Chicken is Thai Holy Basil which is different to Thai Basil. It’s actually quite hard to find even in Thai stores, so much so that most Thai restaurants just use ordinary Thai Basil and it’s the flavour that most people have become accustomed to.
Here’s a photo showing the difference between holy basil and Thai Basil.
In the video and photos, I’ve used Thai Holy Basil. (Sydney-siders, I found it in the dark depths of a Thai grocery store in the city, I had to ask for it and the store owner got it from the back!)
Thai Basil Chicken is often overly saucy when you get it from mid-standard restaurants outside of Thailand.
This recipe sticks more to the traditional way of cooking it with enough sauce to coat the stir fry and to soak the rice a bit (enough!). But not so much sauce that when you dish it up, it’s sitting in a pool of sauce which frankly is too salty and unnecessary because the flavours of this dish are so strong, you don’t need all that sauce.
Serve this over Jasmine rice or any other rice of choice. If you want to add a fresh side, try this Asian Slaw – it’s a great all rounder that goes with all Asian foods. Or for a simpler option, just add a side of plain chunks of tomato and cucumber which is a common side that’s added to plates in Thailand.
As with all stir fries, this Thai recipe moves super fast once you start cooking – about 5 minutes. So if you can get the chopping done in 10 minutes, you’ll have dinner on the table in 15 minutes.
Hey! That’s faster than ordering home delivery! – Nagi xx
Watch how to make it
More Thai takeout favourites
-
Pad Thai – truly just like takeout!
-
Starters – Chicken Satay and Thai Fish Cakes
-
Pad See Ew – Thai stir fried noodles
-
Browse the Thai recipe collection
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Thai Chilli Basil Chicken
Ingredients
- 225g / 7oz chicken thigh fillets , skinless boneless, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 green onion , cut into 4cm / 2" lengths.
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves , loosely packed (Holy Basil if you can find it) (Note 1)
- 2 garlic cloves , large, finely chopped (Note 2)
- 1 birds eye or Thai chilli , deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp oil (peanut, vegetable or canola)
Sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce (Note 3)
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce (or all purpose) (Note 3)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
Serving
Instructions
- Put Sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine.
- Heat oil in wok or pan over high heat.
- Add garlic and chilli and cook for 10 seconds. Don't inhale - the chilli will make you cough!
- Add the white part of the green onions and chicken and fry until cooked, around 2 minutes.
- Add Sauce and cook for 1 minute until the water reduces to make a thick glossy sauce.
- Toss through green part of green onions and basil leaves. Stir until just wilted, then serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published in July 2014, updated with fresh new (better!) photos, new words, a brand new recipe video and of course I added a Life of Dozer section!
Life of Dozer
Story of his life. And mine, for that matter.
Omg Nagi, this was sooo good! Very simple recipe yet I feel like I won’t be doing takeouts anymore. I’d have to recommend for those who are going to make this, stick to using thai basil than the regular one. It makes a whole lot difference to the dish. I added more oyster sauce, used gluten-free soy sauce and white onions (I don’t have the spring onion). Thanks for this quick but tasty recipe, Nagi!
I forgot to say I used chicken breast since I didn’t have chicken thighs. And also added pepper while frying the chicken. 🙂
This looks fabulous and I just bought a huge package Thai basil from the restaurant supply store just for this recipe . QUESTION: I have dried red Thai peppers. Will that work and would I use the same amount?
Fabulous recipe. So tastey; just like the restaurants. I love Thai chilli basil stir fry dishes. I’ve been looking for recipes for a long time. This is by far the best. Now I can make it so quickly at home. Thank you so much for sharing this ❤️.
I’ve made this several times, along with your drunken noodles recipe (to try and use up the package of basil I get for this recipe). It’s on regular rotation in my home, thanks for the tasty and easy recipe!
5 stars
Like a few other comments, I used this as a base and did a clean out the veg drawer stir fry with chicken thighs and the delicious simple sauce! Add in the Thai Basil and we were all scraping the bowls. Really delicious recipe.
I appreciate your site, work, and recipes. Excellent work.
I’m in L.A., US and even if we have a lot of places, sites,…. it’s still great to find a number of great Asian recipes and many others. Thanks!
I live in the middle of nowhere so I had to make do with regular basil (added just at the end) and this recipe had everyone licking their plates. Served with lemongrass tea (literally sliced lemongrass steeped in boiling water for two minutes, so easy! Somehow I managed to obtain that but not thai basil!) for a complete thai experience. Yum. Now I am actually growing my own thai basil plants so that I can make this. It’s that good.
Great recipe! I had some mushrooms left in the fridge that needed to get used up so I subbed them for the chicken. I also added a bit of grated ginger. It was fantastic and so easy!
Have made this many times because it’s a family favourite. I’ve discovered that if I’m making a big batch I need to omit the water, otherwise the pan isn’t hot enough and it goes watery. Love this recipe, thanks again Nagi!
Delicious and probably the simplest version of this recipe that I have found. Made as written using chicken breast, with two small additions – a quarter of a red onion, chopped, and half a yellow pepper, sliced. Next time I will probably 1.5 x the sauce to have just a bit extra.
Love this recipe in our house! Super simple and quick, we grow the Thai basil and the rest of the ingredients are already in the pantry. Winner winner, thanks for sharing!
I give it a 5 + star but I have say I did the sauce as recipe love it. But I did add a bunch more veggies and a little bit of grated ginger. So I did not follow your recipe only the sauce which is a 10 star with my family.
This is so delicious! I doubled the recipe so my husband and I could have leftovers to take for lunch the next day, but the quantities for four serves is more for three. The sauce is so versatile, that I would use it for any stir fry. This is joining our regular dinner rotation. Thanks, Nagi!
This dish was a hit! So full of flavour and so quick to put together. I doubled the sauce and added a heap of veg, then topped with crispy onions. Absolutely adding this to the rotation. Thanks Nagi
So quick to prepare and cook and tastes absolutely amazing. This will be my new go to recipe on busy work days
If only I realised the default was the 2 person version. Fantastic flavour and you MUSR use Holy or Thai Basil for the recipe. Suggestions to add include finely julienned carrot, and to top with crushed peanuts/nuts. Another sensational recipe.
Hello Nagi – I’ve just replanted my veg/herb garden following a reno, and Ive put in lots of Holy Basil and Thai basil. It smells amazing in the garden! I’m going to cook all your recipes using them, one by on – We will need to eat a lot of basil!
Made this tonight. I only used one chilli as my children are still learning how to eat spicy food. I only have some Thai basil leaves, not a cup as required but it turned out well. There was a hint of Thai food, not overpowering. I think that my son won’t like it if I have used a cup of basil.
Made this today for lunch (for me as my husband won’t eat Thai (silly man!). Amazing! I had regular basil so used a pinch of 5 spice for the anise flavor. Also didn’t have birds eye chilis but got some Huy Fong chili garlic sauce which was the bomb. Added water chestnuts for crunch and what an amazing dish! Have leftovers for tomorrow. Thanks Nagi!