Pad Kra Pao is a very popular Thai food dish between local people in Thailand. When people don’t know what to order, they just order Pad Kra Pao! This dish is quick and delicious. "Pad" means "fried" and "Kra Pao" is the Thai name of Holy basil that is one of the main ingredients. Pad Kra Pao can be cooked with chicken, pork, beef, seafood, tofu, or whatever you want. It is served with rice. You can order a fried egg (Khai Dao) on top too.
Pad Kra Pao Recipe
Prep time: 3 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Total time: 8 mins
Pad Kra Pao Ingredients
100 g pork
1 cup holy basil leaves
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3 red chilies
1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon Fish Sauce
½ tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons oil for frying
Instructions
1. Mix water, sugar, fish sauce, and oyster sauce together and set aside.
2. If you have a mortar and pestle, pound garlic and chilies together. Otherwise you can chop them or slice thinly.
3. Heat a non-stick saucepan over high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add chilies and garlic and stir-fry till fragrant, about 10 seconds.
4. Add pork and stir continuously for few minutes. When it is starting to look like cooked, add sauce mix and stir-fry till the sauce coats the meat evenly. If it is too dry, you can add a small splash of water.
5. Add basil leaves and stir-fry for few more seconds until wilted, then turn off the heat immediately.
6. Serve Pad Kra Pao over rice, topped with a Thai-style crispy fried egg.
Tips
- You can use Thai sweet basil instead of holy basil. To get a recipe click: Thai Sweet Basil Stir-Fry (Pad Horapa) : ผัดโหระพา
- Alternatively you can cut yardlong beans into 1 inch long pieces and toss them after adding the sauce. To get a recipe click: Pad Kra Pao (Holy Basil Stir-Fry with Yardlong bean): ผัดกระเพราใส่ถั่วฝักยาว
Enjoy!