This Thai dish is wildly popular and is known in French under many names: Pad Kra Pao, Pad Ka Prao, Pad Ka Pow, Pad Krapow… etc.
“Pad gaprao” is the closest phonetic spelling, yet it is the least common because even most Thais mispronounce it to begin with!
Whatever you call it, the dish is the same delicious, rustic, mildly spicy stir-fry perfumed with holy basil. For a truly traditional serving, spoon it over rice and crown it with a fried egg!
A Thai “fast food” dish
In Thailand, it’s basically the local answer to a sandwich or burger.
It’s quick, easy, and everywhere, making it a go-to lunch.
You will spot Thai holy basil chicken everywhere, from roadside shacks to mall food courts, and as mentioned earlier, tons of people eat it for lunch.
Sometimes vendors make it fresh to order; other times it sits ready in a big buffet tray, waiting to be ladled over steaming jasmine rice.
How to fry an egg the Thai way?
You can certainly serve the stir-fry over rice by itself, but the crowd-favorite topping is a Thai-style fried egg.
The combo is called “kao pad gaprao gai kai dao”, which literally means rice with holy basil chicken and a fried egg.
A Thai fried egg is cooked in LOTS of oil so that the edges of the whites turn golden and bubbly
The creamy, slightly runny yolk tempers the dish’s bold, spicy heat, which is exactly why the pairing is so beloved
What if I’m not in the mood for chicken?
Although chicken is the most common, you can make the dish with nearly any protein you can think of.
Try pork, beef (see my pad gra prow recipe), seafood, or a vegetarian mix built on tofu, seitan, tempeh, and/or mushrooms. If chicken is not your thing, swap away and experiment! You are, however, required to send me the results haha
Ground meat is used here because it is the most classic, street-style way to serve pad kapao, but you can certainly use thinly sliced meat instead.
Buuut I TRULY think it tastes better with ground meat – do whatever you want with that info.
Ingredients for Thai holy basil chicken
Light soy sauce: The classic salty soy sauce that is now stocked in virtually every supermarket. There is really no excuse not to pick some up!
Oyster sauce: It doesn’t actually taste like oysters, but it is essential to the flavor of many Asian dishes. You can substitute it in a pinch, yet I strongly recommend picking some up.
Fish sauce: A dish simply isn’t Thai without good fish sauce. Make the investment – you won’t regret it. Seriously, it delivers an indescribable taste (well, umami) that provides a beautifully nuanced saltiness
The Thai holy basil: With its distinctive flavor, it is the real star of the dish. Unfortunately, it can be tricky to find, so at worst swap in regular basil from our neck of the woods
Dark soy sauce: The counterpart to light soy sauce and now available online or in Asian supermarkets. It lends depth and nuance to any dish it touches
Recipe contributed by Toom Vincent on the site’s official Facebook group
Thai Holy Basil Chicken Stir-Fry (Pad Krapao)
Ingredients
- 300 g ground chicken
- 5 Thai chilies
- 5 garlic cloves
- 0.5 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 handful holy basil leaves
- 2 eggs, 1 per person
- 2 servings cooked jasmine rice
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1.5 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1.5 teaspoon sugar
Prik Nam Pla (optional, for seasoning the egg)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 sliced Thai chili
- 1 clove minced garlic
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together all the sauce ingredients until the sugar dissolves.1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 2 teaspoons fish sauce, 1.5 teaspoon dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons water, 1.5 teaspoon sugar
- Using a mortar and pestle, pound the chilies and garlic into a rough paste.5 Thai chilies
- Heat a wok over medium-high heat, then stir-fry the chili–garlic paste until fragrant and slightly darkened.5 Thai chilies
- Add the ground chicken and stir-fry, breaking up any clumps.300 g ground chicken
- Pour in the sauce and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes.
- Add the onion and continue stir-frying until the chicken is cooked through.0.5 onion, thinly sliced
- Remove the wok from the heat and fold in the holy basil.1 handful holy basil leaves
For the eggs
- Pour about 1 cm of oil into a clean wok or skillet and heat until shimmering.2 eggs, 1 per person
- Crack the egg straight into the hot oil and fry until the edges are crispy and the yolk is cooked to your liking.
Prik Nam Pla
- Stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl or glass.1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1 sliced Thai chili, 1 clove minced garlic
Plating
- Spoon the stir-fry over hot jasmine rice and crown each serving with a fried egg.
- Drizzle a little prik nam pla over the egg and dig in.
