Spicy Thai Basil Chicken

This recipe is inspired by the Spiritual dimension of wellness.

Spiritual wellness is about being. It means taking the time to stop and take in your surroundings. Notice the flowers, smells, and colors of nature. Realize there is a power greater than yourself, whether it's through nature, religion, both, or something entirely opposite. Regardless of how you practice spirituality, doing it every day leads to a better well-being.

“Around us, life bursts with miracles. If we live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere.” - Thich Nhat Hank

Cooking with fresh herbs is the easiest way to turn a basic dish into a gourmet meal. Basil has a sweet, aromatic and peppery taste and is best when added during the last steps of a recipe. It’s rich in plant polyphenols that are thought to prevent chronic diseases. Eating herbs is a natural way to care for oneself, so we should be grateful for the herbs we can grow and enjoy. Being grateful for what we are blessed with allows for goodness to come into our lives. By showing gratitude for the food on your plate, clean water, soft breezes, chirping birds and so on, you can become a light in the darkness and shift your perspective from scarcity to abundance. Gratitude, it turns out, is highly correlated with well-being. Studies have shown that expressions of gratitude promote better sleep, increased patience, elevated happiness, better relationships, and allow you to make healthier food choices and exercise routines. Here are 4 things you can do to help you practice gratitude:

1. Meditate

2. Keep a gratitude jar

3. Give honest compliments more frequently

4. Avoid negative news

When you remove negative thoughts from your mind, you spontaneously experience more happiness. You learn that you no longer need to manipulate your feelings because your thoughts will become a natural long term reality.

Today, I encourage you to try and practice gratitude while preparing this dish. This recipe beats takeout any day!

Recipe of the Day: Spicy Thai Basil Chicken

INGREDIENTS

Good for two large or four smaller portions:

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 pound freshly chopped chicken thighs

• 1/4 cup sliced shallots

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 Tbsp minced Thai chilies, Serrano, or other hot pepper

• 1/3 cup chicken broth

• 1 Tbsp soy sauce, or as needed

• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce

• 2 Tbsp fish sauce

• 1 tsp white sugar

• 1 tsp brown sugar

• 1 bunch basil leaves, sliced very thin with a sharp knife (about a cup once sliced)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a bowl until well blended.

2. Heat large skillet over high heat. Drizzle in oil. Add chicken and stir fry until it loses its raw color, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in shallots, garlic, and sliced chilies. Continue cooking on high heat until some of the juices start to caramelize in the bottom of the pan, about 2 or 3 more minutes. Add about a tablespoon of the sauce mixture to the skillet; cook and stir until sauce begins to caramelize, about 1 minute.

3. Pour in the rest of the sauce. Cook and stir until sauce has deglazed the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until sauce glazes onto the meat, 1 or 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Stir in basil. Cook and stir until basil is wilted, about 20 seconds.

5. Serve over your favorite grain. I used cauliflower rice!