The inspiration recipe below sounded delicious, but what really interested me was the thought of the floral notes associated with basil, in conjunction with fish sauce which L., if allowed, would drink straight from the bottle in all its funky glory. I therefore eliminated most of the chili and the garlic of the original dish in order to concentrate on those flavors and decided that I needed black pepper to tie everything together while toning down the sweetness of the basil.
I am sure that the original recipe was perfectly yummy but L. and I hoovered up my version in an embarrasingly short time. My version was stewed rather than pan seared like the original so my dish lacked the caramelization present in the photo attached to the inspiration recipe. When I make this again, I may add that particular step back in.
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" cubes
1 white onion, peeled, halved and cut into thin half moons
1 small chili pepper, very finely diced
1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper (straight from the jar is fine, or you can use a floral pepper like Telicherry or grain of Selim and crack it yourself to take this dish over the top)
2 Tbsps soy sauce
2 Tbsps fish sauce
2 tsps brown sugar
1 1/2 cups julienned basil leaves
1 tsp vegetable oil
Mix the soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces and stir to combine. Set aside to marinate.
Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. As soon as the oil starts to shimmer, add the onion and chili and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until the onion pieces are translucent.
Tip in the chicken and marinade into the pan and lower the heat. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup and a quarter of the julienned basil leaves to the chicken along with the cracked black pepper. Stir to combine and cook for 3-5 minutes more until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve on top of steamed rice and sprinkle with some of the remaining julienned basil.
Inspiration recipe, here.
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