If you are tired of cooking the same boring chicken recipes night after night, struggling to find a dish that’s quick, packed with flavor, and still feels a little special, then you are not alone. But don’t worry, today’s recipe is gonna kill all these problems. You don’t have time, you don’t wanna spend hours, you still want to make something delicious – this is all about my chicken thigh basil recipe. It is a mouthwatering, easy-to-make one pan meal that turns everyday ingredients into a lavish, restaurant-worthy dinner.
You just need 1 hour, and you’ll get the juiciest chicken thighs, fragrant Thai basil, a rich, savory sauce – all cooked in one pan and ready to be served. No complicated steps, nor any fancy ingredients that you’ll never use again. Just bold, comforting flavors that can instantly change your mood.
So, let’s dive into the recipe.
Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients that you’ll need to make this recipe:
- 500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 4 teaspoons of soy sauce
- 3 teaspoons of dark soy sauce
- 3 teaspoons of sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper powder
- 1/3 cup of sesame oil
- 3 teaspoons of corn starch
- 2 teaspoons of rice wine
- 22g of ginger
- One handful of garlic
- 1 red pepper
- A handful of Thai Basil
- 1/2 cup of rice wine (this is not repeated. You will need this; keep it aside)
That’s all the ingredients you will need to make this recipe. Once you have them all, let’s move on to the instruction part.
Instruction
- Start by cutting the ginger into pieces and also mincing some garlic. Cut the red pepper as well. Take the basil and wash it properly with clean water. Now, only take the leaves off it and keep them aside for later.
- Now, take the chicken thighs and cut them in half if they are too large or even medium. This helps the small pieces of the chicken thighs to absorb the flavor better and ultimately taste better.
- After that, put them into a bowl and add 3 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper powder, 3 teaspoons of cornstarch, and 2 teaspoons of rice wine. Now, mix all these ingredients well and marinate the chicken thighs for at least 15 minutes.
- After that, heat the pan over medium-high heat. Now, add all of the sesame oil to the pan and heat it. Now wait for the oil to be heated up.
- When the oil is hot, add the ginger slices to the oil and let them sizzle for about 1 minute. After this 1 minute, add the chicken thighs to the pan and pan-fry each side until they are golden brown.
- When both sides have grown golden brown, add the ginger and pepper to the chicken thighs and stir-fry all of these ingredients for about a minute.
- Now, again, season the whole mixture with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of sugar. Stir them well to mix them evenly. Move on and add 1/2 cup of rice wine. Stir until the sauce starts boiling properly.
- Once it does, cover the pan with the lid for another 1 minute. This step is just to make sure that the chicken thighs are evenly cooked. You can use a chicken thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken thighs. The internal temperature of the chicken thighs should be higher than 165°F.
- After the 1-minute boiling period, remove the lid and add the raw basil leaves. Now, stir them to mix the basil and chicken thighs properly.
That’s all about this recipe. But if you want to level up the recipe quality and taste, then check the section below for extraordinary tips.
Tips For Cooking
Here are the game-changing tips that I think will level up your recipe quality:
- Sear without stirring: When you add the chicken thighs to the pan for searing, don’t even try to stir them. Let it sit undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes. I have said that stir them until they are golden brown, but as I have experienced in my chicken thigh parmesan recipe, frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs recipe, or even blackened chicken thighs recipe, 5 to 10 minutes works best for searing. Most of the time, 10 minutes is too much, but 5 works best.
- Dry chicken before marinating: Before marinating the chicken thighs, pat them dry with a paper towel. Doing this will remove the extra surface moisture and help the marinade cling better to the chicken thighs. And what it does is that it helps the chicken thighs to brown beautifully instead of steaming.
- High heat = Best growing: Make sure your pan is hot enough before adding the chicken thighs. Because if you add the chicken thighs when the pan is just heating, it would kind of cook the chicken but not sear them as we wanted it to. Also, high heat locks in juices and builds that irresistible savory flavor. This is the top-most secret for which the thighs in my chicken thigh and lentil recipe, chicken thigh bell pepper recipe, or even in the chicken thigh spinach recipe, stay much juicier after cooking that I haven’t even published anywhere.
- Always try to use the wine: See, some people might prefer using water instead of wine, but here’s the catch. Have you ever noticed the golden-brown bits stuck to the pan? Those are basically flavor bombs. The rice wine can deglaze them or dissolve them into the sauce and adding flavor, and they also don’t hurt the consistency of the sauce. That’s why I love them and use them in my cream of mushroom chicken thighs recipe. And believe me, you won’t be able to maintain the consistency and the flavor by using water.
That’s all. If you can just follow these tips, I think no one will be able to call you a new cook if you are one, really!
Recipe Card
Chicken Thigh Basil Recipe
Description
Tired of flavorless dinners? This one-pan chicken thigh basil recipe brings bold, juicy flavor in under 60 minutes. A weeknight game-changer!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Start by cutting the ginger into pieces and also mincing some garlic. Cut the red pepper as well. Take the basil and wash it properly with clean water. Now, only take the leaves off it and keep them aside for later.
- Now, take the chicken thighs and cut them in half if they are too large or even medium. This helps the small pieces of the chicken thighs to absorb the flavor better and ultimately taste better.
- After that, put them into a bowl and add 3 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper powder, 3 teaspoons of cornstarch, and 2 teaspoons of rice wine. Now, mix all these ingredients well and marinate the chicken thighs for at least 15 minutes.
- After that, heat the pan over medium-high heat. Now, add all of the sesame oil to the pan and heat it. Now wait for the oil to be heated up.
- When the oil is hot, add the ginger slices to the oil and let them sizzle for about 1 minute. After this 1 minute, add the chicken thighs to the pan and pan-fry each side until they are golden brown.
- When both sides have grown golden brown, add the ginger and pepper to the chicken thighs and stir-fry all of these ingredients for about a minute.
- Now, again, season the whole mixture with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of sugar. Stir them well to mix them evenly. Move on and add 1/2 cup of rice wine. Stir until the sauce starts boiling properly.
- Once it does, cover the pan with the lid for another 1 minute. This step is just to make sure that the chicken thighs are evenly cooked. You can use a chicken thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken thighs. The internal temperature of the chicken thighs should be higher than 165°F.
- After the 1-minute boiling period, remove the lid and add the raw basil leaves. Now, stir them to mix the basil and chicken thighs properly.
Conclusion
So, now you know how you can cook this juicy, flavorful chicken thigh basil recipe. If you have any questions regarding this recipe or if you have tried it once, then let me know in the comments. Also, if you want to give me any suggestions about the recipe or the post itself, then don’t hesitate. I would love to hear from you in the comments section.
Thanks for reading and happy cooking!
