Why You’ll Love This this Spicy Thai Basil Chicken Fried Rice
This recipe brings together everything I crave in one bowl – tender chicken, fragrant Thai basil, and that perfect balance of salty, sweet, and spicy that makes you forget you’re eating leftovers. The whole thing comes together in about 15 minutes, which is basically a miracle when you’re standing in your kitchen wondering how to turn yesterday’s rice into tonight’s dinner. Plus, you get to use a wok or big skillet and feel like a proper stir-fry chef, even if you’re just winging it with whatever basil you found at the grocery store.
Ingredients List
You’ll need just a handful of ingredients to create this flavor-packed dish that transforms boring leftover rice into something worth getting excited about.
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Thai red chili pepper
- 8 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 cups cold cooked rice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons chopped shallots
- 1/3 cup Thai holy basil (regular basil works fine)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
A few things to keep in mind about these ingredients:
- Fish sauce and soy sauce pack serious sodium, so if you’re watching salt intake, you might want to use low-sodium versions or cut back slightly on the amounts
- The sugar adds that authentic Thai balance, but you can reduce it to 2 teaspoons if you’re cutting back on added sugars
- Chicken breast is lean protein, which is great, though you could swap in chicken thighs for more flavor if you don’t mind a bit more fat
- Using day-old rice isn’t just traditional, it’s actually better for you since cooled rice has more resistant starch, which acts like fiber in your body
Step by Step Directions
This authentic Thai dish comes together quickly in a hot wok with just a few simple steps that build layers of bold, aromatic flavor.
- Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add 3 minced garlic cloves and stir-fry until golden brown and fragrant.
- Add 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Thai red chili pepper and 8 ounces bite-sized chicken breast pieces.
- Stir-fry until chicken is fully cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add 2 cups cold cooked rice, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
- Stir-fry gently, mixing all ingredients until well combined and rice is heated through.
- Add 2 tablespoons chopped shallots, 1/3 cup Thai holy basil leaves, and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro.
- Cook for another minute until herbs are wilted and fragrant.
- Serve immediately with optional lime wedges, chile sauce, fish sauce, or soy sauce on the side.
For best results, use a professional carbon steel wok which provides superior heat distribution and retention for authentic stir-fry cooking.
Substitutions and Variations
- Protein flexibility – ground chicken, pork, or beef all work beautifully here, just adjust your cooking time accordingly since ground meat cooks faster than chunks.
- Shallot emergency? A small yellow onion does the trick, though you’ll lose some of that sweet, mild flavor that makes shallots so perfect for Asian cooking.
- Want extra vegetables? Toss in some green beans, baby corn, or diced carrots with the chicken – just remember this dish is supposed to be fairly simple, not a kitchen-sink situation.
Additional Things to Serve With This Dish
This dish is pretty fantastic on its own, but a few simple sides can turn it into a proper feast.
- Fried egg on top – because to be frank, everything is better with a runny yolk dripping down through that spicy rice, and it’s basically the traditional way to serve kao pad krapao anyway.
- Fresh cucumber slices – they provide that cool, crisp contrast your mouth desperately needs after all that chili heat, plus they’re ridiculously easy to prep.
- Thai-style omelet – if you want to get fancy, whip up one of those puffy, golden omelets that Thai cooks somehow make look effortless, though mine always end up looking like scrambled egg pancakes.
- Simple vegetable stir-fry – maybe some Chinese broccoli or bok choy with garlic, because we should probably eat our vegetables, even when we’re indulging in this carb-heavy goodness.
- Mango sticky rice for dessert – okay, this might be overkill, but if you’re already going full Thai feast mode, why not finish strong with something sweet and coconutty.
Cooking Tips & Tricks (Chef’s Notes)
After years of watching Thai cooks make this look ridiculously easy, I’ve picked up a few tricks that’ll save you from the disaster I call my first attempt.
- Use day-old rice, seriously – fresh rice turns into a mushy nightmare because it’s too wet, and nobody wants rice porridge when they’re craving that perfect grain separation that makes you feel like a proper chef.
- Get your wok screaming hot – we’re talking so hot that oil shimmers the second it hits the pan, because that’s what gives you those slightly charred edges and that smoky flavor called “wok hei” that separates restaurant-quality from sad home cooking.
- Don’t crowd the chicken – if you dump all those pieces in at once, they’ll steam instead of getting that golden-brown sear, and steamed chicken in fried rice is just depressing.
- Have everything prepped before you start – this dish moves fast once you begin, and there’s nothing worse than frantically mincing garlic while your rice burns because you thought you could multitask like some kind of kitchen superhero.
- Add the basil at the very end – holy basil wilts in about thirty seconds, and if you add it too early, you’ll end up with sad, blackened leaves instead of those bright green flecks that make the dish look Instagram-worthy.
- Taste as you go with the fish sauce – some brands are saltier than others, and the last thing you want is rice so salty it makes your face scrunch up like you just bit into a lemon.
Nutritional Facts
Quick breakdown of what you’re getting in each serving of this Thai favorite.
- Calories: Approximately 380-420 per serving (recipe serves 2-3)
- Protein: 25-30g from the chicken breast, making this a solid post-workout meal
- Carbohydrates: 45-50g primarily from the jasmine rice
- Fat: 12-15g mostly from the vegetable oil used for stir-frying
- Sodium: 800-1000mg largely due to fish sauce and soy sauce (about 40% daily value)
- Fiber: 2-3g from the vegetables and herbs
- Sugar: 6-8g including the added tablespoon plus natural sugars from shallots
- Iron: 15% daily value from the chicken and fortified soy sauce
- Vitamin C: 25% daily value thanks to fresh chilies and cilantro
- Potassium: 400-500mg from chicken and fresh herbs
- No significant amounts: Calcium, though you’ll get small amounts from the leafy herbs
Fun “Did You Know?”
The dish originated as street food, where vendors needed quick, flavorful meals using affordable ingredients.
Holy basil, different from sweet basil, gives it that distinctive peppery kick.
Today’s version maintains those humble roots while delivering restaurant-quality flavors in your kitchen.
