Sunday, January 13, 2013

Thai Chicken with Chiles and Garlic

This is a dish for those of you who are big on flavor.  Lots of garlic and spicy hot chiles really amp up the flavor in this simple ground chicken dish.

This recipe was a HUGE hit the first time it debuted in my kitchen.  Since then it's been requested and made a handful of times.  This recipe scores big points in the taste category, but it is also quite healthy, really economical, and fairly quick and easy.  Great for a weeknight meal.

Sometimes I like to wrap the chicken in lettuce and serve it as a lettuce wrap.  Other times, I serve the chicken over rice.  We love it either way.

 Thai Chicken with Chiles and Garlic
Inspired by Madhur Jaffrey's Step by Step Cooking
Serves 4

5 garlic cloves, minced
3 shallots, minced
1 inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for stir frying
4 fresh hot chiles (red or green), cut into rings
1 pound of ground chicken
1/2 cup chopped thai basil (or regular basil)
6 teaspoons soy sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
Optional:  rice, for serving and/or
big leaves of lettuce, for wrapping the chicken

Note: I used 4 jalapenos (both red and green)  I also used regular basil in place of thai basil.  Fish sauce can be substituted in place of the soy sauce, if you wish.


In a small bowl combine the soy sauce and brown sugar.

In a wok over medium-low heat, stir fry the garlic and shallots, frying for about 2 minutes, or until the shallots are golden brown.  Add the chiles and ginger and give a few vigorous stirs.

Increase the heat to high and stir in the chopped basil.  Add the ground chicken and fry for about 3 minutes, stirring to break up the meat as you go.  The chicken should turn white all the way through.  Stir in the soy sauce and sugar mixture.  When everything is combined transfer to a serving dish.  Serve over rice or in lettuce as a lettuce wrap.  Garnish with more basil, if desired.




Theme: Potluck!













19 comments:

  1. I love the BIG flavor that thai food is full of. This sounds delicious and I love how easy it is to throw together!

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  2. I too love the big flavors here. Beautiful presentation too Kim.
    Sam

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  3. Now this just warmed up my very chilly Minnesota home.

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  4. my mouth was literally watering reading the ingredient list. i like the idea of making them into lettuce wraps. a much better lunch than my usual salad or sandwich!

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  5. I was thinking that it looked perfect for lettuce wraps when I first saw the pic. The flavors sound perfect :)

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  6. I love garlic and spicy hot chillies! And this sounds great! Eating this with lettuce wraps sounds delicious, would make a great tortilla wrap with lettuce too! Bookmarked! Thanks for sharing!

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  7. There was a Thai restaurant we used to go to that made a killer chicken dish w/ garlic and chilies. Sadly, they closed. I've been searching for something similar and I think this may be it. Thanks, Kim! It's a treat to find those stand-out dishes that you can make again and again and everyone is on board.

    By the way, we just finished supper--it was the Chicken, Broccoli, and Pasta Casserole you posted last week. Thumbs up all around!

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  8. This looks delicious. I have never had Thai food, or good Thai anyway. I am collecting all these recipes for later!!

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  10. Goes well with rice porridge too!

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  11. Yummy!!!!
    Did you have some tags to vegetarian food?
    grateful,
    G.

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  12. Thanks for the nice comment, Kim, and let me know if you make Ina Garten's mustard roasted chicken. It was good.
    I like the way your chicken dish here is so colorful. I am rather a weenie about the spicy food so I couldn't handle the chiles (frowny face) but could sure adpt this one for our table.
    Stay warm this bitter January!

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  13. Yeah, my whole family would like that one too! Then again I like anything with Thai flavors.

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. I like spicy...I would do lettuce wraps for lunch and with rice for dinner. Awesome dish.

    Velva

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