Pad krapow
ผัดกะเพรา
Holy basil stir-fry, ripping hot, with a fried egg and rice — the Thai plate people actually order on a Tuesday.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: ผัดกะเพรา.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Hot
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Pad krapow is minced meat, garlic, chilli and holy basil tossed in a wok so hot the leaves bruise and the sauce just clings. Fish sauce, a little soy and sugar. A fried egg with crispy lace. Italian basil is a stand-in; the dish is named for gaprao. If it is mild and wet, you made a different stir-fry. Holy basil goes in off the fiercest heat at the last ten seconds or it turns black and medicinal. If you only have Thai basil, use more and accept the different perfume; sweet Italian leaves need even more honesty. Mince should be dry enough to fry, not steam in a grey slick — pour off excess liquid from thawed meat. A wok that is not hot enough makes a sauce puddle. Fish sauce at the edge of the pan, then toss. The fried egg wants blistered edges; a pale steamed yolk on wet mince is a different breakfast.
Ingredients
- Pork, mince300 g
- Holy basil40 g
- Garlic5 clove
- Fresh chilli, Thai bird's eye, to taste5
- Fish sauce22 ml
- Soy sauce4.9 ml
- Sugar4.9 ml
- Egg2 large
- Rice, cooked, to serve250 g
- Neutral oil44 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Pound or chop garlic and chilli. Heat a wok until it smokes. Oil, then garlic-chilli 10 seconds. Add pork and fry until it loses raw colour.
5 minStep 2
Fish sauce, soy, sugar. Throw in holy basil and toss 20 seconds off the hardest heat so it wilts, not stews.
1 minStep 3
Fry eggs in plenty of oil until the edges lace. Rice, stir-fry, egg.
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Holy basil → Italian basil plus a pinch of extra chilli
Softer perfume. Still a Tuesday plate. Not gaprao.
Tips
- Holy basil is peppery. Thai basil (anise) is a cousin, not the namesake.
- A splash of water in a dry wok is how you unstick without cooling it into soup.
History & culture
The national lunch of offices and street stalls. Pork or chicken. Rice is not optional. This is the dish people eat at a stall with one foot still in work. Heat is not a dare so much as a climate. Offices know who can take the bird's-eye chillies and who orders 'not spicy' and still sweats. Rice is the other half of every bite. Homes keep holy basil in a pot if they can, because a bag of supermarket 'basil' is how the dish loses its name. A fried egg is not brunch culture. It is the cheap richness that finishes the plate.
Holy basil stir-fries are central Thai everyday food that went nationwide with migration and food courts. Minced-meat stir-fries with pungent leaves are everyday central Thai cooking that rode urbanisation into every food court. The dish's fame abroad followed Thai migration and later social media, which is why the egg lace became a visual requirement. Older household versions were less styled and sometimes hotter. There is no royal-secret paste here. There is a wok, a bunch of gaprao, and the need to eat rice in a hurry.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Pad krapow take?
20 min all in — 10 min prep, 10 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 2 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Hot.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Fish, Soy. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Wok, Frying pan.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list salt as its own ingredient. Saltiness comes from Fish sauce — 1½ tbsp; Soy sauce — 1 tsp. Taste at the end rather than adding a number we did not write.
How much fish sauce?
1½ tbsp of Fish sauce.
How much soy sauce?
1 tsp of Soy sauce.
How much sugar?
1 tsp of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Holy basil → Italian basil plus a pinch of extra chilli. Softer perfume. Still a Tuesday plate. Not gaprao.
Any tips from this recipe?
Holy basil is peppery. Thai basil (anise) is a cousin, not the namesake. A splash of water in a dry wok is how you unstick without cooling it into soup.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
Similar dishes
Checking your allergy settings…