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RCP: Thai stir-fried minced chicken with holy basil

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Paul Winalski

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RCP: Thai stir-fried minced chicken with holy basil

by Paul Winalski » Mon Jul 06, 2020 4:33 pm

I got this recipe from Colonel Ian Philpott, who also used to work at DEC and who published many of his Thai wife's recipes on rec.food.recipes in the 1990s. This recipe is from Madhur Jafrey's Far Eastern Cookery, and originates from the Imperial Hotel in Bangkok.

Gai Pad Prik Bai Krapow (minced chicken stir-fried with chiles and holy basil)

4 oz fresh holy basil leaves, or Thai sweet or European basil, or mint [a]
vegetable oil for shallow frying
5 cloves garlic
2 ox shallots
2 fresh hot green Thai chiles (or more or fewer) [bb]
2 fresh hot red Thai chiles (or more or fewer) [bb]
one-inch piece of fresh ginger
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (I prefer the thigh to the breast)
5 tsp fish sauce
1-1/2 tsp dark brown sugar [c]

[1] Remove the basil leaves from their stems, wash the leaves, and pat dry. Divide them into two equal parts. Roughly chop the first part and set aside. Leave the second part whole.

[2] Pour a 1/2-inch layer of vegetable oil in a medium-sized frying pan and place it over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, place a small handful of the whole basil leaves in the oil. Beware of spattering; you may need to cover the pan for a few seconds with a lid or spatter shield. Once the spattering dies down, stir the leaves a few times. They will turn crisp very quickly. Remove them and drain on paper towels. Reserve the frying oil.

NOTE: The crisp leaves make an elegant garnish for the finished dish. They are entirely optional and I rarely bother. If you don't make the garnish, roughly chop the whole leaves and add them to the rest of the chopped basil.

[3] Peel the garlic and chop it finely. Peel the shallots, slice them in half lengthwise, then slice them thinly crosswise. Cut the chiles crosswise into thin rounds. Peel the ginger and grate or mince it finely. Chop the chicken into a rough mince (or use store-bought ground chicken).

[4] Put 4 TBS of the frying oil (or fresh oil, if you're not making the garnish) in a wok over medium-high heat. When hot, stir-fry the garlic and shallots for about 2 minutes, or until the shallots are a medium brown.

[5] Add the chiles and ginger, give a few stirs, then add the chopped basil. Stir once, add the minced chicken, then turn the heat to high. Stir-fry about 3 minutes, breaking up any chicken lumps. The chicken is done when it is white all the way through. Avoid browning it.

[6] Mix in the fish sauce and sugar and transfer to a serving dish. Top with the crispy basil leaf garnish (if using) and serve with rice (Thai jasmine rice is good here).

NOTES

[a] Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum or Ocimum sanctum) is called krapow (or grapao) in Thailand and tulsi in India, where it is considered as sacred to Vishnu (hence the English name). It is a different species from common basil (Ocimum basilicum) and has a more minty aroma and flavor profile. Fresh holy basil is next to impossible to find in markets because once picked it starts to wilt almost immediately. Thai sweet basil (horapa) is a variety of common basil that isn't too difficult to find in Asian markets. Even Market Basket, my local supermarket, carries it. It makes a fine substitute for holy basil in this recipe and it's what I use. You can use the European variety of common basil, too, or even fresh mint.

Dried holy basil leaves can be obtained from http://ImportFood.com. I soak a generous pinch of the dried leaves in some hot water, drain them, and add them to chopped horapa leaves. This gives the dish some holy basil aroma and flavor.

[bb] Thai hot chiles (prik ki nu, bird's eye chiles) are short, slender, and very hot. They are harvested both unripe (green) and fully ripe (red). It's more decorative to use a combination in this recipe, but either all red or all green will do. A single serrano chile (per two prik ki nu) will do as a substitute. You can vary the heat of the dish by using more or fewer chiles. I generally use four each of the red and green here. Prik ki nu tend to be sold in packages of 30-50 but are mostly used a few at a time. Fortunately they freeze beautifully. Just be sure to use them the same day you defrost them--they'll spoil if kept overnight in the refrigerator.

[c] The traditional sweetener is palm sugar, which is made from palm tree sap in the same way as maple sugar. In India it's called gur or jaggery. It's sold in cakes or tubs in Asian markets. The cakes are easiest to find, but you need a hammer or meat tenderizer to break them apart. The stuff in the tubs is soft. Dark brown sugar can be substituted here for palm sugar.

-Paul W.
Last edited by Paul Winalski on Fri Jul 10, 2020 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: RCP: Thai stir-fried minced chicken with holy basil

by Jenise » Fri Jul 10, 2020 12:13 pm

Thank you, Paul. I am SO doing this! Just have to round up some fresh chiles.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: RCP: Thai stir-fried minced chicken with holy basil

by Larry Greenly » Fri Jul 10, 2020 4:49 pm

I do like holy basil; I recently planted some. Crossing my fingers.

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