Hot Basil Chicken Stir Fry

There was this little Chinese Restaurant in downtown Sacramento on K Street, that I used to stop in and grab this dish for lunch and go eat in the park. They went out of business. (I guess I didn't stop in often enough!)
I began to miss this dish, so I set out to recreate it! It took me SEVERAL tries and I'm not sure it's an exact duplicate of the original but I'm pleased with it - I hope you enjoy it!

Hot Basil Chicken:
This is a spicy dish and can vary in heat depending on the peppers - they can vary in heat from one to another.

6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (buy them or remove the skin and bone yourself)
6 to 10 Leaves Fresh Basil
5 good sized Mushrooms
Vegetable Oil
Fish Sauce
Onion or Shallot
3 Jalapeno Peppers
White Rice

Start the Rice (Bring 1 1/2 Cups water to a boil, add 1 cup rice, cover the pan and turn the heat to low.)
Quarter the Mushrooms
Thinly slice 2 of the peppers into rounds (discard the tops), remove the seeds and veins from the 3rd pepper and coarsely chop.
Cut the chicken into 1" chunks


Heat oil in a large frying pan, when the oil is hot, add the chicken. When all of the chicken has turned opaque/gray-brown, add the peppers, mushrooms, onion (to taste). Now would be a good time to give your rice a stir with a clean spoon. Continue to stir on Med-High heat until the peppers all wilt. At this point take the basil leaves and tightly roll them lengthwise and slice the roll every 1/4 inch - fluff the basil ribbons then add them to the pan. If you cut the basil at the beginning of the dish, it will oxidize and turn black (bunch like a sliced apple left out in the open would turn brown) it's best to wait before slicing the Basil until the dish is ready. Once the basil is stirred in, add the fish sauce (most fish sauce comes in squirt bottle - so squirt it all over your dish generously) if the fish sauce doesn't have a squirt bottle - add 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup - fish sauce is salty therefore you're adding a salt component to the chicken and the rice it's being served with.

Serve next to, or over the rice. Serves 2 or 3 people as a main dish.