Spicy Basil Chicken

Here's another quick and easy recipe for a weeknight. There's not a lot of ingredients, but it packs a ton of flavor with the ingredients it does have. The dish utilizes ingredients that I always have on hand, minus the fresh basil. You will need to add that to your grocery list :)

This is one of the very first dishes I learned how to make when I was teaching myself how to cook. I've been making it for years, and it appears in our rotation regularly. The hubby was surprised last night to hear that I hadn't blogged about it yet. Well, Spicy Basil Chicken's time has come.

First thing's first. The chicken must be cut into bite size chunks and tossed with a bit of flour, salt and pepper. It adds a little crust when browning your chicken. You can do this in a bowl with your hands, but as I've mentioned before, I find using a Ziploc bag works the best.

Mmmm, fresh basil. Thinly sliced.

Minced garlic. I don't make a lot of dishes without garlic, which I'm sure you are discovering :)

The sauce mixture is super simple. Fish sauce, homemade chicken broth, and cornstarch. When I make homemade broth, I like to freeze some in 1 cup portions for recipes that only call for a little bit of chicken broth.

Whisk the fish sauce, chicken broth, and cornstarch together. You will end up with something that looks like this.

Saute the garlic in olive oil with a pinch of crushed red pepper (there's the heat in Spicy Basil Chicken).

Brown the chicken in the garlic-oil mixture. This is a fast dish, so cook the chicken until it is done. With little chunks, it shouldn't take more than 3-4 minutes.

Add in the broth mixture, cook 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce has started to thicken up. Turn off the heat and add the basil. Toss to combine the basil with the chicken mixture. You're ready to plate up! I like to serve this over hot cooked rice and garnish with sesame seeds. I can usually have this on the table in 30 minutes, it's definitely a quick one!

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast, cut into bite-size chunks
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp corn starch
1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
hot cooked rice
sesame seeds (garnish)

Directions:
1. Combine chicken with flour, salt, and pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Seal and shake to coat chicken. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When heated, add garlic and crushed red pepper to pan. Saute 30 seconds-1 minute. Add chicken to pan, saute 3-4 minutes, or until chicken is browned and cooked through the middle.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth, fish sauce, and cornstarch. Add broth mixture to pan, cook 2-3 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken.
4. Remove from heat. Add basil to pan, and toss to combine. Serve over hot cooked rice and garnish with sesame seeds (if desired).

Adapted from Sunset