If you thought all Thai food was super spicy, think again! Pad Krapow Gai, Thai Basil Chicken, is savoury, aromatic, and garlicky. This recipe is so comforting and delicious served over rice with a fried egg.
Is there a cuisine that you tend to just go out for? For me, it’s Thai food. Although somewhat memorable, my first experience with Thai food was not the best. I was 17 years old and about to leave for University. My family was invited to a relative’s birthday party, and they were having Thai.
All I remember was that EVERYTHING they ordered was so spicy and salty, I couldn’t eat very much (and I would say that I have a pretty high spice tolerance level). My parents and other family members were huffing and puffing with tears in their eyes, struggling to eat the spicy food. I couldn’t count how many times we needed our water glasses refilled.
Needless to say, Thai food was never one of those cuisines that ranked high on my list to eat after that experience.
Fast forward to married life prior to kids… it’s date night and we’re changing up our regular go-to of Vietnamese food. So we decided to go out for Thai food at this house/restaurant (yes, literally, it was a restaurant inside of a house) in Edmonton.
We ordered a few of the usual suspects: Pad Thai, Laab, and this dish, Pad Krapow Gai, which is Thai Basil Chicken.
Savoury, aromatic, and garlicky, it changed my perspective on Thai food. Not all Thai food was so spicy that you couldn’t literally taste anything! In fact, it was so flavourful and delicious! I couldn’t help but finish the entire plate.
WHAT IS PAD KRAPOW GAI?
In Thai, pad means “stir-fried,” krapow means “holy basil,” and gai is “chicken,” so literally, “stir-fried holy basil chicken.”
The dish is a nod to the stir-frying cooking process which was adapted from the Chinese. Pad Krapow consists of meat, such as chicken, pork, or beef, or even seafood, stir-fried with basil, chilies and garlic, served over rice and egg.
Seems simple enough.
Except, Holy Basil which is native to Southeast Asia, is hard to find up here in Canada and the US.
WHAT IS HOLY BASIL?
Holy basil has medicinal properties which give it its more spicy, peppery taste. It is also different than the more commonly found Mediterranean sweet basil, which tastes more sweet (for lack of a better word).
However, a good substitution if you don’t have access to holy basil is Thai sweet basil, which can be found commonly at Asian supermarkets. Thai basil has purple stems and has a more predominantly spicy licorice-anise flavour, but if you’re in a pinch and can’t find Thai basil, regular sweet basil will work just fine.
CHOOSING CHILIES FOR THAI BASIL CHICKEN
Thai chilies (also known as bird’s eye chili) are very spicy, red, small slightly curved chilies that pack a punch.
They can be found at Asian grocery stores in small packages in the produce section. In terms of spiciness, they are not as hot as a habanero, but they are many more times spicier than jalapeno.
The flavour and hotness from a Thai chili is quite distinct, but if you’re not able to get your hands on fresh Thai chilies, your next best bet is to use cayenne powder (which you may already have in your pantry).
For this recipe, substitute 1 tsp of cayenne powder if you don’t have fresh Thai chili. And, if you’re wanting to go with a fresh chili, try using a serrano chili, which won’t pack as much heat, but will give some flavour to the dish.
MY PAD KRAPOW GAI RECIPE
Hot steamed rice topped with chunks of fragrant, savoury and garlicky chicken and a fried egg makes this an amazing Asian comfort food dish.
This dish is commonly made with ground chicken, but I chose to go with chicken breast rather than ground chicken, as it’s much easier for me to find chicken breast in the supermarket.
If you wanted, you could definitely use ground chicken — just cut back a little on the cooking time as ground chicken is much smaller and will cook up faster.
For flavouring the chicken, oyster sauce is a savoury, thick, brown condiment made from cooking down oysters that is commonly found in Asian supermarkets. It gives this dish a deeper, richer umami taste. If you can’t find oyster sauce, you can omit it.
Fish sauce is also another condiment that is made from fermenting fish and gives another dimension of savoury taste, somewhat similar to soy sauce. Again, if fish sauce isn’t available in your area, just substitute with soy sauce.
This recipe also calls for both light and dark soy sauce. The most common soy sauce to find in a general supermarket is light soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is usually found in Asian supermarkets. It is less salty in taste and often contains molasses or caramel color. It is primarily used to give dishes a darker colour and a richer taste. If you don’t have dark soy sauce, simply omit it from the recipe.
