Thai Basil Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Here's another one of our favorites. When we first came across the recipe we immediately thought the Thai basil chicken would be much better served up as lettuce wraps, rather than an entree over rice. We turned out to be right. This one always gets devoured right at the kitchen counter... sitting down first would only delay the time it takes to get into our mouths.

2 cups basil leaves, tightly packed
3 garlic cloves, peeled
6 green or red Thai chilies, stemmed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pound chicken breast, cut into 2" pieces
¾ cup shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 head of iceberg lettuce, leaves cut into cups
red pepper flakes for serving

Process 1 cup basil leaves, garlic and chilies in food processor until finely chopped, 6 to 10 one-second pulses, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once during process. Transfer 1 tablespoon basil mixture to small bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon fish sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar and sugar; set aside. Transfer remaining basil mixture to 12" heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet. Do not wash food processor.

Pulse chicken and 1 tablespoon fish sauce in food processor until meat is chopped into approximate ¼" pieces, 6-8 one-second pulses. Transfer to medium bowl and refrigerate 15 minutes.

Stir shallots and oil into basil mixture in skillet. Heat over medium-low heat (mixture should start to sizzle after about 1½ minutes; if it doesn’t, adjust heat accordingly), stirring constantly, until garlic and shallots are golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.

Add chicken, increase heat to medium, and cook, stirring and breaking up chicken with potato masher or rubber spatula, until only traces of pink remain, 2 to 4 minutes. Add reserved basil-fish sauce mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly until chicken is no longer pink, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining cup basil leaves and cook, stirring constantly, until basil is wilted, 30 to 60 seconds. Serve immediately, passing extra fish sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, and vinegar separately.

NOTE: If fresh Thai chilies are unavailable, substitute 3 Serranos or 1 medium jalapeño.