Love fried rice? Love spicy food? Then you are going to seriously love this hot, hot, hot rice dish, which borrows its flavour from the much-loved Thai basil and chilli stir-fry. Yes it’s fiery, but trust me: it’s also fabulous.
Thai Chilli & Basil Fried Rice
4 garlic cloves
4 bird’s eye chillies (or any spicy chilli you have locally)
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ cup oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced
200g (7 oz) peeled and deveined prawns
3 cups cooked rice (check out my technique for making rice for fried rice here )
1 cup holy basil leaves*
1 large chilli, finely sliced, to serve
lime wedges, to serve
spring onions (scallions), to serve
- Use a mortar and pestle to pound the garlic, chillies and salt to a paste.
- Combine the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat. Add the onion and the chilli paste and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the prawns and stir-fry for another minute or until the prawns are almost cooked. Add the rice and the oyster sauce mixture and stir-fry until well combined. Now toss through the holy basil. Remove from the heat.
- To serve, place 2 slices of chilli into a small bowl. Spoon in some of the fried rice and push down firmly. Tip out onto a serving plate. Repeat for remaining serves. Add a wedge of lime and a couple of spring onions to each plate.
- Notes: – Holy basil is known in Thailand as ‘bai graprao’ and also known as hot or spicy basil. Use Italian basil if unavailable.
