Pad kra pao or khao pad kra pao?
At a Thai street stall you usually order pad kra pao: ground meat with basil from the wok, served next to a mound of rice on the plate. For khao pad kra pao you fry the rice with the same seasoning in the pan, so everything comes from one pot. Krapao, krapow, kaprao and kra pao are spellings of the same Thai word (กะเพรา) for holy basil. If you want the version with rice on the side, cook the recipe for pad krapow moo.
The right ingredients
- Holy basil: The leaves taste hot and peppery. You find the herb fresh or frozen at an Asian grocery store, and as a potted plant it is often sold as tulsi.
- Substitute: Thai basil (horapa) with the purple stems tastes of anise. It makes the dish sweeter but still works. European basil is the last resort.
- Rice: Day-old jasmine rice has lost moisture and falls apart into single grains. Spread freshly cooked rice on a baking sheet and put it in the fridge for an hour. You will find the cooking method under how to cook jasmine rice.
- Meat: Ground pork or chicken with a little fat. In Thailand, cooks roughly chop chicken thighs with a knife, which keeps the meat juicier.
- Sauces: Light soy sauce, fish sauce and oyster sauce bring salt and umami, and the sugar rounds it off.
How to make basil fried rice
Have everything ready
At the wok you need about 8 minutes, and there is no time left for chopping. Crush the garlic and chilies in a mortar into a coarse paste, which releases more aroma in hot oil than finely chopped pieces. Stir the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce and sugar together in a small bowl beforehand and pluck the basil leaves from the stems.
High heat
Turn the burner to the highest setting. On medium heat the rice steams in its own vapor and turns soft. Garlic and chili need 20 to 30 seconds, then the ground meat goes in. Break it up with the spatula until it is brown and crumbly. Loosen the cold rice with damp hands before it goes into the wok.
Basil last
Pour the sauce mixture onto the hot rim of the wok, where it sizzles and caramelizes briefly. Toss the rice until it is evenly brown. Only then add the basil leaves. They wilt within 30 seconds, and then you pull the wok off the heat. Cooked longer, they turn black and lose their aroma.
Common mistakes
- Warm, fresh rice: It clumps together and turns mushy.
- Too much sauce: The rice gets wet. You can season more at the table.
- Overcrowded pan: For 4 people, fry in two rounds, otherwise the heat drops.
- Too hot: Three Thai chilies for two plates is strong. For milder heat, use one chili and remove the seeds.
Variations
For a vegetarian version, fry crumbled firm tofu or diced mushrooms instead of ground meat. Replace the fish and oyster sauce with soy sauce and a vegetarian mushroom-based oyster sauce. Shrimp or beef cut into strips work too, and they need 2 to 3 minutes in the wok. If you like Thai fried rice, also try khao pad with egg and vegetables or khao pad prik pao with roasted chili paste.
What to serve with it
In Thailand a kai dao goes on top: a fried egg cooked in plenty of hot oil until the edge is crisp and the yolk stays runny. On the table you find prik nam pla, fish sauce with chopped Thai chilies and a squeeze of lime juice. A few cucumber slices cool the palate between the hot bites.
