[Sca-cooks] Re: Thai Basil

[Louise Smithson]

Phillipa wrote:
Amongst the herbs I planted, is Thai basil. I never had it before. It
has a
kind of licorice taste to it.  What do I do with it? Anybody got any
good
recipes?

My favorite way of using Thai basil (of which I plant as much of as
Genovese Basil in my garden) is a dish called Khai Pad Gaprao - chicken
with holy basil
Ingredients
2 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoon chopped shallots (or substitute onions)
2 tablespoon chopped chillis (or less to taste if you are not feeling up
to scorched tonsils)
quarter cup fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar (or white sugar)
1 cup chopped holy basil (thai basil) leaves
1 pound chicken that has either been ground or minced finely

Method
Grind chillis, onions, and garlic together in a mortar and pestle or
food processor.  Fry in a hot wok with a little oil until fragrant
(about 1 minute), add chicken, fry another minute, add the remaining
ingredients, stir and cook until the chicken is completely cooked.
Serve over rice.
Easy quick and totally fantastic.