Fried Rice with Chicken and Basil
From "Flavors of Thailand" — a quick Thai-style basil fried rice, served with a traditional Vietnamese nuoc mam cham dipping sauce so guests can season their rice to taste. Difficulty: easy.
Ingredients
| 1 | small chicken, cooked and deboned | |
| 2 cloves | garlic, crushed | |
| 2 | small chili peppers, crushed (optional) | |
| 20 | basil leaves | |
| 4 tbsp | 60 ml | oil |
| 2 | green onions | |
| 2 tbsp | 30 ml | nuoc mam (fish sauce), or soy sauce |
| 1 liter (4 cups) | cooked long-grain rice |
Instructions
- Cook the rice in the usual way.
- Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the chili.
- Add the chicken, fish sauce and basil.
- When the chicken is heated through, add the rice over high heat and stir until well combined.
- Serve hot, placing small dishes of nuoc mam on the table so that guests can season their rice to taste.
Quick version using raw chicken: Increase the oil to 125 ml (1/2 cup); add the diced or sliced raw chicken at step 3, then cover and cook 2–3 minutes before adding the basil and sauce.
Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham): In a small bowl, combine 1 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup lime juice or vinegar, 1/4 cup fish sauce, 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic and 2 finely chopped small red chilies until the sugar dissolves. Serve alongside your favorite dishes. Store leftovers in an airtight jar in the fridge and use within a week. Yields about 1 3/4 cups.