THAI BASIL CHICKEN
pad kra pao gai ผัดกระเพราไก่
Thai basil chicken (pad kra pao gai ผัดกระเพราไก่) is
one of the most common Thai street food dishes avail-
able in Thailand. The peppery fresh flavor of the holy
basil, fried with chicken, garlic, and chilies, always
makes a delicious meal!
Cooking time: About 30 minutes or less
Recipe size: 1 plate meal
Original recipe: click here
Video instructions: click here
Ingredients (Shopping List)
1 egg
2 tablespoons of oil for frying
1 chicken breast (or any other cut of boneless chicken,
about 200 grams)
5 cloves of garlic
4 - 10 Thai chilies (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 tablespoon oil for frying
1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce
1/2 - 1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 splash of dark soy sauce
1 handful of Thai holy basil leaves
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Cooking Instructions (Method)
Also, you can watch the video here.
First, fry the egg
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or frying pan on high-medi-
um heat
• When the oil is sizzling, drop in the egg. Let it sizzle and bub-
ble up, and at the same time, splash some of the hot oil onto
the top of the egg (don’t flip the egg, unless you want to)
• After the egg looks about right, to your cooked likeness (I like
mine runny), take it out, drain the excess oil, and put it on a
plate for later
Fry the basil chicken
• Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces Thai holy basil
• Rinse and peel the garlic and chilies, and pound them in a
mortar and pestle (alternatively you can just mince them with a knife). They don’t need to be super fine, you just want to
bring out the oils and flavors from the garlic and chilies.
• Pluck a good sized handful of holy basil leaves off the stems.
• Heat your wok on high heat, and add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.
• When the oil is hot, add the chilies and garlic. Stir fry them for about 20 seconds or so until they get really fragrant, but
don’t let them burn or get too dry.
• Toss in your chicken. Keep stir frying continuously. At this stage you want to continue to stir and cook your chicken until
it’s just about fully cooked all the way through (depending on the size pieces of chicken and how hot your fire is, it should
take about 2 - 3 minutes). If it starts to get dry, add just a tiny splash of water.
• Add 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce, 1/2 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1/2 - 1/4 teaspoon sugar, and finally a splash of dark soy
sauce. Keep stir frying for about another 30 seconds.
• Grab a handful of holy basil, toss it into the pan, fold it into the chicken, and then immediately turn off the heat (if you’re
using an electric stove, you’ll want to remove the pan from the burner). The holy basil really only needs to cook for about
5 seconds, and it will continue to wilt and cook from the existing heat of the chicken. This step is important because if you
cook the basil for too long, it loses some of its glorious flavor and gets slightly chewy.
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Thank you
Thank you for downloading this
free PDF recipe for Thai basil
chicken (pad kra pao gai ผัดกระ
เพราไก่). Hope you enjoyed it!
- Mark Wiens
migrationology.com &
eatingthaifood.com
If you want to get in touch with
me, send me a message at:
migrationology@gmail.com
Eating tips:
Here’s what to do next...
• Before you start cooking your basil chicken, the first 1. Go back to the original article, and leave a com-
thing I like to do is cook rice. That way, you have nice ment telling me how you liked this recipe - I’d love to
piping hot rice ready. hear from you (I will read and respond to your com-
• The fried egg is optional, but in Thailand it’s very com- ment)!
mon. The combination of Thai basil chicken and a fried
egg over a plate of rice is incredibly delicious. 2. Get started cooking more of my other Thai street
food recipes (and more coming soon).
Enjoy! 3. Stay tuned, I’ll be sending you more delicious Thai
food eating and cooking tips.
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