Stir-Fried Chicken with Chile Jam

Adapted from Simple Thai Food: Classic Recipes from the Thai Home Kitchenby Leela Punyaratabandhu

This recipe gives you all the authentic, fiery flavors of Thai cuisine, with just a few simple ingredients. And you can have a meal for two on the table in less than ten minutes. (The original recipe said that it makes enough for 4, but we have a big appetite when it comes to Thai food, and I’d say it’d serve four people if there were other dishes served with it.) Make sure you have a batch of rice on hand to serve with the chicken, to provide some relief from the heat. When I made this, I cut the chicken a bit on the thicker side. So next time, I’m going to slice it thinner than in the photos, so it’ll cook faster and soak in more of the flavor of the sauces. Leela notes that if you can’t get Thai peppers, swap out one bell pepper instead. At the risk of infuriating the purists, if you can’t get chile paste or chile jam, another thick chile sauce, like Sriracha, would probably work fine. Don’t tell.

Servings generous servings

12 ounces (340g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 or 3 chicken filets, depending on size)
salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 yellow or red onions, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch (2cm) slices
2 red or green Thai long chiles, sliced in half, seeded and deveined, cut diagonally
1/4 cup (60ml) Thai chile jam, or 2 tablespoons Thai chile paste
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce

Slice the chicken breasts diagonally into strips about 1/3-inch (1cm) wide. Put them in a bowl, seasoning them with a little salt.
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken, sliced chiles, chile jam or paste, oyster sauce, and fish sauce.
Continue to cook everything together, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.