Thai Basil Chicken Rice

Thai basil chicken rice is a flavourful stir-fried rice dish. It combines the savoury taste of stir-fried chicken with the aromatic freshness of basil, creating a balance of spicy and umami tastes.

For this recipe, we have used People’s Choice Aromatic Basmati Rice Gold, provided to us by one of our partners, STO. People’s Choice Aromatic Basmati Rice Gold is a low fat, superior quality of rice, suitable for those following a healthy lifestyle.

To cook this rice, we have used Hitachi Rice Cooker, also provided to us by STO. This double cooker has 8 different versatile cooking functions – cake, steam, sticky, porridge, white, jasmine, brown, and mixed grain – meaning there are endless possibilities of rice dishes that you can make using this cooker.

Serving Size: 2-3

Ingredients:

For the omelette

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 egg
• 1/8 tsp salt (to season the egg)

For the marinated chicken

• 350g thinly cut chicken breast
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar

For the rice

• 1 cup People’s Choice Aromatic Basmati Rice Gold (washed and drained)
• 2 cups water
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tbsp oil

For the stir-fry sauce

• ¼ cup oyster sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar

For the chilli paste

• 5 chopped bird’s eye chillies (or 10 chillies if smaller in size)
• 3 tbsp chopped garlic
• ¼ tsp salt

For the fried rice

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup chopped spring onion (white part of the spring onion)
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp chopped spring onion

Instructions:

1. Into a small pan, pour in 1 tsp oil and heat it up for 30 seconds. Crack 1 egg and let it cook for 1 minute on low heat. Sprinkle 1/8 tsp salt to season the omelette and flip onto its other side and let it cook for 30 seconds. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, add in 350g thinly cut chicken breast, 1 tbsp light soy sauce and 1 tbsp sugar. Mix well and set aside. Let it marinate for 30-45 minutes.
3. Into the Hitachi Rice Cooker, add 1 cup People’s Choice Aromatic Basmati Rice (washed and drained), 2 cups water, ½ tsp salt and 1 ½ tbsp oil. Choose the ‘white’ option from the menu, then press cook and leave the rice to cook for 50-55 minutes or until done.
4. In the meantime, make the stir-fry sauce. To a small bowl, add in ¼ cup oyster sauce, 1 tsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce and 1 tbsp sugar. Mix all the ingredients well and set aside.
5. Then, into a mortar or a small bowl, add 3 tbsp chopped garlic, 5 chopped bird’s eye chillies and ¼ tsp salt. Grind using a pestle until it becomes a paste. Alternatively, you can also use a grinder for this. Set the chilli paste aside.
6. Add 3 tbsp oil into a large pot or pan and let the oil heat up at high heat for 30 seconds. Add 1/3 cup chopped spring onion and stir well for 1 minute or until its fragrant. Then, add in the chili mixture and mix well for another minute.
7. Next, add in the marinated chicken and stir occasionally for 3 minutes. Then, add 1 tsp dark soy sauce and continue stirring for 2 more minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.
8. Now, add the cooked rice and the stir-fry sauce, mixing all the ingredients together for 3 minutes or until the rice is fully mixed with the sauce. Then, add 1 tbsp lime juice and 1 cup Thai basil leaves and give it a final good mix for 2 minutes or until the leaves wilt. Turn off the heat.
9. Serve the rice with the omelette and ½ tsp chopped spring onion on top. Enjoy!