10 minutes to flavour heaven with this incredible Thai Basil Stir Fry (Pad Krapow). This Thai stir-fry sauce is an absolute classic and so versatile! Perfect on top of rice or noodles and with your choice of meat. Aromatic, flavourful and insanely delicious. This recipe is a keeper for all Thai food lovers!
When I think of Thai food, naturally Pad Thai would be my first thought but this one comes in a close second! It reminds me so much of the time I was strolling down the streets of Bangkok and witnessing their street food action in all its glory. THE AROMA! Pad Krapow was one of the things you would see being cooked by these street-side stalls and boy were the queues long! Sometimes the vendors would make it fresh for you, other times, you’ll find it pre-cooked in a big tray and they’ll spoon a huge ladle of this deliciousness over hot rice when you buy it. Either way, it’s often served with a Thai style fried egg i.e. one that’s been fried in lots of oil to achieve its distinctive bubbly browned edges around the egg white.
Now, let’s talk flavour. When you cook Thai Basil Stir Fry, the first fragrance that hits you is Holy Basil (followed by a little tickle in the back of the throat from the chilli). Holy Basil has a peppery, liquorice flavour – almost like a cross between Italian Basil and mint. If you can’t find that, feel free to use Thai Basil or regular Italian Basil in this recipe, although I have found that the latter tastes more like Holy Basil. The sauce is then also made up of garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce and a sprinkle of sugar. If you really think about it, these ingredients make up the base sauce for many Thai dishes such as Thai Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao).
This Thai Basil Stir Fry recipe is such an easy recipe, and one that you can whip up within 10 minutes. Serve it on top of rice or noodles, it will be delicious! It’s typically made with chicken (use ground meat to eliminate any chopping/marinating i.e. time saved) but it’ll also work wonderfully well with pork, turkey. You could also use crumbled tofu or plant based mince – it’s not going to be vegetarian because of the fish sauce and oyster sauce but you’re still saving the planet by reducing your meat intake. By the way, if you’ve not watched David Attenborough’s new show, A Life On Our Planet, please do! It’s not too late for us to do our part.
P.s. my fellow Thai food lovers, you may also like these recipes: Thai Drunken Noodles, Quick Thai Massaman Curry.
10 minutes to flavour heaven with this incredible Thai Basil Stir Fry (Pad Krapow). This Thai stir-fry sauce is an absolute classic and so versatile! Perfect on top of rice or noodles and with your choice of meat. Aromatic, flavourful and insanely delicious, this recipe is a keeper for all Thai food lovers! Heat some oil in a pan over high heat and fry the the shallots, garlic and chilli for 1-2 minutes. Add the minced chicken/pork to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, breaking the mince into small pieces. Add the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and water and toss until evenly distributed. Cook for another minute. Add the basil leaves and cook until wilted. Serve over rice and top with a sunny-side up egg. Enjoy! If you don’t have can’t find Holy basil, you can use regular Italian basil. I have found that Italian basil tastes more like Holy basil than Thai basil. Thai Basil Stir Fry (Pad Krapow)
(2 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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