Asia After Dark May 2017 | Page 33

I nst r uct i ons Fi r st , f r y t he egg Heat about 2 t abl espoons of veget abl e oi l i n a wok or f r yi ng pan on hi gh- medi um heat . When t he oi l i s hot and si zzl i ng, dr op i n t he egg. Let i t si zzl e and bubbl e up, and at t he same t i me, spl ash some of t he hot oi l ont o t he t op of t he egg ( don' t f l i p t he egg, unl ess you r eal l y want t o) . Af t er t he egg l ooks about r i ght t o your cooked l i keness ( I l i ke mi ne r unny) , t ake i t out , dr ai n t he excess oi l , and put i t on a pl at e f or l at er . Basi l chi cken Cut t he chi cken i nt o smal l bi t e si zed pi eces. Ri nse and peel t he gar l i c and chi l i es, and pound t hem i n a mor t ar and pest l e ( al t er nat i vel y you can j ust mi nce t hem wi t h a kni f e) . They don' t need t o be super f i ne, you j ust want t o br i ng out t he oi l s and f l avor s f r om t he gar l i c and chi l i es. Pl uck a good si zed handf ul of hol y basi l l eaves of f t he st ems. Now i t ' s t i me t o st ar t cooki ng. Heat your wok on hi gh heat , and add about 1 t abl espoon of oi l t o t he pan. When t he oi l i s hot , add t he chi l i es and gar l i c. St i r f r y t hem f or about 20 seconds or so unt i l t hey get r eal l y f r agr ant , but don' t l et t hem bur n or get t oo dr y. T oss i n your chi cken. Keep st i r f r yi ng cont i nuousl y. At t hi s st age you want t o cont i nue t o st i r and cook your chi cken unt i l i t ' s j ust about f ul l y cooked al l t he way t hr ough ( dependi ng on t he si ze pi eces of chi cken and how hot your f i r e i s, i t shoul d t ake about 2 - 3 mi nut es) . I f i t st ar t s t o get dr y, add j ust a t i ny spl ash of wat er . Add 1 t easpoon of oyst er sauce, ½ t easpoon l i ght soy sauce, ½ t ea- spoon sugar , and f i nal l y a spl ash of dar k soy sauce. Keep st i r f r yi ng f or about anot her 30 seconds. Gr ab a handf ul of hol y basi l , t oss i t i nt o t he pan, f ol d i t i nt o t he chi cken, and t hen i mmedi at el y t ur n of f t he heat ( i f you' r e usi ng an el ect r i c st ove, you' l l want t o r emove t he pan f r om t he bur ner ) . The hol y basi l r eal l y onl y needs t o cook f or about 5 seconds, and i t wi l l cont i nue t o wi l t and cook f r om t he exi st i ng heat of t he chi cken. Thi s st ep i s i mpor t ant because i f you cook t he basi l f or t oo l ong, i t l oses some of i t s gl or i ous f l avor and get s sl i ght l y chewy.