Thailand. Pad krapao is described as the quintessential Thai workaday dish — what a Thai person eats alone at lunch, what is ordered by Thais when visiting a country without good Thai food, and what is eaten when nothing else is available. The dish appears in every Thai lunch counter in the country.
Pad krapao (holy basil stir-fry) is the most eaten dish at Thai lunch counters. Ground pork or chicken with oyster sauce, fish sauce, dark soy, bird's eye chillies, garlic, and a generous handful of fresh holy basil (grapao) — the dish exists because of this specific basil. Holy basil is not Thai basil is not sweet basil. It has a clove-anise-pepper character that is unique and irreplaceable. Topped with a crispy fried egg (kai dao) and served over jasmine rice.
Chang lager or cold nam cha (unsweetened Thai tea). The dish is too spicy and aromatic for wine — cold beer or tea is the only appropriate accompaniment.
{"Holy basil (bai grapao — Ocimum tenuiflorum): peppery, slightly clove-like, with a medicinal edge. Fresh Thai basil (horapa) can substitute but the flavour is sweeter and less complex. Italian basil is wrong","Garlic and bird's eye chillies: pound or roughly chop together — about 5 cloves of garlic and 4-6 bird's eye chillies for 2 servings","Wok at maximum heat: the quick stir-fry at very high heat is what creates the slight char and wok hei","Protein: medium-ground pork shoulder or chicken thigh (not breast — dark meat handles the high heat better)","The sauce: oyster sauce, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, a pinch of sugar — pre-mix before the wok is hot","Holy basil added at the very end, off heat — the heat of the wok wilts the basil in 10 seconds. The basil should wilt completely but retain its colour and fragrance"}
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.
{"Using the wrong basil: Thai basil is not holy basil. The flavour difference is significant","Overcooking the basil: it should wilt but not turn dark brown and bitter","Too little chilli: pad krapao should be hot"}