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Pad kra pao is a quick, easy and flavorful chicken stir fry with Thai holy basil. A popular streetfood in Thailand and easy to recreate at home. The garlic-chilli paste, chicken and holy basil are a perfect match. Serve with rice and top with egg for a full meal.

Holy basil chicken stir fry.

Pad ka prao, pad kra pao, pad ka paw, pad gaprao ผัดกระเพราไก่ so many names or so many spellings, transliteration but they all mean delicious.

So many names but they all spell aroi.

It is synonymous to fast food because it is quick and easy meal to order and make.

However, it is does not mean unhealthy.

When in Thailand this is on the menu in most places to eat.

Imagine savory, salty, spicy minced chicken ready in minutes after ordering. Comforting in every bite.

What is pad kra pao?

Pad kra pao means holy basil stir-fry.

In Thai pad means stir-fry and kra pao is holy basil. The dish is normally made with protein like pork, beef, prawns, tofu or chicken like in this recipe. The main ingredient of the dish is holy basil or kra pao.

Served with rice and fried egg and almost always comes with a spicy fish sauce condiment called prik nam pla.

Pad kra pao in Thailand

It is the dish my daughter and I order when in Thailand and what we make when we find holy basil in England.

One of the most popular Thai dishes and street food. It comes in many spice levels.

We once made the mistake of not asking the server to make it spicy and we were served a stir-fried protein which was barely recognizable.

It remotely resembled pad kra pao.

My daughter has started to order kra pao but without the chillies for now so she says.

She surprised me one day by going up to the lady to order pad ga prao moo sup mai ped, lad kao kai dao kha.

Yes! My daughter can order something in Thai. After a couple of weeks in Thailand she had the confidence to order her meal.

The Thais are understanding and forgiving when foreigners try to speak their language. When my daughter tries to order something in ‘broken’ Thai, Thai people do their best to understand what she tries to say.

Sometimes, I ask her what she wants for lunch and she says I know what I want. She orders holy basil chicken on rice topped with egg.

The only thing about going to Thailand is we are surrounded by good food and when we go home we miss them.

We rarely go to the Asian shop because we make do with the ingredients we can find in supermarkets.

Trips to the Asian shop are a treat. They only happen occasionally and when we see holy basil on the shelf we grab a bunch.

How often do you see and buy holy basil where you are?

That’s our little story of pad kra pao experience. It is time to get to the cooking part.

This recipe is based on my travels to Thailand and how I remember the dish to taste. The outcome also depends on the ingredients available at hand so the sweetness, saltiness, and savoriness vary and before serving it is safe to fo a taste test.

Ingredients

The ingredients listed and used below are only a guide. As with other Southeast Asian dishes, food is made the way ingredients are available or the way one wants them to. Feel free to season to taste and swap the chicken with other proteins such as pork, beef, seafood, mushroom or tofu.

Chillies – the source of heat, I use a combination of bird’s eye chillies and spur chillies and I leave the spicy kind out if I prepare it for my child

Garlic

Ground chicken – chicken breast or thigh

Holy basil

Neutral oil for frying

Light soy sauce

Dark soy sauce

Oyster sauce

Fish sauce

Sugar

How to make holy basil stir-fry (How to make pad kra pao gai)

The recipe consists of 3 parts. Make sure rice and egg are ready before stir-frying any protein because this comes together very quickly.

This is how we make holy basil stir-fry.

1. Combine the ingredients for the sauce. Combine soy sauces, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar in a small bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Gently pound the chillies and garlic using a mortar and pestle. We want a rough paste not a smooth one for this recipe. Using a mortar and pestle will release the oils from the chillies and garlic and give more depth of flavor.

3. Stir-fry. In a hot pan, add the oil and the chilli and garlic paste. Cook until aromatic. This will take around 20 seconds.

Add the chicken. Toss and stir to make sure there are no clumps of chicken.

Add the prepared sauce and continue to stir-fry until the chicken is cooked.

Turn the heat off. Add in the holy basil and mix. The residual heat will cook the basil.

Adjust the seasoning according to taste.

4. On a plate of rice, spoon the stir-fried chicken holy basil on one side and top with fried egg. Serve with a small bowl of spicy fish sauce condiment. Enjoy.

More Chicken Recipes:

Easy Chicken Salad is one recipe to keep in your pocket for a quick side dish or as a light meal.

Chicken in Cream Sauce is a great way to use up leftover chicken.

Filipino Chicken Curry a Filipino-style rich creamy chicken curry.

Chicken Adobo is a popular Filipino chicken dish made by simmering chicken meat in soy sauce and vinegar marinade with lots of garlic.

Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs a Japanese-inspired dish best paired rice, potatoes and noodles

Watch the video showing how to cook holy basil chicken stir-fry.

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