Pad Kra Pao (Thai Holy Basil Stir Fry)

Pad Kra Pao is a quick and easy Thai dish that’s fragrant, flavorful, and so filling. It only takes minutes to prepare!

What is Pad Kra Pao?

Pad kra pao is one of Thailand’s most famous dishes. Translated, the name means “holy basil stir fry”.

You can find the dish being sold via street vendors in Thailand or in most Thai restaurants. It’s absolute perfection when served over rice and with a perfect crispy fried egg on top.

I love making pad kra pao for especially busy or lazy days. It’s so incredibly easy, you could probably cook up this whole meal in just half an hour.

Ingredients

Oil: Any neutral oil works for this recipe, so long as they have a high smoke point to measure up to stir-frying. Oils like peanut, avocado, sunflower, canola, or vegetable work!

Garlic, Thai chilies: We’ll be pounding these into a paste to get them ready for stir-frying. Pounding helps to release all their natural oils and aroma, which also intensifies their flavor when cooked.

Ground pork: As a preference, I like using lean ground pork for my Pad Kra Pao. Otherwise, any other minced or ground meat should also work (even plant-based ones!)

• Substitutions: ground chicken, turkey, beef.

Long beans: Also called “snake beans”, these will provide the stir-fry with some fibre and a bit of crunch.

Holy basil: To make a true pad kra pao, you’ll need holy basil. This is different from the more common Thai Basil that you’ll typically see with purple stems. It may be hard to come by, but poke around some local Asian groceries as they might carry it!

• Substitutions: For replacements, you can opt for either regular Italian basil or Thai basil. Now technically, substituting the holy basil would actually defeat the whole point of this dish, as Pad Kra Pao literally means “holy basil stir fry”. But, hey, I’m all for making this recipe more accessible and I’m guilty of not using holy basil at times when my city doesn’t carry them!

Sugar: Standard white sugar works fine. This helps to balance out all the savory and salty flavors of our stir fry.

• Substitutions: Most sugar replacements may also work, such as cane, palm, or coconut sugar.

Soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce: A combination of these sauces will give our Pad Kra Pao a more complex umami taste.

Fish sauce: Fish sauce provides a deep, salty umami taste that you wouldn’t be able to achieve with just soy sauce.

Instructions

Prepare the sauce by combining all the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Set aside.

In a mortar and pestle, pound together the garlic cloves and Thai chilies until you reach a fine paste.

Heat the oil in your wok/pan over medium high. Fry the chili-garlic paste for about 1 minute, or until fragrant (be careful not to burn)

Add in the ground pork, and cook until no longer pink and most of the water released has evaporated.

Add in the chopped long beans and pour in the prepared sauce. Continue to stir fry the ground pork until fully coated and the sauce begins to caramelize and reduce, about 3-5 minutes.

Toss in the basil leaves, and stir fry for an additional 1 minute until the leaves have wilted slightly.

Serve on top of rice with a crispy fried egg. Enjoy!

Tips

Mise en place: This is a French kitchen phrase meaning “putting in place”, and very crucial whenever you’re making any stir-fried dish. This recipe goes fast, so it’s important to have all your veggies chopped and sauces mixed before even getting started heating up your wok.

Don’t be afraid of high heat: Cooking with woks are traditionally done over very, very high heat in order to get adequate wok hei and a deep, smoky flavor. To truly get a delicious Pad Kra Pao with browned, caramelized bits of pork, high heat and low moisture is your friend.

During stir-frying, you can attempt to briefly spread the pork all in one layer so that your wok ends up crisping and caramelizing the pork rather than steaming it.

Of course, this all comes with practice. If you’re more comfortable in a lower heat and taking things slow to prevent anything from burning, go for it!

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What’s the difference between Holy Basil and Thai Basil?

As the name suggests, Pad Kra Pao literally translates to “stir-fried holy basil” -hence, replacing this key ingredient would essentially defeat the whole purpose of the dish!

Many recipes would opt for you to use either Thai basil or regular Italian basil if finding the traditional Holy basil is too difficult (how many times have I said basil?)

Flavor-wise, the traditional holy basil lends pad kra pao an almost peppery, spicy, clove-like taste. Thai basil, on the other hand, has a very distinct anise or liquorice flavor. If you can find holy basil, go for that 100%. Otherwise, the most common substitute would be Thai basil (which I still find delicious either way).

How do I store leftovers?

Leftover Pad Kra Pao can be stored refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.

To reheat, you can simply microwave or briefly stir-fry on stovetop over medium heat until fully warmed-through.

Can I add more vegetables to this?

You definitely can. Feel free to throw in mushrooms, onions, or even baby corns and carrots. Fresh vegetables on the side (e.g., cucumber) may also help in lowering the spiciness!

Can I make this vegetarian?

Yes! Instead of ground pork, you can use plant-based meat substitutes, crumbled extra-firm tofu, or even finely chopped mushrooms.

Looking for more quick and easy meal ideas? You might love these:

• Soy Glazed Chicken
• Pork Adobo
• Chili Peanut Noodles
• Golden Fried Rice