A Little Taste of Thai

In an attempt to add more variety to our evening family meals, and remind my darling husband that I CAN make food that is not only good for you, but also tastes good too; I've been trying a few new recipes this week.

My goal was to keep my grocery list the same, and use a lot of the same ingedients in meals, but have them taste very different without having to go out and buy special spices and such.

One of my favorite types of food is Thai... especially if it is made with fresh whole ingredients, so I decided I would use up the big bunch of quickly wilting basil from my fridge and make:

Thai Basil Chicken

tasted better then this photo shows 

It was quite delicious if I do say so myself, and super easy to make. I always use whatever I have on hand, in this case, I only had wild rice in my pantry which was a good base, but I think plain brown rice would have been even better.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts or boneless thighs (skinless and cut into strips)
1 tbl coconut oil
1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy)
1 med onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 cup chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 tbl fish sauce
3/4 cup coconut milk or cream

1 cup rice (rinse and cook with 2 cups of water ahead of time)

Directions:

• Heat oil in a stir fry pan, or wok. Add onions and garlic and cook for a couple minutes (until onions are translucent).
• Add chicken strips and cook for about 5 min or until the chicken is cooked through. Add chopped cabbage and cook 5 more minutes.
• Add the remaining ingredients: basil, cilantro, fish sauce and pepper flakes, and stir all together while cooking for another minute.
• Finally, add the coconut cream/ milk and cook for yet another 5 min until sauce has reduced a little (stirring a few times)
• Serve over a scoop or rice and garnish with slice of lime or sprig of cilantro. You could easily serve over soba or rice noodles as well.
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It was a hit with the whole family, and I will be making it again for sure! Another great example of how great tasting food doesn't have to be complicated, or take a lot or time or skill to make.