Phat Horapha Gai Thod ผัดโหระพาไก่ ทอด Fried Chicken Stir Fried With Thai Basil

Finally there are some good Thai cafes opening up around Melbourne that serve reasonably authentic Thai street food. One of the dishes we ordered during a recent visit to such a place inspired me to cook this on a very cold Melbourne night. Gone are the rather thick battered thigh fillets, in their place are my favourite chicken spareribs lightly coated with corn flour and fried till golden and crispy. If you are not a fan of deep fried food check out the equally comforting phat horapha gai sab (stir fried minced chicken with Thai basil). I think Thai food is making a comeback at the tummies' so stay tuned!

serve 2 to 4 as part of a Thai meal
you'll need;
500 g of chicken spareribs
a handful of green beans, topped and tailed and halved crosswise
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 red chillies, sliced
1/2 an brown onion, sliced
1/2 tbs of chili flakes
1 bunch of Thai basil, picked
2 tbs of oyster sauce
1 tbs of light soy
1.5 tbs of fish sauce
1 tbs of sugar
dash of mountain sauce or Maggi seasoning sauce (optional)
1/4 cup of water
oil for frying

marinade for the chicken;
1/2 tbs of light soy
1/2 tbs of oyster sauce
dash of cooking wine
dash of white pepper
dash of sesame oil
about 1/3 cup of corn flour

Prepare the ingredients.

Marinate chicken with all the ingredients except for the corn flour for at least 30 minutes. Drain off excess liquid and coat chicken spareribs with corn flour.

Shallow fry chicken spareribs in batches until light golden, remove and drain well. Turn up the heat and fry chicken a second time until golden and crispy, drain well and set aside.

Saute garlic, chili and onion slices for 30 seconds then add in the green beans and chili flakes. Cook on high heat for a further 30 seconds.

Add seasonings and mix well. Pour in 1/3 cup of water and let the sauce reduce a little.

Return chicken to the pan together with the Thai basil leaves, turn the heat off and mix well. 

Serve immediately with plenty of steamed rice.