Grilled Thai Basil Chicken Breasts - Friday, June 19

Its Friday, or should I say Saturday but it was Friday, the first meal for project is a recipe that I made once before with pork chops in a frying pan and not chicken on the BBQ. It is chicken with a sweet and spicy sauce, it feeds four and take about forty minutes to make, not one of the fastest meals, but a tasty one none the less. I served it with baked sweet potato and sliced tomato and cucumber. Easy and healthy!

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
hoisin sauce
crushed red pepper flakes

for the Sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (or extra virgin olive oil or what ever oil you would like)
1/3 cup Hoisin sauce
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh basil cut into strips (0r 1/2 teaspoon dried basil)
1/4 cup water

If you have time, you can spread some hoisin sauce on the chicken breasts and sprinkle on some red pepper flakes as a marinade for the day or for over night. First things first, flash up the BBQ to a medium heat. As the grill is heating up you can prepare the sauce. Add your oil, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes to a medium sauce pan and saute at medium heat for about two minutes or the garlic starts to turn a little yellow. Next add the rest of the ingredients and reduce at a high heat to desired thickness. I like it the consistancy of syrup.

Next cook the chicken for six minutes per side then paint on the saucecook for another six minutes, flip them over and paint on some more sauce. It should take about 25 minutes to cook them depending on the size of the breasts. If you are uncertain of how cooked they are you can use an instant read meat thermometer and the internal temperature should read at least 165ºF.

To cook the sweet potatos in the microwave for six minutes, turning them at three minutes, before putting them in the oven. Be sure you perforate them with a fork or knife before baking and ensure you wash them too because, like other potatoes, you can eat the skin too.

The chicken can also be baked in the oven at 375ºF for 35 to 40 minutes.
You paint the sauce on at 20 minutes. To speed up grilling time you can
butterfly the chicken breasts, this increases the surface area of the chicken
and allows more surface to be marinated and sauced thus increasing the
tastiness.

This is one of our favorites, the cooking techniques can be used on pork chops,
pork tender loin and kebabs. It works best with pork and chicken. Any
questions, comments or complaints? Email me and I'll get back to you.

Enjoy!
Jean