The Best Thai Basil Pad Kra Pao just 20 minutes!

Pad Kra Pao is considered Thai Fast food since it only takes 20 minutes to make!

This Pad Kra Pao recipe is one of my favorite quick weeknight dinners that requires minimal ingredients, and is quite budget friendly. What I love is how quick and easy this is to make, but it also doesn't feel like fast food.

Pad Kra Pao translates into Holy Basil Stir fry

Pad Kra Pao is a savory Thai stir fry dish that consists of ground meat, aromatics and Holy Basil. Kra Pao is translated into Holy Basil, but if you can not find Holy Basil, Thai Basil and Italian are great substitutes.

If you are an egg person, you will want to try this Thai fried egg with Pad Kra Pao!

The Thai fried egg has a crispy brown edge and a runny golden yolk in the middle. To achieve this perfect crust, you can cook the egg on medium high with a generous amount of oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Once the edges of the egg have formed, tilt the pan to the side and use a heat safe spoon to ladle the oil over the white parts of the egg to cook it quickly while avoiding the yolk.

Do I have to use pork for this recipe?

The beauty of this Pad Kra Pao is that all ground meats are easily interchangeable with this recipe. Any meat you choose to use will be juicy and flavorful.

OK, so what do I do with all this extra basil?

I also have a Pad Kee Mao recipe that requires basil, and I usually make both so I can use the entire bundle of basil with out waste.

Looking for other Thai recipes ? Here are some of my FAVORITE THAI recipes you might like:

• Tofu Eggplant Stir Fry
• Thai Chicken Curry
• Pad Kee Mao

Equipment

• 1 Wok or
• Non-stick Pan

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 shallot large or 2-3 small shallots (minced)
• 1 tbsp garlic 4-5 cloves (minced)
• ½ tbsp fish sauce (add more if needed) If you are using green beans, you might need ¾ tablespoon fish sauce. Taste and adjust.
• 1 tbsp seasoning sauce
• ½ tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup Thai Basil (2 handfuls)
• 5 Thai Chilis (optional)
• 2-3 Eggs Fried (Per person)
• ⅓ cup long beans- 3 long beans (optional)

Instructions

Pad Kra Pao

• 1. ** Make sure your rice is ready before starting to cook.
• 2. Mince shallots, garlic, and thai peppers if using.
• 3. Wash and pluck leaves from basil
• 4. Combine the following seasonings to form the sauce: ½ tablespoon fish sauce (add more if needed), 1 tablespoon seasoning sauce, ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar

• **Please note if you are using a non-stick pan instead of a wok, you can cut down on the amount of oil this recipe calls for during cooking.
• 5. Gather all your prepared ingredients before you start cooking and bring them to your cooking station. You will need your shallots, garlic, and thai peppers if using, ground pork, basil leaves and sauce mixture. If you are eating with an egg, grab one more pan to cook the egg. You can cook the egg while the ground meat is cooking or before or after.
• 6. Turn your Wok or Pan to high heat. If you are using a Wok, once it starts smoking, let it smoke even more before adding in 1 tbsp oil. If you are using a pan, let it heat up on high heat for about 2-3 minutes on high before adding oil.
• 7. Wait another minute for the oil to heat up before adding in your garlic, shallots and Thai Peppers.

• 8. Stir until aromatic about 2 minutes, then add more oil 1 tbsp if needed, then add the ground meat.
• 9. Use a spatula to break apart the ground meat into small bits, and allow to char up for 3-5 minutes . During this char and cook time, you can optionally cook your egg in a separate pan.
• 10. Pour the sauce over the meat, and mix together. Add the green beans now if using and cook an additional 2 minutes until cooked.
• 11. Turn off the heat and add in the basil and mix together and serve.

Thai Fried Egg

• 1. Turn your pan to medium high, once hot add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan
• 2. Once the oil is hot, add your egg
• 3. Once the egg whites have started to form, tilt the pan to the side and use a heat safe spoon to ladle the oil over the egg whites, avoiding the yolk.
• 4. After a few minutes when the whites are cooked and there is a brown crust around the edge of the egg it's done!

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