Pad Ka Prao (well, sort of…)
Pad Ka Prao is one of my favorite one-dish meals. It is simple, quick to throw together, and absolutely delicious. Minced meat (usually chicken, but you could do this with almost any protein) is stir-fried with basil, garlic, chilies, and fish sauce. This salty, savory stir-fry is then served over steamed rice and garnished with a crispy fried egg.
What do you mean, “sort of”?
The reason for this title is that the name “Ka Prao” specifically refers to holy basil. This variety of basil is often hard to find here in the US and is NOT the same as the Thai basil you are probably used to. The recipe I have written is made with Thai basil so it TECHNICALLY shouldn’t be called Pad Ka Prao. That doesn’t mean the resulting dish is any less delicious. Odds are if you have ever had Pad Ka Prao in the US, it was probably made with Thai basil anyway.
The Details
Pad Ka Prao is often made with chicken but you could easily use pork, beef, shrimp…etc. While you could purchase ground chicken to make this dish, I much prefer to buy chicken thighs and hand chop them myself. Cutting the chicken by hand yields a coarser texture that is hard to achieve with grocery store ground chicken. Chicken thighs are also less prone to drying out than chicken breast, but you could use either.
This dish should be prepared in a nonstick pan or a well-seasoned wok (which is also essentially non-stick). This keeps the egg from sticking when you fry it and also makes stir-frying the chicken much easier. This recipe makes enough for 2 full portions. If you need to cook more than 2 portions, cook the chicken in batches. Overcrowding the pan would cause the dish to simmer instead of stir-fry.
This dish is best served over plain, unseasoned jasmine rice. The finished stir-fried chicken should be salty. This way, when it is eaten with plain rice and the egg, the dish is properly seasoned OVERALL.
Chili Vinegar
This might not be the most common accompaniment for Pad Ka Prao, but I like to have a little bit of chili vinegar on the table for drizzling. It takes about 30 seconds to make so I usually whip up a small batch before making the stir-fry. This condiment is totally optional, I just like the little hit of brightness that it brings to the dish.
Serve over:
Pad Ka Prao
Equipment
- Large nonstick pan or well-seasoned wok
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 10 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs***see note below*** (about 2 thighs, 300 grams)
- 1 Tbsp thinly sliced Thai bird chili, red or green (can use more or less to taste)
- 3 Tbsp roughly chopped garlic (about 5 cloves)
- 4 cups loosely packed Thai basil leaves (60-70 grams)
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1.5 tsp dark soy sauce (optional but it will give the dish a nice color)
- neutral flavored cooking oil (canola, vegetable, corn….etc)
- freshly steamed jasmine rice, for serving (recipe linked above, 1 cup uncooked rice will yield enough for this recipe)
Chili Vinegar (optional condiment)
- 2 tsp thinly sliced Thai bird chili
- 3 Tbsp white distilled vinegar
Instructions
Chili Vinegar
- Mix 2 tsp thinly sliced Thai bird chili with 3 Tbsp white distilled vinegar. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the dish. Chili vinegar will keep for a few months in the fridge.
Chop the Chicken
- Slice the chicken thighs into thin strips.
- Turn the strips 90 degrees and slice the strips again to give the chicken a rough mince.
- Chop the chicken a bit further in order to achieve a roughly "ground" chicken. This should be coarser than store-bought ground chicken.
Crispy eggs
- Preheat the wok or nonstick pan and add oil until it reaches about 1/2 inch in depth. Heat the oil until it gets very hot. You can test the temperature by adding a drop or two of egg white to the oil, it should bubble up and brown almost immediately. Carefully add the eggs to the hot oil. PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN FRYING AN EGG IN THIS MANNER, THE HOT OIL WILL SPLATTER. BE MINDFUL OF THE FLAMES AND USE A SPLATTER GUARD IF NECESSARY.
- If the temperature of your oil was correct, the egg should immediately start to bubble up and brown around the edges when it hits the oil. Allow the egg to cook for about 15 seconds. Once the bottom and edges have set, spoon some hot oil on top of the egg to start cooking the top. Continue to cook until the whites are set and there are lots of brown, crispy bits all around the edges. The entire cooking process should take no more than 30-45 seconds. If your egg has black burned bits, the oil was too hot. If it hasn't browned, the oil was not hot enough.
- Use a spatula or spoon to move the egg to a plate lined with paper towels. This will help absorb excess oil. Cook the second egg in the same way.
Stir-fry
- Make sure your eggs and rice are cooked before stir-frying the chicken.
- Heat up 3 Tbsp oil in the wok or pan over medium-high heat. When you see the first wisps of smoke, add the 3 Tbsp chopped garlic and 1 Tbsp sliced Thai bird chili. Cook for 5- 15 seconds while stirring until the garlic starts to get a little color but is not burning.
- Add the 10 ounces of ground chicken to the pan. Immediately turn the heat up to high and start to break up the chicken while stir-frying.
- Cook the chicken over high heat while continuing to break up any clumps. Chicken may release a bit of liquid into the pan, keep stir-frying until the chicken is completely cooked and there is no liquid left in the bottom of the pan, about 1-3 minutes.
- Add 2 Tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar, and 1.5 tsp dark soy to the pan, stir fry for 10 seconds.
- Add the 4 cups of Thai basil leaves. It may seem like a lot of basil at first but it will wilt down. Continue stir-frying the dish over high heat until all of the basil has wilted, about 30-60 seconds.
- Adjust seasoning with more fish sauce if necessary. The dish should be salty enough to be eaten with plenty of unseasoned rice.
- Place some steamed rice onto 2 plates and divide the chicken onto each pile of rice. Place an egg on each dish and serve with a side of chili vinegar for drizzling to taste.