Pad Krapow Gai cooks up really quickly, in less than 5 minutes!
As with most cooking, it’s important to have all of your ingredients in place before starting. Once you’re organized, you’re on your way to a delicious and hearty meal that’s faster than ordering takeout from your favourite Thai place!
Pad Krapow Gai (Thai Basil Chicken)
Ingredients
For the eggs
- 4 tsp oil
- 4 eggs
For the chicken
- ¼ C chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
- 4-5 Thai chilies, finely minced (depending on your spice tolerance)*
- 2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" cubes
- large handful of fresh Thai basil, reserve a few leaves for garnishing
To Serve
- 2 C steamed white rice
Instructions
Frying the eggs
- In a large wok or frying pan, add 1 tsp vegetable oil and heat over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, crack an egg into the oil and let it fry up for about 2-3 minutes, or until it's cooked to your liking. Remove the egg and transfer to a clean plate. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Set aside.
Cooking the basil chicken
- In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, and 2 tsp sugar. Set aside.
- Using the same wok, turn up the heat to high and add in the 2 Tbsp oil. Add in the shallots, garlic, and Thai chilies and quickly stir fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Next, add in the cubed chicken and continue to stir fry for another 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken broth liquid and toss to coast all of the chicken. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the wok to remove any sticky brown bits that are full of flavour.
- When most of the chicken broth has evaporated, turn off the heat and add in a large handful of Thai basil. Stir to incorporate the basil into the chicken as the residual heat will continue to wilt the basil. Remove from heat.
- Serve the Thai Basil Chicken with fresh hot steamed rice, and a fried egg. Garnish with additional basil leaves. Best served hot.
Notes
If you liked this recipe, here are some similar dishes you may enjoy!
Michelle enjoys learning and discovering different foods from around the world and recreating them in her own kitchen. She is an avid matcha lover and believes that the best food is made from scratch. Michelle develops and photographs recipes at her blog SiftAndSimmer.com.
DR WILBUR HUGHES
Monday 25th of November 2019
ผัดกะเพราหมูสับ There are several types of Kaprow (not Krapow), tulsi, holy basil or whatever you want to call it. there is the one that grows in temperate climates and the really authentic one with fine leaves that I have seen growing in the forests in Thailand. This will only survive in the tropics and hot houses. It has a totally different taste although botanically the same name. In Sydney we can get it once per week flown in from North Australia.. It will only last 2 days after harvest and goes black, so what do you do? 1. Do not use ordinary basil even the temperate Kaprow as it does not taste the same. 2. Freeze some of the leaves in an airtight container. 3. Place a large amount of the whole plant in a VERY powerful (2000 W +) blender. Mix with about 500 ml of high smoke temperature oil (Canola). 4. Add a large amount of garlic, chillies, salt, sugar, fish sauce.. Really authentic Pad Kaprow does not use soy or oyster sauce. 5. Add about a cup full of bland white wine (helps preservative) 6. A little citric acid or lemon juice (as preservative). 7. Blend for a long time until the stalks are no longer perceptible (it is not realised just how much flavour is in the stalks) 8. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze at low temp 24 hours. 9. Remove the cubes and store under vacuum in plastic bags. This will give the best kaprow flavour and will last several months. In Australia, one shop in Thaitown is importing such frozen cubes made in Chiang Rai, but not as good as the recipe above, A few errors in most recipes. You must FRY some of the leaves first (that is why I keep some frozen)., then add 3 or 4 of your frozen mix. Not mentioned is that Thais make often with no beans and then ONLY with snake beans. Frequently fresh green (not tinned) peppercorns are added (also available in Thaitown and directly from a farm in the Northern Territory)
Michelle Wong
Monday 25th of November 2019
Thanks for your insightful tips. This recipe was written for ordinary folk who may not be able to access holy basil, but want to easily replicate a taste of Thai Basil Chicken.
Lizet Flores de Bowen
Wednesday 10th of October 2018
This looks so good! My husband and I love Thai food. We even filled our suitcases with Thai curry paste to bring to Paraguay. Yes! very spicy, but so delicious! Saving your recipe for later. I need to find that basil first.
Michelle Wong
Wednesday 24th of October 2018
Thank you so much Lizet! Definitely try to find the basil... it will make all the difference! :)