Thai Basil Chicken

This recipe came across the rss feed the other day. From Serious Eats. Thai-Style minced chicken with basil and chiles. Let's get started shall we.

If you have access to ground chicken, you can use that. Or, if you have a food processor, you can mince your own. Cube the boneless, skinless chicken breast into 1 inch pieces. Drop them in the bowl of your food processor and pulse the blade 10 times. You have a fairly uniform mince. If you have a large bit or two, just chop them up.

Saute some onions, bell pepper and garlic. Due to an upset tummy in the house, I skipped the chile and added a small pinch of red pepper flake for a little heat. Remove to a bowl and move on to the next step.

In the pan, saute the minced chicken until cooked through, no pink. Stir the veggies back into the chicken.

Add some soy sauce and simmer for a minute. Then add fish sauce and fresh basil. Stir and serve over rice.

Very tasty! Filling, light and easy peasy.

Enjoy.

Thai-style Minced Chicken w/Basil and Chiles
1 pound ground chicken, or boneless, skinless meat chopped in a food processor
2 TB peanut oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced into crescents
1 red or orange bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips and then into diamonds
1 TB minced garlic
1-2 jalapeno or serrano chiles, cut crosswise into rings
1 TB Thai black soy sauce
1 TB Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce
1 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
Ground pepper to taste
2 cups cooked white rice, for serving

In wok or other stir-fry pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over high heat until just smoking, then add the onion. Stir-fry for 1 minute, then add bell pepper and stir-fry for an additional minute. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, then remove the pan from the heat and scrape contents into bowl.

Heat remaining two tablespoons oil over high heat until just smoking, then add chicken all at once. Spread evenly in skillet and cook, without stirring until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir-fry until pink is completely gone and chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes longer.

Return cooked vegetables to pan and add chiles. Stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the soy sauce and cook for 15 seconds. Follow with fish sauce and basil leaves and cook until just wilted, then season with pepper. Taste for balance, adding soy sauce, fish sauce, or more pepper as needed. Serve immediately with rice.

Updates-fun with camera phone.

Made a quiche the other day. Came together fairly easy. Cooked easy. But had a bit of a spill over. Looks like a lava flow.

This photo looks great on my phone, but here it looks very washed out. A great batch of chili, served with cornbread. All tasty.

I have off this week, so I took in one of the many food trucks invading the city...Red Hook Lobster truck. Delicious lobster rolls! Try the Connecticut for the butter soaked angel food!

Making pizza dough tonight. Loved the look of the rising dough in the plastic wrapped bowl. Lots of awesome flavors going on there.



***You remember that awesome amazing night we had at Bond 45 a few weeks ago. Well, they've made some changes to their menu. Take a look and check them out if you get the opportunity.

Playing Catch Up

Yesterday I finally shared an update about our Thanksgiving and how tasty it was. Today is the rest of the highlights from the past month....

I made a yummy meatloaf. Except I think I over cooked it. I was trying to get the bacon crispy, but in the process, the actual meatloaf dried out! Bummer. I used a ground beef/ground pork blend. I also added some yummy to it. I sauted some onions and chopped bacon the meatloaf mixture, along with herbs and spices. Mmmm, not only did I drape the meatloaf in bacon, it was inside too!

Here's the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and corn. Lots of gravy help with the dryness!

This was a delicious quiche. Sauted potatoes, a French herb pork sausage and Havarti and dill. So tasty and satisfying.

Here's the quiche just as it was about to come out of the oven. Yes, I used a pre-fabbed crust. It was a quick to do. All good.

Here was a thrown together Asian style stir fry with green beans and pork tenderloin medallions. I coated the pork with cornstarch and Asian 5-spice. The sauce was soy, ginger, garlic and oyster sauce.

I found hangar steak for cheap! It had been in the freezer for awhile and one night when I had no idea what was for dinner, I pulled it out, thawed and rubbed it down with a spicy blend of herbs and spices. Paprika, a few types of chiles, garlic, cumin...salt and pepper. Cooked until medium raw, sliced and tossed with sauted peppers and onions. A fast delicious dinner!

Post-Thanksgiving

Hi There! No excuses anymore. I'm a horrible blogger. Believe me...my bad blogging is the top cause of any and all guilt I have.

So, with a full on guilt trip...here is the better late than never recap of Thanksgiving 2010!


I made a batch of roasted butternut squash and turnips. I peeled and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. I was excited, but in the end...it didn't work for me. The turnips were bitter and the squash had no flavor. Just blah.

I made a bunch of compound butter for the turkey. Rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley with salt and pepper. I put this under the skin of the turkey, then used it to baste! Mmm.

For the first time, I wanted to try making a green bean casserole. It seems to be a full on traditional Thanksgiving dish, but I've never made it, nor have I had it. But...I couldn't do things easily. I made a roux based cream sauce with sauted shallots. The beans were blanched and I topped the who thing with crispy Swedish onions. Looked great. Smelled great. I didn't like it. Still not for me.

Here's my turkey. Because it was just four of us this year, I bought a turkey breast, which was brined in my awesome solution of salt, water, apple cider, smashed apples, lemon slices, smashed carrots, onions, fresh herbs and a touch of brown sugar. It was awesome!

Although not a great photo, I love the color of my drunken cranberries. Always tasty, especially with the addition of a little ginger this year!

Here are the finished green beans. Like I said, looked and smelled great, but I still don't like them.

Sliced turkey breast. Super juicy, not overly salty with a crisp skin!

My dressing this year. I do a traditional bread/sage/onion dressing. Since I only had the breast, I couldn't do a stuffing in the bird. I scooped the stuffing into muffin tins that were smeared with butter...drizzled a little extra broth on top, then another dollop of butter. They were crispy on the outside and soft and tasty on the inside! The dressing was the winner at this year's meal!

Sweet potatoes...orange and white varieties. After the spiced brown sugar and butter are put on top, I cover with marshmallows. Bake until golden brown and the marshmallows are starting to get crispy. It's like a pre-dessert!

My plate. But something is missing?

Ahhhh, gravy. Awesome delicious gravy!

Hope everyone had a great holiday...and Christmas is right around the corner...silly season.