thai basil chicken (gai pad krapo)

as someone who grew up

deathly - not an exaggeration -

allergic to eggs, it is kind of

weird for me to realize that two

posts in a row, not only involve

eggs, but feature them front and center.

but lest you worry about my

need for benadryl or a hospital

(i was lucky enough

to lose the allergy by college),

my cholesterol (we actually ate these

dinners over a week and a half apart)

or this blog becoming an

egg-obsessed one,

don't.

this recipe is all about the tender,

fragrant, basil-laced chicken.

and chicken?

that's not something i speak

so much about. seriously,

the last time i wrote about chicken,

it was july. so, be assured - if i'm

telling you about this recipe, i'm committed.

the egg?

just a coincidence.

--

i often have restaurant guilt -

not necessarily because it's so bad

to treat yourself to a night out,

but because i often find myself thinking,

isn't a perk of being able to cook

that you don't have to go out to dinner?

yes, there are dishes i'll never have the

desire to try at home, like...

ok, i'll admit that i just had to consult larry.

it just took us five minutes to come up with

something i'd never ever attempt to make.

we landed on shrimp tempura

(i am not a deep fryer, but probably

my arm could be twisted in the

right situation),

a wedding cake (see: name of blog)

and haggis (which i'd also never eat).

ok, i know that even though,

a night out is about much more than

even the food,

like getting out of the house,

socializing,

not worrying about timing

five different elements of one meal,

my point is this:

i like to try to make new things.

and this:

often it's a much cheaper,

more satisfying experience.

so when i came across this

year-old thai recipe on serious eats,

i was instantly in.

it had everything i need for

a weeknight dinner:

speed,

serious flavor,

a better-than-the-restaurant possibility

and a bonus: meat for larry.

and even though

neither of us had ever ordered

gai pad krapo

in a restaurant, i felt

assured that it is something

we could have ordered.

the good news:

this dish was incredibly

restaurant-worthy and

absolutely satisfying.

after some basic prep work:

slicing shallots,

chopping garlic,

mincing two serranos,

trimming and shortening

green beans,

i was ready to go.

as the first three ingredients

sizzled in the skillet,

i got the chicken ready,

pulled out the sugar and

flipped the cap off the fish sauce.

that was kind of it.

this dish came together simply

and as expected, with one exception.

as the chicken browned -

a very curious thing happened.

the whole mixture turned

a very dark brown,

most closely resembling

ground beef. i fished the

package out of the garbage

to make sure i hadn't made

an accidental purchase, but

no, it said chicken.

when larry walked in a

few minutes later,

he told me that everything

smelled good and then he

looked down at the skillet

and asked, is that beef?

that felt like victory to me.

somewhere in the prep,

i had also gently fried two eggs,

kept an eye on a simmering

saucepot of brown rice and

made a fish sauce-based

dipping sauce, which i'll give

you the recipe to,

but i understand if at this

point you think i've

gone overboard with

fish sauce sauces.

maybe because of

this or this.

to serve,

my eye traveled back

and forth from plate to bowl.

but, when we sat down to eat,

i was glad for piling the

rice, egg and chicken

on top of each other, rather than assembling

everything onto a plate.

it wasn't so pretty,

but, it tasted like comfort food

and like so many other cozy dishes,

it belonged in an unpretentious bowl.

i turned to larry, curious

what he would think of this

take on takeout.

after his first bite,

he turned to me and said,

this is good. this is really good.

i would order this in a restaurant.

and just like that:

a restaurant dinner at home.

thai basil chicken (gai pad krapo)

adapted from serious eats

i doubled the recipe so that we'd have leftovers - but it was one of those running around in a grocery store trying to do math and sometimes failing situations. i upped the shallots from one to three (purposely), only went with two serranos instead of four to six (purposely), upped the sugar by one and half times the original (gladly) and only bought one bunch of basil (accidentally). next time, i will probably add another serrano or two and i will absolutely use more basil. but it's up to you to decide how much you love basil and how much spice you can handle.

instead of placing it all on a plate, i opted to smoosh it all together in one bowl. i started with brown long grain rice, topped it with an over-easy egg and then, the chicken. to me, it made sense to eat them all together, but if you like your food separate, plate it up. also, about that egg, i'm not quite sure why i flipped it...it was good, but sunny-side up would have been, too.

2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3-4 serrano peppers, halved, seeded and finely chopped (you could also use less of red thai chilies if you can find them)

3 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

6 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2" lengths

1 pound ground chicken

1/4 cup fish sauce, plus more if desired

1 tablespoon sugar, plus more if desired

2 bunches basil, leaves only

in wok or large skillet over high heat, heat oil until shimmering. add serranos, shallots and garlic and cook 1 minute, or until nearly golden, stirring constantly. add green beans and cook 3 minutes, or until softened, but still crunchy.

add grown chicken; using wood spoon or spatula, break up the meat into small pieces. cook 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, stirring often.

add fish sauce and sugar to pan; stir to combine. add more fish sauce or sugar, if desired.

add basil leaves; reduce heat to medium-low. cook 1 minute, or until leaves are completely wilted.

you could serve this on its own, but brown rice (or white) and an egg with a runny yolk will make it a complete meal. once it was on the table, we drizzled with the fish sauce mixture, below.

nam pla prik (chili fish sauce)

it almost seems silly to give you yet another fish sauce dipping sauce, but they're all a little different and you never know when you'll stumble upon one that's perfect for you. i left out the chilies, that were supposed to be in this one (but i'm keeping in the recipe), and also added garlic. and this one, really wasn't even a recipe as much as a guideline - which can sometimes be fun. if your finished sauce is too intense, add water.

3 to 4 parts fish sauce

1 to 2 parts lime juice

1 chili, finely chopped (or more)

1 shallot, thinly sliced (or more)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or more)

whisk together all ingredients; taste and adjust seasoning.