Thai Basil Stir Fry (Pad Kra Pao)

A simple, spicy Thai stir fry, made all the more fragrant with holy basil.

Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines.

It’s surprisingly difficult to get phenomenal Thai food in New York City, so I often make it at home.

Pad Kra Pao

My go-to dish is Basil stir fry, or pad kra pao. You can make it with any kind of ground meat, but pork is the classic choice.

The star ingredient is basil.

I would never have thought to add herbs to a meaty stir fry, but something about fragrant holy basil really makes this dish come alive.

Here’s how to make Thai Basil pad krapao.

Thai Basil Stir Fry Recipe Video

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What You’ll Need

Like all stir fry’s, this dish is quick and easy to whip up with everyday Asian pantry ingredients.

Fish sauce

Soy Sauce

Dark Soy Sauce

Oyster Sauce

Sugar

The main condiment is fish sauce.

In fact, you could probably omit all the other sauces and just use fish sauce (supposedly that’s how many places in Thailand do it).

I don’t love the fishiness of pure fish sauce, so I round it out with soy sauce and oyster sauce.

And if you wanted to make it more authentic, Thai dishes use palm sugar as their sweetener of choice.

It’s a little more difficult to find, so regular white sugar or honey are both fine substitutes.

How to Make Pad Kra Pao

Thai basil is a super quick and easy stir fry. It comes together in 15-20 minutes and can be made with minced beef, pork or chicken.

There are just a couple essential ingredients and steps, which I share in more detail below!

authentic-thai-pad-kra-pow-basil-pork-stir-fry

a super quick stir fry that comes together in ~15 minutes!

Thai chilis

Traditionally, Thai dishes are very spicy.

I remember eating pad krapao at road side stalls all over Thailand and gasping for air – their definition of “mild” is much different from mine.

To achieve the heat, use fresh Thai birds eye chilis. The tiny red peppers look small and unassuming but are fiery hot.

thai-birds-eye-chilis-grown-indoors-in-aerogarden-farm

harvesting-thai-chilis-and-pruning-pepper-plants-indoor-garden

growing Thai chilis in my indoor garden for a steady supply of spice ~ ✨

For a true ‘mild’, use about 3 Thai chilis.

Personally, I like mine so spicy I have to gasp for air, so I use 5 or 6. If you prefer no heat at all, substitute with red bell peppers.

You can find Thai chilis at Whole Foods or Asian grocery stores.

If you don’t have an Asian store near you, try Weee!. They’re a huge online Asian grocer and very affordable.

Thai chilies are one of the easiest pepper plants to grow indoors and produce SO many peppers you’ll be able to make authentic Thai food all year long.

Or, you can grow your own!

You can find Thai chili seeds here or here and grow them in a hydroponic garden.

easy-hot-peppers-to-grow-indoors-thai-birds-eye-chilies

grinding-thai-chilis-and-garlic-in-mortar-and-pestle-to-make-pad-krapow

pounding-thai-birds-eye-chili-garlic-paste-in-mortar-pestle-for-phat-kraphao

you can finely dice the garlic + chilies and fry, but if you have a mortar and pestle to pound them down, it will release a lot more flavor!

Mortar and Pestle

I recommend using a mortar and pestle to really pound down the garlic and chilies at the start.

This fiery savory paste will add a lot of flavor and brightness to the stir fried meat.

Holy Basil

The key ingredient in Thai basil stir fry is… basil.

Specifically holy basil (kra pao in Thai).

You want to add a lot of holy basil at the end so that the perfume of the leaves really infuses the dish.

Turn off the gas and then dump in the leaves. The lingering heat from the pan will lightly cook the holy basil and release all their perfume.

Use more holy basil than you think! A heaping portion makes all the difference in the final taste.

harvesting-basil-in-my-click-and-grow-indoor-smart-garden

growing-italian-basil-indoors-click-and-grow-smart-garden

genovese basil is a good substitute if you can’t find holy basil

Thai Basil vs Holy Basil

There are many, many different varieties of basil.

What’s confusing is two types of basil are popular in Thailand: Thai basil and holy basil.

Thai Basil is sweet, with an anise-y or licorice flavor to it. It’s a very unique taste compared to any other type of basil.

Holy basil is more pepper-y and spicy. It’s also known as tulsi and has a mint-y, clove-y kick to it.

The Best Substitute for Holy Basil

You can often find Thai Basil at Asian grocery stores, but don’t reach for that as a substitute for holy basil!

Instead, regular Italian basil is a better replacement.

And if you want to try making the most authentic version of krapao, grow your own holy basil.

It’s very easy to grow!

You can find holy basil seeds here and use a small countertop indoor garden to grow them quickly and cheaply right on your kitchen counter.

I like this compact garden – it’s affordable and easy to use.

Fish Sauce

I used Red Boat fish sauce for this recipe.

It’s a bit more expensive than other fish sauces on the market, but it’s much higher quality.

The sauce has no additives, preservatives or flavor enhancers.

And the ingredient list is super simple: just black anchovies and salt.

The result is a saltier, funkier fish sauce with lots of umami.

If you’re using a different brand of fish sauce, check the label. Many add sugar so if you’re using one of those, you may want to use less sugar.

Fried Egg

For this version, I topped off the dish with a fried egg.

To make a fried egg the Asian way, you want to use more oil than you think and get the pan ripping hot.

The pool of oil is what creates the extra crispy, bubbly edges to the egg.

Slightly undercook it so the yolk is still runny. That way, when you open the egg, the silky yolk will coat all the grains of rice.

mix mix mix

In Thailand, I remember most places serving the minced meat very simply over plain jasmine rice, no runny egg, with just cucumbers on the side.

That’s probably my favorite way to eat it (and also requires one less step).

Finishing off the meal with cool, crunchy cucumbers helps cleanse your tongue of all the heat too.

Prik Nam Pla

To really make authentic Thai food, you’ll want to have a side jar of prik nam pla on hand!

This classic Thai condiment is on every household table or restaurant in Thailand.

It’s a must-try for anyone who likes heat.

The sauce is basically just 2 ingredients (prik means chili and nam pla means fish sauce).

It’s salty, spicy, acidic and a little funky – and adds a little punch to any dish.

The sauce is super easy to whip up.

Dice up red and green Thai chilis, garlic and shallots and dump it into a vat of fish sauce.

A healthy squeeze of lime juice brightens everything up!

Note: this is one instance where a cheaper Thai fish sauce is better to use.

Red Boat doesn’t have any sugar and is a first press fish sauce, so it’s a little too salty and intense for the condiment.

If you do use it, I like to thin it out by adding a splash of water, lots of lime juice and a pinch of sugar.