Pad Krapow Gai (Thai Basil Chicken)
A lightning-fast Thai stir-fry where a pound of ground chicken meets a paste of fresh chilli and garlic, then finishes with a big handful of basil. The crispy fried egg on top is what makes it feel complete.
Pad Krapow Gai (Thai Basil Chicken)
A lightning-fast Thai stir-fry where a pound of ground chicken meets a paste of fresh chilli and garlic, then finishes with a big handful of basil. The crispy fried egg on top is what makes it feel complete.
- Cuisine: Thai
- Category: main
- Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
- ground chicken
- holy basil leaves (or Thai basil as a stand-in)
- bird's eye chilli, fresh
- garlic cloves
- fish sauce
- oyster sauce
- soy sauce
- sugar
Method
- Pound 5 or 6 bird's eye chillies and 5 garlic cloves together in a mortar until they form a coarse, uneven paste. If you have no mortar, blitz them briefly in a small chopper — just enough to break them up, not to make a smooth purée.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok over high heat. Add the chilli-garlic paste and stir for 30 seconds until the raw smell disappears.
- Add 350 g ground chicken. Break it up with your spatula as it cooks — it should sizzle and brown within 3 minutes.
- Season with 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir well and cook for another minute so the sauces concentrate slightly.
- Scrape the wok off the heat. Fold in a large handful of basil leaves — about a big loose handful — just until they wilt from the residual heat. Overcooking basil makes it bitter.
- Slide the chicken over jasmine rice. Top each bowl with a fried egg cooked sunny-side up with crisp edges.