Thai Basil Chicken, done my way

Ingredients

1 lb chicken tenders

snow peas (couple handfuls)

1 large sweet onion, sliced thin

thai chili peppers (to taste, i use big handful)

sri racha (red chili sauce)

2 tbsp chopped thai basil leaves

soy sauce and/or teriyaki (the sweet soy sauce kind, not the thick stuff)

1-2 tpsb oil (peanut or vegetable)

1-2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

chopped garlic cloves (to taste)

bean sprouts for topping

limes, quartered

Mmmm this is my favorite thing to eat. I had tried a thousand ways to make this but none came close to tasting authentic until central market started selling jars of thai basil leaves (check out the asian isle) and thai chili peppers in produce. I'd made it with regular fresh sweet basil, Jalapeno and lots of sri racha, and it was good, but it wasn't thai. Now it is. You can totally substitute peppers (or omit them altogether) and use normal basil, but its worth the extra effort to get the real stuff if you consider yourself a connoisseur of thai food. Like I do.

Everything else in this dish is pretty much "to taste". Changing the amount of garlic or peppers is not going to mess with the cooking process.

My method for getting this so good is to marinade it for hours and cook it all in one of those "oven bags". It's just a plastic bag you bake in, Reynold's makes it but HEB's generic is cheaper. These things are so worth it-- the meat is super tender and you don't have to clean out the baking dish. After its baked, the chicken easily cuts into pieces and then I stirfry it all together.

Here's the steps, enjoy:

1. throw into an oven bag the chicken tenders, snow peas, and thai peppers with the stems pulled off. Unless you love pain a LOT, you're going to want to leave these whole as to easily avoid them when you're eating. They hurt. They are very, very hot. They're just there for flavor so be careful!

2. add chopped garlic, fish sauce, sri racha and then pour a few cups of soy sauce on top until all the chicken and veggies are submerged in liquid. let this sit for a few hours.

3. while cooking rice (I do brown rice in the oven) chop the sweet onions and sautee them with a splash of peanut oil and the brown sugar. I cook them til they're browned but still snappy.

4. place the oven bag in a baking dish at bake at 375f for 30-35 minutes.

5 cut a hole in the corner of the oven bag and let the liquid drain out

6. put the chicken on a cutting board and cut it into pieces. snow peas too if you want them in smaller chunks.

7. throw chicken and veggies in with the onions with the flame on high. sautee for a few minutes and serve over rice, with lime juice and bean sprouts :-)

Mm Chicken Fried Rice

Okay- this is one of my favorite things to make but I don't use a recipe! It's super delicious and healthy.
This is very similar to fried rice one would get a Chinese restaurant, however I make a few key substitutions. First, I use brown rice instead of white. Aside from being healthier, I like the texture much better. Brown rice is especially nice when tossed in a frying pan, so it is ideal for this dish. I also substitute edamame (soy beans) for the typical peas. I love peas, but edamame are bigger, tastier, and much more nutritious! One thing I add not ordinarily used at restaurants is red pepper. It adds crunch, color, and a tiny hint of flavor. Nom nom!





So here's an ingredient list, the amounts are not exact!


brown rice (1 cup dry)
shelled edamame (about a cup)
1 small baked chicken breast
2 eggs, scrambled
green onion (one bunch?)
baby carrots (small handful)
bean sprouts (big handful)
soy sauce
splash vegetable oil
SRI RACHA!!!



1. I make the rice in a rice cooker. (Its foolproof...) However, there is ALSO a "foolproof" recipe for brown rice from Cooks Illustrated. This is the one my mom makes all the time, it works perfectly and is MUCH easier than stovetop rice! The recipe can be found here.

2. Prepare! Put the rice on to cook and the chicken breast in the oven. Then, chop the carrots and green onion. Prepare the edamame by the instructions on the bag. Also, scramble your egg slightly undercooked and set it to the side.

3. Sautee them veggies! Get the oil in the pan hot first. I start with the carrots because they need the longest amount of time to soften, and then everything else is up to your preference. I add the bean sprouts last, as I like them to be freshest. Sautee the veggies with a bit of soy sauce and sriracha (if you like your food HOT! Be careful, this stuff is powerful.) Chop the chicken add the egg very last.

4. Add the egg and finally, the rice. Lower heat and stir fry all ingredients together for a few minutes, with soy sauce to taste.

5. Nom, nom, nom nom nom.