Thai Basil Shrimp Stir Fry with Dipping Sauce

Remember the Thai Basil Chicken recipe I posted a while back? Of course you do. It took 20 minutes to cook and saved you from ordering in on a crazy weeknight. It was pretty good, but authentic it was not! Which is why I timidly named it "Thai Inspired Basil Chicken". See what I did there? One of the main reasons was that I used regular sweet basil in that recipe, because Thai basil is not readily available in the supermarkets here.

Last winter I started some Thai basil seedlings indoors and they have grown into a nice little bush this summer. Look at it! It has had a few trims already but it is a source of much joy in our little apartment. This ingredient is NOT optional! It lifts the dish and gives it such a beautiful distinct flavor that you (or I) will never go back to using sweet basil in our Thai dishes. 

I have several stir fry recipes on the blog. They are true weeknight heroes - fast, easy and healthy. Don't let the word "fry" fool you, with just a couple of splashes of oil and high heat, the veggies and meat cook well and retain their crunchiness - the veggies that is! Which brings me to my ONLY rule about stir fries - quick cooking over very high heat. That is all.

Yield - Serves 2

Prep Time - 20 Minutes

Cook Time - 10 Minutes

Ingredients

1 LB (500 g) Shrimp (peeled and deveined) 
2 Medium Shallots
2 Hot Red Chili Peppers
5 Cloves Garlic
2 Cups Thai Basil leaves
1 Tablespoon Premium Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
2 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil

For the Dipping Sauce

1/4 Cup Premium Soy Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Fish Sauce

Method

First, prep your ingredients. Slice the shallots and red chillies. I have discarded the seeds of the chillies to reduce the mount of heat but still retain the flavor of the chilies. If you're feeling hardcore, you can leave them in! Finely chop the garlic.

Pick the Thai basil leaves off the stem. Combine the light and dark soy sauces, oyster sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Give it a stir and set aside. 

Next, prepare the dipping sauce.  Combine 1 teaspoon of the sliced shallots, 1/2 teaspoon of sliced red chilies, half teaspoon of finely chopped garlic, a few leaves of Thai basil (chiffonade) - just from your main ingredients is okay. Add 1/2 teaspoon of fish sauce and 1/4 cup of premium soy sauce. 

Heat up a pan or wok nice and hot. Add a couple of splashes of cooking oil. When it is smoking hot chuck in the shallots. Give it a toss and cook just a few seconds. Add in the garlic and sliced chillies and cook it all together for a minute.

Add in the shrimp. Toss and add in the sauce mix you prepared earlier. Cook till the shrimp is pink and firm - about 2-3 minutes.

Add the Thai basil leaves and immediately take it off the heat. Toss and serve with a side of jasmine rice and the dipping sauce.

Enjoy!

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