Thai-style Chicken with Basil, Celery and Red Cabbage

As I mentioned in my last post, I changed up my meal this week from Italian-style Pesto alla Trapanese to Thai-style Chicken with Basil, Celery and Red Cabbage. I got the idea for this dish from America's Test Kitchen and added some sliced celery and red cabbage because I had them in my fridge and I wanted to add more vegetables & fiber to the dish.

I really love the flavor of this dish (thanks to the combination of fish sauce, chili and basil) and the crunchiness of the cabbage. I guess I will have something to look forward to during lunch time tomorrow!


Ingredients:
2 cups fresh basil leaves , tightly packed
6 medium garlic cloves , peeled
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
3 green Thai chiles, stemmed & seeded
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoon sugar
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
6 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 celery stalks, sliced
1 head red cabbage, cored and sliced

Directions:

• Process 1 cup basil leaves, garlic, and chiles in food processor until finely chopped, 6 to 10 one-second pulses, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once during processing. Transfer 1 tablespoon basil mixture to small bowl and stir in 2 tablespoon fish sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, and sugar; set aside. Transfer remaining basil mixture to 12-inch heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet. Do not wash food processor bowl.
• Pulse chicken and 1 tablespoon fish sauce in food processor until meat is chopped into - approximate 1/4-inch pieces, six to eight 1-second pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl and refrigerate 15 minutes.
• Stir shallots and oil into basil mixture in skillet. Heat over medium-low heat (mixture should start to sizzle after about 1 1/2 minutes; if it doesn’t, adjust heat accordingly), stirring constantly, until garlic and shallots are golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Add in the sliced celery and cook for 5 more minutes.
• Add chicken, increase heat to medium, and cook, stirring and breaking up chicken with the spatula, until only traces of pink remain, 4-6 minutes. Add reserved basil-fish sauce mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly until chicken is no longer pink, about 2 more minutes.
  
• Add in the sliced red cabbage and red pepper flakes, stir to combine, cover the pan, and cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in remaining cup basil leaves and cook, stirring constantly, until basil is wilted, 30 to 60 seconds.
• If there are too much broth, thickened with 2 tablespoon corn starch dissolved in a small bowl with 1/4 cup of the broth.
  
• Serve immediately over white rice.