Pad Kra Pao – Stir fried mince with Thai Basil – is one of the most popular Thai dishes. In its basic form, it has a few key ingredients – mince, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, chillies and the star – THAI BASIL. Yet it allows the maker flexibility to add other items if they so wish. The recipe is the basic one but change it and make it your own!
Serves : 2
Prep Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 5 mins
Ingredients
- Handful of Thai Basil
- 500gm mince – pork or beef (see notes below for alternatives)
- 2 – birds eye chillies – sliced
- 6 – cloves of garlic (minced or sliced – as you prefer)
- 1cm – ginger minced (optional)
- 2 – tsp light soy sauce
- 2 – tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 – tbsp Oyster sauce
- Eggs – 1 per person
Steps
- Crush the garlic and chillies (and ginger if using) into a rustic (chunky) paste.
- Add some neutral oil (vegetable, peanut etc) in a pan (a wok if you have one) on a high flame.
- Once the oil is fully heated and begins to smoke, add the paste and stir fry for 30 secs to a minute. Do not let it brown !
- Add the mince and start breaking it up and spreading it in the pan – mixing with the paste.
- Cook till the mince has turned colour and is cooked. Add the sauces into the pan and mix well.
- Stir well and when the mince is fully cooked turn off the flame and add the Thai Basil and mix it in.
- Serve immediately.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with either plain rice or stir fried rice. The Thai way is to serve this with a fried egg on top and some slices of lime (or lemon) – but you can enjoy as is!
Notes & Tips
- A slightly fatty pork or beef mince is ideal though you can use chicken or turkey mince as well – though you will need to adjust the flavouring and ensure you don’t over cook. Chicken and turkey tend to have less flavour and more drier.
- Add vegetables such as red and green peppers (sliced), green beans, roasted peanuts, sliced carrots etc. Though not traditional, lets make it fun and interesting!