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Home Cuisines Thai Recipes

Thai Basil Chicken

By:Nagi
Published:28 Sep '19Updated:8 Apr '21
378 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Thai Basil Chicken is arguably the gold standard of Thai Chicken stir fries! An incredibly fast and easy Thai recipe that truly tastes just as good as you’ll get at your favourite restaurant, served over jasmine rice. BONUS: No hunting down unusual ingredients!

If you’re feeling inspired, indulge in a Thai banquet at home with Chicken Satay Skewers, Thai Fish Cakes, Thai Green Curry or Red Curry, and Thai Fried Rice!

Close up of Thai Basil Chicken in a wok, fresh off the stove ready to be served

Thai Basil Chicken

Wowser. I LOVE Thai Basil Chicken. Just looking at these photos and writing up this post has me peeved that I’ll shortly be reheating leftovers instead of firing up the wok. (That’s a nice insight into the immaturity that is me.)

This is a recipe I got from the mother of a friend way back when I was in uni. Obviously, a Thai friend!

And it’s one of the few recipes that I haven’t tinkered with at all. I usually can’t help it – even recipes from well respected chefs. But this one – it’s perfect as it is. It is truly just like what you get at (good) Thai restaurants and on the streets of Thailand!

Thai Basil Chicken served over Jasmin rice in a blue bowl, ready to be eaten

What you need for Thai Basil Chicken

Here’s what you need for Thai Basil Chicken. The really nice thing about this Thai recipe is that you can get everything you need from the grocery store – at least, you can here in Australia!

What goes in spicy chilli Thai Basil Chicken

Best substitute for Thai Basil

The best substitute for Thai Basil is normal basil. While it lacks the slight aniseed flavour that’s distinctly associated with this Thai dish, it is still very much worth making!

Thai Basil

Thai Basil is a key ingredient in this recipe, being the namesake and all. 😂

Thai Basil tastes like normal basil with a hint of aniseed flavour. Nowadays it’s fairly widely available in Australia in large grocery stores and green grocers (Coles, Woolies, Harris Farms).

In actual fact, the authentic version of Thai Basil Chicken is Thai Holy Basil which is different to Thai Basil. It’s actually quite hard to find even in Thai stores, so much so that most Thai restaurants just use ordinary Thai Basil and it’s the flavour that most people have become accustomed to.

Here’s a photo showing the difference between holy basil and Thai Basil.

In the video and photos, I’ve used Thai Holy Basil. (Sydney-siders, I found it in the dark depths of a Thai grocery store in the city, I had to ask for it and the store owner got it from the back!)

Difference between Thai Basil and Thai Holy Basil - Thai Basil tastes like normal basil with a slight aniseed flavour. Holy basil has jagged edges and it does not have an aniseed flavour, it tastes more like Italian basil.

Thai Basil Chicken is often overly saucy when you get it from mid-standard restaurants outside of Thailand.

This recipe sticks more to the traditional way of cooking it with enough sauce to coat the stir fry and to soak the rice a bit (enough!). But not so much sauce that when you dish it up, it’s sitting in a pool of sauce which frankly is too salty and unnecessary because the flavours of this dish are so strong, you don’t need all that sauce.

Close up of Thai Basil Chicken served over Jasmin rice in a blue bowl, ready to be eaten

Serve this over Jasmine rice or any other rice of choice. If you want to add a fresh side, try this Asian Slaw – it’s a great all rounder that goes with all Asian foods. Or for a simpler option, just add a side of plain chunks of tomato and cucumber which is a common side that’s added to plates in Thailand.

As with all stir fries, this Thai recipe moves super fast once you start cooking – about 5 minutes. So if you can get the chopping done in 10 minutes, you’ll have dinner on the table in 15 minutes.

