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Thai · Thailand

Pad Krapao — Holy Basil Stir-Fry / ผัดกะเพรา

Pad krapao is the most-eaten single dish in Thailand — available at every restaurant from street stall to hotel, eaten at any time of day, and considered the ultimate benchmark of Thai wok cooking. Its simplicity is deceptive: it requires extreme wok heat, fresh holy basil (krapao), and a high quality protein-to-flavour ratio to achieve the characteristic dry-wok char and the peppery basil finish. Minced pork (moo) or chicken (gai) is the traditional standard; the wok must be at maximum heat; the holy basil goes in at the absolute last moment and is served immediately. The fried egg on top (kai dao) is not optional in the Thai street tradition — pad krapao without a fried egg is considered incomplete.

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Serves4
Total15 min
Sourced0 of 5 in FR
Cook
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I

The Market List

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300 g
pork mince
or chicken
2 tablespoons
vegetable oil
4 cloves
garlic
minced
Your own market
2
Thai bird's eye chilies
minced
Your own market
3 tablespoons
fish sauce
nam pla
Your own market
15 ml
dark soy sauce
10 ml
palm sugar
Origin · Indonesia
1 tablespoon
fresh lime juice
Your own market
50 g
fresh holy basil leaves
or Thai sweet basil, roughly torn
1
red bird's eye chili
sliced thin, for garnish
Your own market
Scallions
sliced thin, for garnish
Your own market
Steamed jasmine rice
for serving
Your own market
II

The Method

1
Heat oil in wok over high heat; add garlic and minced chilies, bloom 20 seconds until fragrant.
2
Add pork mince; break apart with spatula and stir-fry 4–5 minutes until cooked through with no pink remaining and meat begins to caramelize.
3
Add fish sauce, dark soy sauce, and palm sugar; toss constantly 1 minute until liquid is mostly absorbed and meat is glossy.
From the canon — Fish sauce — nam pla — is the universal salt of the Thai kitchen. Fish Sauce (Nam Pla): Selection and Use →
4
Remove from heat; add lime juice and fold in torn holy basil leaves gently.
5
Transfer to serving plate; scatter sliced red chili and scallions on top.
6
Serve immediately with jasmine rice, forming small mounds of pork-basil mixture on rice.
From the canon — Thai jasmine rice — khao hom mali (fragrant jasmine rice) — cooked by the absorption method: precisely measured rice washed to remove surface starch, combine… Jasmine Rice (Khao Hom Mali): The Absorption Method →
III

Sensory Tests

◇Where it lives or dies. The moment where pad krapao lives or dies is the fried egg. A Thai kai dao (fried egg) is cooked in a generous amount of hot oil — almost deep-fried. The egg is cracked into oil at 180-190C and the white puffs up immediately, blistered and lacy at the edges while the yolk remains runny. This specific egg — the crispy-edged, runny-yolked kai dao — is the companion that makes the dish complete. A standard fried egg is not the same.
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V

What to Pour

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Pad krapao's flavour is built on the interaction between wok char and holy basil's peppery clove character — the heat of the wok is what activates the essential oils in krapao that make it taste like the dish it is.

The whole pairing
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