Thai basil chicken (pad kra pao)
27 min · 46 g protein · 489 cals / serving
Thailand's favourite fast lunch: chopped chicken stir-fried over high heat with a fistful of garlic and fiery chilies, glazed in a salty-sweet oyster, soy and fish sauce, then flooded with basil leaves that wilt and perfume everything. Crisp green beans go in for crunch, and it is served over jasmine rice with a lacy fried egg whose runny yolk becomes part of the sauce.
Ingredients
Rice
- 2/3 cup jasmine rice, rinsed
- 1 cup water
Sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2–4 Thai chilies red chili peppers, finely chopped
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 1/3 lb chicken breast, finely chopped (or ground chicken)
- 4 cups green beans, in 3 cm (1-inch) pieces
- 1 1/2 packed cups fresh basil, Thai holy basil if you can find it
Fried eggs
- 4 eggs (optional)
- 2 tsp canola oil (optional)
Steps
- Put the rice and water in a small pot with a pinch of salt, bring to a boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it covered.
- Stir the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and water together until the sugar dissolves.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic, chilies and onion and stir 30 seconds, until fragrant but not brown. Add the chicken, spread it out and let it sear for a minute before stirring, then stir-fry 3–4 minutes, breaking it up, until it has turned white and is browning at the edges.
- Add the green beans and the sauce and keep stir-frying over high heat 3–4 minutes, until the beans are bright and crisp-tender, the chicken is cooked through (165°F) and the sauce has reduced to a glaze.
- Turn off the heat and throw in the basil; toss for 20 seconds until it collapses.
- For the eggs, heat the 2 tsp oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat, crack in the eggs and fry 2–3 minutes, until the edges are crisp and golden and the whites are set but the yolks still run. Serve the chicken over the rice with an egg on top.
Good to know
Holy basil, Thai basil or regular basil?
Holy basil (kra pao) is peppery and is what the dish is named for. Thai basil is sweeter with an anise note and is easier to find; Italian basil works too. Use a big handful whichever you have.
How hot is it?
Two chilies gives a pleasant warmth, four is properly Thai. Seed them for less heat, and a spoonful of chili-garlic sauce on the side lets everyone choose.
Skipping the egg?
It is still great without, just a little less rich, and it's about the same score.
Alternatives
Per
- Calories
- 123
- Protein
- (40%)
- 12 g
- Fat
- (28%)
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- (32%)
- 10 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 226 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1955 kcal goes into the pot and 1879 g of ingredients comes out as about 1585 g of food: 123 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.