136.8…Spicy Basil Chicken

Last night’s dinner was courtesy of April’s Cooking Light issue again. When I saw the recipe for Spicy Basil Chicken, I thought my husband would really enjoy it. He loves Asian style chicken dishes.

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Spicy Basil Chicken (Serves 4)

Adapted from Cooking Light, April 2012

2 tsp. vegetable oil

1/4 cup minced shallots

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

6 (4 oz.) skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 Tbsp fish sauce*

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp lower-sodium soy sauce

1 1/4 tsp chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)*

1 tsp water

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 cup sliced basil leaves

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots and garlic to pan; cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add chicken to pan; cook 8-10 minutes or until chicken is done.

2. Combine fish sauce and the next 6 ingredients (through salt) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add fish sauce mixture to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until mixture thickens, stirring to coat chicken. Remove from heat. Stir in basil.

*Substitute lower-sodium soy sauce if fish sauce is difficult to find. The flavor won’t be as complex, but soy sauce will still add a salty note. You can substitute thinly sliced Thai bird chiles or jalapeno for the sambal oelek-or leave it out completely if you’d rather enjoy a mild dish.

Note: I ended up DOUBLING the sauce. We are sauce people over here and I knew the amount called for would not have been enough for us. I actually wished I had tripled the sauce.

Printable Recipe

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I served the Spicy Basil Chicken with brown rice and steamed broccoli.

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We enjoyed the dish but we weren’t wowed by it. The original recipe called for chicken thighs which I’m sure would have been more flavorful. I also did not have any more fish sauce and couldn’t find it so I did substitute for more soy sauce. Fish sauce would have made it better for sure. I’d give it a try….you just might want to at least double the sauce.

By the way…the calorie count for 3/4 cup (using chicken thighs) is 291 calories….pretty good!

Breakfast this morning was toast with my homemade peanut butter and a bowl of strawberries and blackberries.

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I took the kids to school, went to an event in my son’s class and then to Starbucks for a latte.

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I was hungry so I snacked on a mini Luna Bar in White  Chocolate Macadamia.

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Great flavor….not a lot of bar for 80 calories. I went to an event in my daughter’s class and then came home for lunch.

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Turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich with veggies and hummus. I picked up the kids from school and came home to get the laundry started.

I have a couple of new recipes to try this weekend that I’m excited about.

What’s on your agenda for this weekend?

Have you cooked anything exciting from a magazine lately?

Comments

  1. oh my...your blog is always making me hungry. =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I flagged that recipe and wondered if there would have been enough sauce. Good to know!

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  3. That spicy basil chicken looks really good! I also love sauce, so I'm glad you suggested doubling or tripling it!

    ReplyDelete

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