4. Thai 101: Basil Chicken
Chicken krapow is the quintessential one-plate meal in Thailand, the equivalent to going for a taco or a hamburger and usually the first thing young people learn to cook. You put a cup of vegetable oil into a wok over high heat until it’s smoking, then you add an egg— it will become almost deep-fried. When the bottom of the egg is very crispy, scoop it out and set it aside. Add chopped garlic and a couple of minced Thai chilies to the oil, and get them fragrant. Then add chopped chicken thighs, a pinch of sugar, and a tablespoon each of soy sauce and oyster sauce, and cook that together until the meat is done. Krapow is the Thai word for holy basil, which is how you finish this dish off the heat, but Italian basil is totally good, too. Serve it with rice and that fried egg on the side.
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