Print

Thai Basil Chicken Spaghetti

Top view of large wok with spaghetti tossed with ground chicken, red and green chilies, garlic, onion, baby corn, green beans, and holy basil in a brown sauce.
Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4 from 1 review

Thailand meets Italy in this Thai Basil Chicken Spaghetti fusion masterpiece! It’s quick and easy to make, full of the best spicy, savory, and sweet flavors, and fantastic for a tasty lunch or dinner!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 Garlic cloves – roughly chopped
  • 4–15 Red Chilies (Bird’s eye preferred, but Holland or any other small chilies will work too.), to taste – deseeded if desired and cut into halves or thirds depending on length
  • 4–15 Green Chilies (Bird’s eye preferred, but Holland or any other small chilies will work too), to taste – deseeded if desired and cut into halves or thirds depending on length
  • 2 large Red Chilies – thinly sliced at an angle, deseeded if desired
  • ½ Yellow Onion (or red/white onion/6 shallots) – thinly sliced, then sliced in half
  • 8 pieces Baby Corn (optional) – cut in half lengthwise, and then chopped into ½-inch pieces
  • 3 Green Snake Beans (also known as asparagus and yardlong beans) – sliced into thin rings
  • 3 cups Thai Holy Basil Leaves (substitute with Thai sweet basil or Italian basil if holy basil is unavailable) – washed and dried
  • 2 TBLS Light Soy Sauce
  • 1 TBLS Sweet Dark Soy Sauce (the thick and viscous type)
  • 4 TBLS Oyster Sauce
  • 2 TSP White Sugar, to taste
  • 2–3 TBLS Canola Oil (or any other neutral flavored cooking oil)
  • 7 ounces uncooked Spaghetti (or capellini, or any other noodle-type of pasta you like. Whole wheat pasta is fine too if preferred.)
  • 480 grams (about 1 pound) Ground Chicken (or you can use ground pork or beef if you prefer)
  • ½ cup Reserved Pasta Water
  • To Serve (optional): Thai-style Fried Egg or a soft-boiled egg (one for each person)

Instructions

Prep:

  1. Cook the pasta: Cook the pasta al-dente according to package instructions in a pot (or use the same large wok you’ll use for the stir-fry) of boiling salted water. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside. (I like to run cold water on the pasta and toss gently with my fingers to prevent them from cooking further and sticking.)
  2. Prepare the fresh ingredients: While the pasta is cooking, start preparing the fresh ingredients. Cut the garlic and red and green Bird’s eye chilies into smaller pieces. Then smash them in a mortar and pestle until a coarse paste forms. (This helps the garlic and chilies to release their oils and makes this dish more flavorful.) Thinly slice the large red chili at an angle, slice the yellow onion, cut the baby corn in half lengthwise and then again widthwise, and slice the green snake beans into thin rings. Pick the holy basil leaves off the stems, then wash and dry them with some paper towels. Set everything aside.
  3. Make the sauce: Combine the light soy sauce, sweet dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar in a measuring cup or small bowl (the measuring cup makes is easier to pour into the wok). Mix with a spoon until evenly combined and set aside.

For the Thai Basil Chicken Spaghetti:

  1. Stir-fry aromatics and veggies: Heat the canola oil in a large wok over high heat. Once hot, add the smashed garlic chili paste and the thinly sliced large red chilies. Stir-fry for a minute until fragrant. (Note: It can become quite smoky and pungent so open a window or turn on the exhaust fan!) Next, add the onion and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until slightly softened. 
  2. Cook chicken: Push everything in the wok to one side and add the ground chicken. Cook for 2 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking up the lumps as you go. Continue stir-frying to combine with everything else.
  3. Stir-fry veggies: Then add the baby corn and green beans and toss to combine.
  4. Add pasta, sauce, reserved pasta water: Add the pasta and pour the sauce and reserved pasta water on top of it. Continue stir-frying and tossing until everything is coated with the sauce.
  5. Toss through holy basil: Add the holy basil leaves to the wok and toss through to combine for a minute or so. Cook until the basil has wilted and the liquid has mostly cooked off, then switch off the heat.
  6. To Serve: Divide the Thai Basil Chicken Spaghetti evenly into plates or bowls. Serve immediately with a Thai-style fried egg or a soft-boiled egg if desired.

Equipment

Notes

  1. Garlic Chili Paste: Depending on the size of your mortar and pestle, you may need to make the garlic chili paste in two batches. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can finely mince the garlic and bird’s eye chilies. Alternatively, you could also use a mini blender and pulse until a coarse paste-like texture is achieved.
  2. Wok size: You’ll need a large wok or large deep sauté pan to make this dish due to the ingredient amounts. I use a 32cm large nonstick wok. If your wok (or pan) is not large enough, I recommend making this dish in two batches. You don’t want to overcrowd the wok as it will be difficult to stir-fry and toss.
  3. Make ahead and storing: While this dish is best enjoyed immediately or on the day of making it, you can make it ahead up to three to four days in advance. Store it in the fridge in a sealed airtight container if making ahead. Reheat in a pan on the stovetop or in the microwave for a couple of minutes until hot throughout before serving.
  4. Meal prep: As this pasta can be made ahead, you can use it for meal prep and enjoy it for the next couple of days either for lunch or dinner. Divide it into airtight food storage containers and store in the refrigerator. Then reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot throughout and enjoy!
  5. Make it gluten-free: Use a gluten-free soy sauce, Tamari, or coconut aminos for the light soy sauce. Also use a gluten-free sweet soy sauce such as a gluten-free kecap manis, gluten-free oyster sauce (or gluten-free vegetarian oyster sauce if making this veg), and gluten-free pasta.
  6. Use a different protein: Feel free to swap the chicken for ground pork or beef if you prefer. You could also use shrimp if you like. Just cook the shrimp over medium-high heat in a bit oil in the wok first for 2-4 minutes until no longer opaque. Then add it to the wok when you’d normally add the chicken and follow the rest of the recipe as indicated.
  7. Use chicken thighs/breasts: Feel free to use diced or thinly sliced chicken thighs or breasts instead of ground chicken. I recommend thighs as they’re more tender and flavorful.
  8. Make it vegetarian (and vegan): Use a vegetarian mushroom flavored oyster sauce and either crumbled tofu, Omnipork®, or Beyond Beef®. If using tofu, crumble it with a fork or using your hands. Then brown it in a pan (or wok) until mostly dry. Transfer to a clean bowl and set aside. You can add it to the wok when you’d add the chicken. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe as indicated, and you’ll be good to go!
  9. Add more/different veggies: I kept it simple and used onion, baby corn, and green beans only. But if you like, you can use different or add more stir-fry friendly and/or leafy green veggies. Some ideas are snap peas, mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, baby spinach, bok choy, choy sum, etc.
  10. Use a different basil: As Thai holy basil can be difficult to find depending on where you live, feel free to use Thai sweet basil or regular Italian basil instead.
  11. Use a different type of pasta or noodles: Linguini, capellini, fettuccini, or any other noodle-type of pasta will work great! You could also use noodles such as flat rice noodles, hokkien noodles, udon, egg noodles, etc.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://thatspicychick.com/thai-basil-chicken-spaghetti/