Chicken Basil - This is very good and fast to make!

Chicken Basil, or Gai Pad Gra Pow, is one of the classics of Thai food and is surprising easy to make. You know you've made Chicken Basil right when the heat from the chili peppers plays just under the flavor of the gra pow and the fish sauce. Don't be afraid to use what seems like an excessive amount of gra pow leaves - they make the dish.

2 Servings

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2	tablespoons	vegetable oil
4-7		Thai chili pepper, minced
1	tablespoon	sugar
1-2	packages	holy basil
1/2	lb	ground chicken
1	tablespoon	garlic, minced
3	tablespoons	fish sauce

Tips and substitutions
You can substitute ground turkey or pork for ground chicken. Some people like the meat cut up in bite size piecesrather than ground.

In Thai restaurants in America, Sweet basil or Thai basil is usually used for this dish. While an acceptable substitute, it is not quite the same.

Mince garlic and chili pepper together. Clean and pick gra-pow leaves from their stem. It may appear like a lot of leaves, but the leaves will shrink when cooked and this dish's flavor comes from the leaves.

Fry the garlic and chili pepper in oil over high heat. When garlic starts to turn brown, drop the ground chicken in. Stir constantly. The juice will start to come out. Keep stirring until all the juice is gone. It might take a couple of minutes. Add sugar and fish sauce. Then add Thai basil. Quickly turn it over a few times to mix the leaves with the meat and then remove from the fire and put the gai pad gra pow in the serving plate or dishes. Serve hot with rice.

Photo by Emily Sterne Photography

Panko Crusted Eggplant Chips with Dijon-Sour Cream Dip

Episode 709: Panko/Dijon Mustard

Serves 4

Ingredients

All ingredients A-Z

1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup panko
2 Japanese eggplant, sliced on the bias into 1/3-inch chips, salted lightly for 3 hours and rinsed well. Pat dry
1 minced shallot
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup sour cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Canola oil for frying

Directions

Prepare a stockpot/deep wok with canola oil filled 1/3 way and heat to 350 degrees. Panier the eggplant, and fry until golden, brown and delicious. Meanwhile, combine the shallot, Dijon mustard and sour cream, season. Serve.

Yesterday I tried making some breaded chicken fingers with Panko (a japanese style bread crumb that is a little lighter and flakier than italian ). It was very good, with fresh herbs added! I got the recipe off of SimplyMing.com . I like to watch his shows on PBS, and try some of his recipes now and then.

The key is to get the oil very hot (350 degs.), and I used a ziplock bag to mix everything, then just toss the egged-up chicken in the bag to coat.
I haven't figured out how to paste the recipe on here yet, but I will when I figure this blogging stuff out.

Seeya!