Chinese · dinner
35m
Total time
4
Servings
460
kcal
easy
Difficulty
tap to check off
FAQ · Things people ask
Thai basil (also called Asian basil) has a slightly anise-like flavor that is essential here. Italian basil works but has less character. Taiwanese recipes use a specific variety (jiu ceng ta) -- Thai basil is the best common substitute.
Yes. Thighs work well. The sauce will be slightly less rich (no bone gelatin), but the dish still works. Reduce cooking time by 5-8 minutes.
Very little -- the sauce should be reduced to a thick glaze that clings to the chicken, not a loose sauce you ladle. Keep cooking until you can barely see liquid in the pan.
Related · You might also cook
Mapo tofu is Sichuan cooking at its most direct: silken tofu in a sauce built on fermented paste, two kinds of heat, and the numbing tingle that defines the mala profile. The dish works best when you do not temper any of it.
Kung Pao chicken is a Sichuan stir-fry built on three things arriving in the right order: velveted chicken, charred dried chilies, and a tart-sweet-spicy sauce that coats everything in seconds. Get the heat high and the timing tight.
Char siu is the pork that hangs in Cantonese restaurant windows, lacquered and gleaming -- but it is also one of the more forgiving things you can roast at home. The marinade does the heavy lifting; the oven does the rest.
Dan dan noodles take their name from the carrying pole street vendors used to balance pots of noodles and sauce -- a dish built for speed and directness, with sesame paste, chili oil, and Yibin preserved vegetable as its three pillars.