Gai Pad Gapow (Chicken Basil)

This past week, I've been on somewhat of a Thai binge. Spicy Basil Fried Rice, Thai Basil with Chicken, and Drunkman's noodles have been my staple diet for the week. It got me thinking: can I replicate these wonderful Thai dishes? Well, I decided to choose one of these dishes and try everything in my power to cook it. So the dish I've chosen is: Gai Pad Gapow....or in layman's terms: Thai Basil with Chicken.

Ingredients: 

From left to right: basil, garlic, ground turkey,  2x tomato, and oyster sauce (with a cameo appearance by my cup of water)

1) Mince the tomatoes and garlic. I used about 5 cloves of garlic, so we're already off to a great start!

2) Next, rinse out the basil. It'll shrink, but don't worry about that. Basil will naturally shrink upon contact with water. Now, pluck them off their stems and dice them up. Pretty simple. So simple that even an amateur like me can accomplish this feat. 

3) Now, heat a skillet on high. Then, drizzle some olive oil when the skillet is all heated up. Now, place the garlic/tomato mix into the skillet and start stirring it around. 

4) When the garlic turns a brownish color, add the ground turkey. Ground chicken can also be used, but I've been eating so much chicken these last few weeks, so I thought I'd change the game up! 

* This looks soo gross...like mangled brains. Ugh! Good thing it tastes better than brains! 

5) Once the turkey has lost its raw pinkish color and turns into more of a tootsie roll color, add 2 teaspoons of oyster sauce to the turkey. This is a very fun process. It's also very easy. 

* The oyster sauce is very viscous, so just like a ketchup bottle, make sure you tap on the sides to get all that gooey deliciousness out of the bottle. 

6) Add the diced basil to the dish. Make sure to use your dextrous wrists to incorporate the basil flavor all over the dish! I love how the basil adds some color to the turkey! 

7) Once you've stirred the basil and the flavor has throughly diffused into the turkey, turn down the heat to a medium-low setting and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Grab a beer and relax, while watching your dish cook to perfection! 

YOU'RE DONE!!!! Not going to lie, this dish was decent, but I didn't have any Thai chili peppers with me, so the dish did lack some of that kick to it. As well, I need to add MORE garlic and MORE basil! I definitely did not use enough. Maybe instead of 5 cloves of garlic, I'll use 8 cloves of garlic! And I'll use two packages of basil, instead of one package. Yet, despite these deficiencies, the dish was still a beautiful medley in my mouth. This is a very simple, quick easy dish to cook. I highly suggest adding this dish to your dinner plans in the near future