Easy 15-Minute Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Krapow Gai)

You can make this authentically delicious, budget-friendly, restaurant-quality Thai Basil Chicken at home in 15 minutes! BONUS: it is less than 400 calories and you do not have to hunt down any unusual ingredients!

This Thai basil chicken is a super quick and savory recipe that will make your meal prepping a breeze!

Thai Basil Chicken

I don't know about you but I have bought Thai Basil Chicken takeout one too many times to count. Quite frankly, I cannot get enough of Thai Basil Chicken. The sauce contains the perfect amount of light saltiness and vibrant savoriness that blends perfectly with the chicken. Moreover, this dish never feels too heavy. You can pair this Thai Basil Chicken with a fried egg and garlic green beans and jasmine white rice and you will have a fully balanced meal!

The beautiful aromatic smell that will come from your kitchen when you cook your Thai Basil Chicken will leave you salivating. Also, the fact that this dish takes less than 30 minutes to cook and punches with delicious flavors makes it a winner in our meal prep repertoire.

Ingredients for this recipe

Everything you need to make Thai Basil Chicken you can buy at your local Asian grocery store.

• Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs: alternatively, you can substitute this for ground chicken meat, but we prefer the texture of diced chicken thighs.
• Green Onion: adds the aromatics to the dish.
• Thai basil: this is the KEY ingredient in this recipe. Thai Basil is not the same as regular basil. It tastes like regular basil with a hint of aniseed flavor.
• Garlic cloves: finely chopping the garlic prevents the garlic from burning too quickly.
• Birds eye Chili or Thai Chili: these small red chilis can be added more or less based on your preference for spice. Finely chop the chili so they fully release their fragrance.
• Oyster sauce: Oyster sauce is a mixture of caramelized oyster juices, salt, sugar, and soy sauce. It adds an extra umami flavoring to the dish.
• Light soy sauce: Light soy sauce is thinner and lighter in color and adds a gentle saltiness to the dish. For the most authentic flavor, I chose the Golden Mountain brand soy sauce. If you are unable to find light soy sauce, you can substitute this with all-purpose soy sauce like Kikkoman.
• Dark soy sauce: Dark soy sauce has more intensity in flavor, saltiness and is much darker than regular soy sauce. Also, dark soy sauce has a sweeter flavor due to it being aged longer with molasses. If you cannot find dark soy sauce, you can alternatively use an all-purpose soy sauce like Kikkoman but it will not have the same intensity of flavor as it should be.
• Vegetable oil
• Sugar
• Steamed Jasmine rice or any other rice of choice

How to make this recipe

1. Prepare the ingredients: Cube the Chicken thighs. Finely chop the garlic and chili peppers. Clean and pluck the Thai basil from the stems. Next, cut the green part of the green onion into 2-inch pieces. Then, dice the white part of the onions into small pieces.
2. In a small mixing bowl, add the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and water in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.
3. Cook the chicken: Over high heat, pour vegetable oil in a wok or pan. Add garlic and chili peppers and sauté for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Then sauté the white half of the green onions and chicken for 2 minutes. Lastly, pour in the sauce and stir for 1 minute until the water reduces into a thicker sauce.
4. Toss through the green part of green onions and basil leaves. Stir until just wilted.
5. Serve. Finally, serve with Jasmine rice. You can also add in a fried egg and sautéed garlic green beans for a fully balanced meal!

Storage Instructions

This Thai basil chicken tastes best if served immediately. If making for meal prep, you can store in airtight containers and leave the chicken in the refrigerator for up to one week.

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