Hey! That’s faster than ordering home delivery! – Nagi xx


Watch how to make it

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Close up of Thai Basil Chicken in a wok, fresh off the stove ready to be served

Thai Chilli Basil Chicken

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 5 minutes mins
Total: 15 minutes mins
Stir Fry
Thai
4.94 from 149 votes
Servings2
Tap or hover to scale
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Recipe video above. Right off the streets of Thailand, made in your own home! Spicy, garlicky and savoury with a hint of sweet. Gold standard Thai chicken stir fry, quick to make and no hunting down unusual ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 225g / 7oz chicken thigh fillets , skinless boneless, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 green onion , cut into 4cm / 2" lengths.
  • 1 cup Thai basil leaves , loosely packed (Holy Basil if you can find it) (Note 1)
  • 2 garlic cloves , large, finely chopped (Note 2)
  • 1 birds eye or Thai chilli , deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 tbsp oil (peanut, vegetable or canola)

Sauce

  • 2 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce (Note 3)
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce (or all purpose) (Note 3)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp water

Serving

  • Steamed jasmine rice
Prevent screen from sleeping

Instructions

  • Put Sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine.
  • Heat oil in wok or pan over high heat.
  • Add garlic and chilli and cook for 10 seconds. Don't inhale - the chilli will make you cough!
  • Add the white part of the green onions and chicken and fry until cooked, around 2 minutes.
  • Add Sauce and cook for 1 minute until the water reduces to make a thick glossy sauce.
  • Toss through green part of green onions and basil leaves. Stir until just wilted, then serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.

Recipe Notes:

1. Holy Basil is the type of Thai basil used in the authentic recipe. It has a more aniseedy / peppery flavour than normal sweet basil used in Italian cooking, and is available at some Thai groceries.
Thai Basil is the more common type of basil that is sold at supermarkets here in Australia (Coles, Woolies, Harris Farms) and used in Thai restaurants.  Because my closest Asian store is a trek away, I usually make this with Thai Basil.
If you can't find Thai or Holy Basil, this is still totally worth making using normal basil. The sauce has a strong flavour and dominates, the basil is the fragrant accent flavour.
2. Garlic - Finely chopping the garlic rather than minced it (or using jarred garlic) stops it from burning quickly and spitting when it hits the hot wok.
3. Soy sauces - can sub light soy sauce or both the light and dark soy with ordinary all purpose soy (like Kikkoman). Or can use just light soy sauce. Flavour not quite as intense as it should be and colour will be paler, but still super tasty.
Do not use JUST dark soy sauce, flavour will be too intense.
4. Serving size - This recipe makes one giant serving or 2 reasonable sized servings. Complete the meal with a simple side of juicy slices of cucumber and tomato with no dressing - this is very Thai! Refreshing accompaniment to spicy Thai food.
5. Nutrition per serving excluding rice.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 160gCalories: 360cal (18%)Carbohydrates: 5g (2%)Protein: 19g (38%)Fat: 29g (45%)Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)Cholesterol: 110mg (37%)Sodium: 588mg (26%)Potassium: 231mg (7%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 148IU (3%)Vitamin C: 2mg (2%)Calcium: 14mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: thai basil chicken, Thai chicken, thai recipes, thai stir fry
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Originally published in July 2014, updated with fresh new (better!) photos, new words, a brand new recipe video and of course I added a Life of Dozer section!

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378 Comments

  1. Bridget says

    April 12, 2025 at 5:19 pm

    So good! I added broccoli florets and sliced carrot. I also increased the other ingredients a bit as the amounts seemed a little light. Fresh basil and chilli is the key here

    Reply
  2. Liz Moore says

    March 28, 2025 at 7:53 pm

    4 stars
    Another winner Nagi! Chef’s kiss! 😘

    Reply
  3. Rosie says

    January 27, 2025 at 9:21 pm

    5 stars
    WOW!! Absolutely amazing!! Doubled this recipe and added some chopped broccolini towards the end. Perfect for our family of 4. Really loved the taste of the thai basil in this dish. Will definitely be making this again.

    Reply
  4. Shauna says

    January 23, 2025 at 6:39 pm

    Yummy as always!

    I will say the servings seem to be off on this one? I hovered to 1.1kg because that’s how much chicken I had a love leftovers and apparently that was 10 servings. I’d say it was closer to 5. Super delicious though!

    Reply
  5. Grace says

    January 11, 2025 at 6:48 am

    5 stars
    Omg Nagi, this was sooo good! Very simple recipe yet I feel like I won’t be doing takeouts anymore. I’d have to recommend for those who are going to make this, stick to using thai basil than the regular one. It makes a whole lot difference to the dish. I added more oyster sauce, used gluten-free soy sauce and white onions (I don’t have the spring onion). Thanks for this quick but tasty recipe, Nagi!

