Thai Basil Chicken & Coconut Rice

When you first start growing herbs at home, you can easily go overboard with all the options. Can you relate? Like, “Ooh, let’s grow stevia and make our own sweetener” or “Maybe we should try growing this lemongrass and make our own tea leaves”. Yep, been there, bought the t-shirt. Then you end up with so many herbs that you’ll never use and don’t quite know what to do with. You can’t even give them away, because nobody else knows what to do with them either. Nowadays, I stick with the basics – parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, basil and mint. Oh, and tarragon. I love tarragon.

However, even I will sometimes fall into the trap, and this year, I planted Thai basil. As the beautiful, narrow leaves started to grow on its purplish stems, I got nervous. Would this be yet another exotic herb that I didn’t do anything with and ended up being a waste of time and money? Well friends, I’m happy to report that that has not been the case. I’m going to be dropping some amazing Thai basil recipes on your asses this summer, and you’re gonna love them! Let’s kick it off with this delicious and highly addictive Thai Basil Chicken & Coconut Rice.

What is the difference between Thai basil and regular?

But before we do, let me ask – have you ever tried Thai basil? It’s commonly used in Thai and Vietnamese cooking, and lends a very mild anise flavor to curries and stir fry sauces. It reminds me in some ways of tarragon, but with a slightly bolder flavor profile. It smells heavenly, too. It’s milder in flavor than regular sweet basil, so you can use more of it. It also is more heat-friendly than regular basil, meaning you can cook it into a dish and it will hold up nicely.

In this Thai Basil Chicken & Coconut Rice, we’re finishing our sauce with a whole heap of it, just before serving. The sauce itself is loaded with amazing garlicky, umami flavors. It thickens up in the skillet thanks to the coconut milk, and really sticks to the veggies and the rice.

What is in traditional Thai Basil Chicken?

Thai Basil Chicken is a popular dish on many restaurant menus. Traditional ingredients include garlic, soy sauce, bell peppers and – naturally – lots of Thai basil leaves. For this recipe, I used green beans from the garden and one red bell pepper. If you want to take a short cut, just grab a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables and throw them in.

The sauce is gluten and dairy free, as long as you use gluten free soy sauce. In fact, the entire recipe for this Thai Basil Chicken & Coconut Rice is gluten and dairy free. And guess what – we literally could not stop eating it.

How to make the Coconut Rice

As if the saucy, herby, garlicky chicken wasn’t amazing enough, we became fully addicted to the rice. I’m giving credit to the coconut milk. Being honest, I have not cooked with coconut milk all that much. Although it’s widely used in vegan cooking as a substitute for dairy, I never liked how it made whatever I was eating taste like coconut. That is, unless I actually wanted what I was eating to taste like coconut. And this coconut rice tastes exactly how I want it to taste.

Instead of cooking the rice in water, we are using coconut milk and chicken broth as the liquid. The coconut milk makes the rice so incredibly creamy, sticky and satisfying. It’s almost like risotto. I could eat an entire bowl of it just by itself. It’s that good.

The Big Guy especially was just shoveling into his mouth in forkfuls and asked if I could make coconut rice every day thereafter. And I’m seriously considering granting his request.

See for yourself and let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Thai Basil Chicken & Coconut Rice

Tender chicken with green beans and red bell peppers in a gluten free, dairy free, sweet and spicy sauce

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

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The Chicken

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 1/2 cups green beans
• 1 cup red bell pepper diced
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• Tbsp. garlic minced
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 cup Thai basil roughly chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper sliced thin

The Rice

• 1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. kosher salt

Instructions

 

• In a bowl, combine the coconut milk, chicken broth, fish sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar and cornstarch.
• Slice the chicken breast into long strips. Heat 2 Tbsp. of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken until browned on both sides and juices run clear, about 8 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
• Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, green beans, peppers and garlic to the pan and saute until slightly softened, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add chicken back in. Stir in the coconut milk mixture and simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the Thai basil and jalapeños.
• To make the rice, bring coconut milk, chicken broth, sugar and salt to a boil. Stir in the rice and lower heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.

Keyword chicken, dairy free, dinner, gluten free, thai basil

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