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As excited as I am to be moving into Barclay’s house when we get married in June, I’m definitely starting to feel All The Feels about leaving the River Market in downtown Kansas City — the neighborhood I’ve called home for thesepast five years.
Gosh, there are a million reasons why I have loved living down here. And there are, I’m realizing, a million things that I’m deeply going to miss about calling this neighborhood home — namely, walking next door every morning to order an iced pour-over at my home-away-from-home, and of course, bumping into dozens and dozens of theworld’s best neighbors every day aswe’re all out and about. But, I’ve also been realizing lately how much I’m going to miss the central spot that originally inspired me to move downtown way back in the day—our amazingCity Market.
Oh my goodness. Living across the streetfrom Kansas City’s largest farmers market for so many years has beenjust as magicalas I had dreamed it might be, back when I first moved to town over a decade ago and started making the trek downtown every Saturday morning to visit the City Market. And then once I started this site and — as any food blogger will tell you — started making more and more and more drivesto the grocery store each week, I. But man, having had the chanceto spend these years simplywalking across the street, browsing through produce in the open-air sunlit markets, getting to chat with vendors who amazingly now know me byname, and then carrying my groceries back to a beautiful loft I call home has been even more meaningfulthan I had imagined. It’s just a rhythm that has feltso good. And I already know it’s a season of life that I will forever look back on with such gratitude.
So anyway, with just a little over three months left here,my little River Market-loving heart seems to have clicked into the gotta-soak-up-every-second-of-my-remaining-time-here mode these past few weeks. Which has meant — amongst other things — that I’ve been making almost daily trips to the City Market to buy fresh fruit and veggies and spices and herbs and find inspiration forwhat to cook next. And I’m happy to say that there have been some absolutelydelicious results, such as this awesome chicken stir-fry that came about after gorgeous bunches of fresh Thai basil happened to be on sale at the market yesterday.
City MarketFTW!
Actually, I hardly know anyone whowasn’t at the City Market in Kansas City yesterday because it was absolutelygorgeousout all weekend.
75 degrees and sunny…in February!
Absolute heaven!!!
Nice weather isalso always a sign— as any River Market resident will tell you — that pretty much the entire population of Kansas City willbedescending upon the River Market. And sure enough, they did, and the neighborhood was absolutely packed with visitors all weekend long. Some neighbors complain about the crowds, but I actually lovethe hustle and bustle, and I especially appreciateseeing so manyKansas Citians out and about exploring thearea on foot instead of being isolated in their cars. ;)
Sure enough, the City Market was packed with people (which is rare in February!), but they had an awesome selection of good produce to keep everyone happy. I arrived in a go-with-the-flow kind of mood, looking for inspiration to make something fresh and tasty for lunch. And then once I saw the gorgeous bouquets of Fresh basil on display, I knew without a doubtthat it was a stir-fry kind of Sunday.
So I grabbed some colorful freshbroccoli, garlic, bell peppers, and red onion to make it happen…
…then came home and sautéed everything together….
…and in less than 20 minutes,this gorgeous rainbow of a meal was ready to enjoy.
And you guys, it was so good! Andso simple! And so versatile!!
Seriously, if you’re not into chicken, you could substitute any proteinfrom beef to pork to shrimp to tofu here. And you could also add/substitute just about any other veggies. I just recommendthat you doadd in lots of veggies. Because while traditional Thai Basil Chicken is delicious, it’s usually served on its own with rice, and I much prefer to have a much higher veggies to meat ratio in this recipe…because why not?! ;)
Definitely a winner winner of a chicken “dinner”, and one I look forward to making again soon. So thanks, City Market, for the delicious veggies and inspiration. And hope that you all enjoy this one too!
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- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x
Description
This 20-Minute Thai Basil Chicken recipe is quick and easy to prepare, and full of bold and delicious savory flavors!
Ingredients
Scale
Thai Basil Chicken Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
- 1 small red onion, peeled and thinly-sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and thinly-sliced
- florets from 1 small head of broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces
- optional:3-5 Thai bird chiles*, thinly-sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- leaves from 1 bunch of Thai basil(about 2 cups, lightly-packed)
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly-sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 batch simple soy marinade(see below)
Simple SoyMarinade:
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- freshly-cracked black pepper
Instructions
To Make The Thai Basil Chicken:
- Heat1 tablespoon oil in a wok or large saute pan overhigh heat. Add onion, bell pepper, broccoli, and Thai chiles (if using), and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and Thai basil and saute for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, stirring frequently. (Time saving tip: slice your chicken and make the marinade while the veggies are sauteeing!) Then transfer the entire mixture to a separate plate, and set aside.
- Return wok/pan to high heat, and add the remaining1 tablespoon oil. Add the chicken and saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and no longer pink inside. Add in the marinade, and toss to combine.
- Remove from heat and addin the vegetable mixture, tossing to combine.
- Serve warm, over rice or noodles if desired.
To Make The Simple Soy Marinade:
- Whisk all ingredients together until combined.
Notes
*These little chiles are pretty spicy, but also delicious and traditionally used in this dish. I didn’t have any on hand the day I made and photographed this dish, so I just subbed in a few pinches of crushed red pepper instead. But I typically use them for Thai basil dishes and love them!
posted on February 20, 2017 by Ali
Chicken, Main Dishes, Thai-Inspired
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