Kapao Gai (Basil Chicken)

Kapao gai, ready for plates of rice and fried eggs.

Who knows when this fiery little dish was invented, but not more than 400 years ago when the Portuguese introduced the Thais to New World chillies. Kapao Gai is all about chillies -- and basil, of course.

Pim and I buy chillies in a shrink wrapped foam packages at a supermarket in Thai Town, Los Angeles. Tiny and green, yellow, orange, or red, they're simply labeled "Thai Chillies" and cost only a little over a buck for 20 or more. Much smaller than the Mexican varieties I'm used to seeing, I wondered about their origin and taxonomy till I read this article. As it mentions, Thais call these chillies prik kee noo, or "mouse poop chillies," because, well, they're small and resemble psychedelic mouse dukie.

The author also mentions that substituting other chillies for the mouse dukie variety can lead to disappointment. I have to agree. In preparing the kapao gai pictured above, I substituted a jalepeño from our local Jewish market, plus a couple of unknown species that we're growing in a pot in front of our apartment. While the end result was still pleasing, it lacked the punch and piquancy you get with Mickie's droppings.

If you can't source the Thai chillies, then your challenge will be to experiment with the right mixture of Mexican varieties. (Maybe a single jabenero, plus a couple of jalepeños, plus a serrano?)

This dish is fun to make -- and easy, which is probably why you see it in street stalls throughout the Kingdom. I prefer chicken, but you can substitute pork (moo). The stir frying takes place in three waves: garlic and chillies (mashed by mortar and pestle), followed by the meat (coated in oyster sauce and a sprinkling of sugar), finished off by basil and onions (and a bell pepper, if you like.).

There's nothing too difficult to source here. As mentioned, substitute Mexican chillies if you can find prik kee noo. Most supermarkets have both oyster and fish sauce in their Asian section.

Ingredients
half pound chicken (I prefer breast meat.)
small onion
half bell pepper (optional)
two or 3 garlic cloves
small lime
large bunch of mint basil
a few splashes of oyster sauce
a few splashes of fish sauce
a couple teaspoons of sugar (I prefer brown.)
a few tablespoons of cooking oil
fresh ground black pepper
(serves 2-3)

Directions

1. Chop chicken into bite sized chunks, then, in a small bowl, coat with oyster sauce and sugar. Refrigerate for at least half an hour. (The oyster sauce will act as a tenderizer.)
2. Dice onion and bell pepper (optional) or green beans (optional).
3. Now the fun part: place garlic and chillies in mortar and grind with pestle -- not too finely, just enough to release the juices and seeds of the chillies and soften the garlic. Remove any stray garlic husks.
   



Mash of chillies and garlic ready to meet the hot oil.



4. Heat on high oil in frying pan or wok. Add the chilli/garlic mash and fry until garlic turns slightly golden and translucent (2 or 3 minutes). Add a splash of water if the mash gets too dry.
5. Add meat/oyster sauce mixture and evenly brown the chicken.
6. Add basil, onion, and bell pepper (optional) and cook till the basil leaves have shriveled and the onion is crisp/tender.
7. Squeeze in lime juice, and season to taste with fish sauce, more oyster sauce, and black pepper.

Serve with steamed rice and fried eggs.