Shredded chicken with celery and basil is a Thai recipe I came up with after being unable to find ground chicken at the grocery store. My original plan was to make the classic Thai ground chicken basil dish that’s so loved by everyone, but with more veggies. Not letting myself be deterred by one missing ingredient, I picked up chicken breasts and decided to boil and shred them. ‘It’s not gonna be exactly like ground chicken but close enough’ I told myself. I chose celery as the main vegetable because of its ability to pickled and take on another flavor so quickly.
I’ve also added lots of ginger strips and fresh basil for a healthy and low fat meal. Add a squeeze of lime to bring all these gorgeous flavors together and serve it with freshly made steamy rice, and sriracha sauce.
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Shredded chicken with basil and celery
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 17 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Thai
Description
Tender shredded chicken and celery are cooked with traditional Thai flavors and served with fresh basil.
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Thai chilies, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup ginger, peeled and cut into strips
- 3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 4 stalks celery, chopped on the bias
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Fill a medium size pot of water halfway and bring to boil.
- Cut the chicken in half horizontally and then quartered. In deep skillet over med/high heat, add oil, ginger, garlic, chilies, and onions. Cook for 5 minutes until onions are soft. Add celery and cook another 5-7 minutes, until slightly caramelized. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- When the water is boiling, turn it off and add the chicken piece, making sure they’re all submerged. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.
- Take chicken out of the water and let cool to room temperature (I put the chicken on a plate and leave it in the freezer for 5 minutes, this cools it down quickly).
- With your hands shred the chicken and add to the pan on top of the celery. Turn on the heat to medium, stir a few times, add the fish sauce, soy and sugar, and basil. Cook for a minute, or until the chicken is hot.
- Serve with lime wedges and rice.
Notes
This Thai shredded chicken will keep in the fridge, stored in a container, for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 217
- Sugar: 21.7g
- Sodium: 1213mg
- Fat: 10.4g
- Saturated Fat: 6.2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 9.2g
- Fiber: 1.8g
- Protein: 21.7g
- Cholesterol: 62mg
I was missing the thai chilies and the lime but it still turned out great, and I added mushrooms. Very easy and tastes great! I never knew the combination of basil and celery would be so good and refreshing!
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Haha Indeed! Raw chicken can look yucky!