Thai Basil Chicken

Yields: 5-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper

4 large cloves garlic

1 onion

1 lb chicken

1 cup fresh basil

Peanut oil (for frying)

Sprinkle of coriander (optional)

Chicken marinade:

1.5 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

1 heaping tbsp cornstarch

Heaping .5 tbsp salt

Sauce: 3 heaping tbsp oyster sauce 2.5 tbsp light soy sauce 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce

Side (optional): Sunny side up eggs (1 per serving)

Steps:

1. Dice your onion and garlic cloves, and julienne your red bell pepper. Set aside.

2. Stir Chinese cooking wine, cornstarch and salt until smooth in a bowl and set aside.

3. Dice your chicken breasts horizontally as thinly as you can (usually you can halve your breasts about 3-4 times each) and then cut against the grain vertically into strips or pieces. Add your chicken pieces into the marinade bowl and mix to cover them evenly. Let this chicken marinade for as long as it takes to cook the other ingredients first.

4. Heat a nonstick skillet to medium heat and add peanut oil. Sauté the red bell peppers and onion until soft and beginning to yellow, about ten minutes. Add in the garlic last, and sauté for about one more minute.

5. While vegetables are sauteing, mix up your sauce in a bowl. (This is also a good time to start your rice cooker, if you are making rice.)

6. Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside on a plate. Add more peanut oil to the pan if needed, and sear your chicken until just white and browning on both sides. Do this in batches so as not to crowd; no need to cook all the way through. Set aside as you go.

7. When all the chicken has been seared, add it all back to the pan. Add the pepper/onion/garlic mixture back as well. Cover everything with your sauce and stir until your chicken just finishes cooking through.

8. Add the basil in and cook until wilted, about one minute. (Optional: Sprinkle some coriander and stir again.) Use the same pan to cook sunny-side up eggs, if desired.