My favorite thing from Big Bowl home edition. Fortunately you can download a copy of this cookbook to your tablet or Kindle through Overdrive.
Shrimp and Chicken with Thai Basil and Red Onion
4 ounces boneless chicken breast, sliced
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sesame oil, Kadoya
brand preferred
½ teaspoon salt, do
not double if increasing the recipe
4 ounces shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut in half
lengthwise, I have yet to make this with
shrimp
3 tablespoons fish sauce, Flying Crab brand preferred
2 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
5 teaspoons sugar
1 cup peanut oil or canola oil
1 cup cut-up red onions (cut into 1-inch square pieces)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
1 teaspoon fresh garlic minced
1 teaspoon finely minced lemongrass, the lemongrass in a tube works great, thanks Moe
¼ cup tightly packed Thai basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped roasted peanuts, I skip this
2 teaspoons ground dried shrimp, I skip this
Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish, I only use this if I have it on hand
Put the chicken breast in a small bowl and mix with 1
teaspoon of the cornstarch, ½ teaspoon of sesame oil and the ½ teaspoon of
salt. Add the shrimp to the bowl. Mix in the remaining cornstarch and sesame oil.
Set aside.
Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar.
In a wok or skillet, heat 1 cup of peanut oil over
medium-high heat. When hot but not smoking, add the chicken and shrimp, and
cook, stirring to separate the pieces. When the pieces change color, remove to
a colander to drain, reserving the oil.
Heat a clean wok or skillet to hot and add ¼ cup of the
reserved oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring until they just become
transparent. Add the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and stir briefly. Turn the
heat to high and re-add the chicken and shrimp. Stir and add the fish sauce
mixture. Bring just to a boil, stir in the basil, and remove from the heat.
Stir in the peanuts and dried shrimp. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with
rice.
Serves 2 to 3 as part of a larger meal.
Maura’s adaptation:
When I make this for my family of 5 I usually slice up 4
boneless chicken breast and omit the shrimp altogether. I triple the amount of
cornstarch and sesame oil but not the salt.
I double the sauce mixture as follows:
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/3 cup lime juice
3 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of water
I double the red onion and often times add a mixture of red,
yellow and orange peppers to stretch it.
I skip the peanuts and dried shimp.
I use only enough oil to sauté the chicken then I wipe out
the pan and add only enough oil to sauté the onions and peppers.
I serve it over jasmine rice