    Reply
    • Grace says

      January 11, 2025 at 6:54 am

      I forgot to say I used chicken breast since I didn’t have chicken thighs. And also added pepper while frying the chicken. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Pam says

    November 17, 2024 at 5:04 am

    This looks fabulous and I just bought a huge package Thai basil from the restaurant supply store just for this recipe . QUESTION: I have dried red Thai peppers. Will that work and would I use the same amount?

    Reply
  7. Rita Sakr says

    October 23, 2024 at 7:57 pm

    5 stars
    Fabulous recipe. So tastey; just like the restaurants. I love Thai chilli basil stir fry dishes. I’ve been looking for recipes for a long time. This is by far the best. Now I can make it so quickly at home. Thank you so much for sharing this ❤️.

    Reply
  8. Angela Chau says

    August 10, 2024 at 6:34 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve made this several times, along with your drunken noodles recipe (to try and use up the package of basil I get for this recipe). It’s on regular rotation in my home, thanks for the tasty and easy recipe!

    Reply
  9. Campbell Davis says

    August 2, 2024 at 4:47 am

    5 stars
    5 stars

    Reply
  10. Juli says

    July 24, 2024 at 4:21 am

    5 stars
    Like a few other comments, I used this as a base and did a clean out the veg drawer stir fry with chicken thighs and the delicious simple sauce! Add in the Thai Basil and we were all scraping the bowls. Really delicious recipe.

    Reply
  11. Rick Georgesco says

    July 16, 2024 at 4:52 am

    5 stars
    I appreciate your site, work, and recipes. Excellent work.
    I’m in L.A., US and even if we have a lot of places, sites,…. it’s still great to find a number of great Asian recipes and many others. Thanks!

    Reply
  12. Nisha says

    July 8, 2024 at 12:57 pm

    5 stars
    I live in the middle of nowhere so I had to make do with regular basil (added just at the end) and this recipe had everyone licking their plates. Served with lemongrass tea (literally sliced lemongrass steeped in boiling water for two minutes, so easy! Somehow I managed to obtain that but not thai basil!) for a complete thai experience. Yum. Now I am actually growing my own thai basil plants so that I can make this. It’s that good.

    Reply
  13. Evan Ridgway says

    July 2, 2024 at 11:25 am

    5 stars
    Great recipe! I had some mushrooms left in the fridge that needed to get used up so I subbed them for the chicken. I also added a bit of grated ginger. It was fantastic and so easy!

    Reply
  14. Phoebe says

    June 23, 2024 at 5:25 pm

    5 stars
    Have made this many times because it’s a family favourite. I’ve discovered that if I’m making a big batch I need to omit the water, otherwise the pan isn’t hot enough and it goes watery. Love this recipe, thanks again Nagi!

    Reply
  15. Leslie Monteyne says

    June 12, 2024 at 11:26 am

    5 stars
    Delicious and probably the simplest version of this recipe that I have found. Made as written using chicken breast, with two small additions – a quarter of a red onion, chopped, and half a yellow pepper, sliced. Next time I will probably 1.5 x the sauce to have just a bit extra.

    Reply
  16. Katie Hargreave says

    May 1, 2024 at 6:54 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe in our house! Super simple and quick, we grow the Thai basil and the rest of the ingredients are already in the pantry. Winner winner, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  17. Barbara Hallett Wegner says

    April 1, 2024 at 12:28 pm

    5 stars
    I give it a 5 + star but I have say I did the sauce as recipe love it. But I did add a bunch more veggies and a little bit of grated ginger. So I did not follow your recipe only the sauce which is a 10 star with my family.

    Reply
  18. Naomi says

    March 16, 2024 at 9:37 pm

    5 stars
    This is so delicious! I doubled the recipe so my husband and I could have leftovers to take for lunch the next day, but the quantities for four serves is more for three. The sauce is so versatile, that I would use it for any stir fry. This is joining our regular dinner rotation. Thanks, Nagi!

    Reply
  19. Chels says

    March 11, 2024 at 9:16 pm

    5 stars
    This dish was a hit! So full of flavour and so quick to put together. I doubled the sauce and added a heap of veg, then topped with crispy onions. Absolutely adding this to the rotation. Thanks Nagi

    Reply
  20. Lianajc says

    February 1, 2024 at 5:04 am

    5 stars
    So quick to prepare and cook and tastes absolutely amazing. This will be my new go to recipe on busy work days

    Reply
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