Pad Kaprow Recipes

PORK & HOLY BASIL STIR-FRY (PAD KRA PAO)

Steps:

• In a wok over medium high heat, add the oil, shallots and garlic, and fry for 3 minutes. Add the chilies and cook for another minute. Crank up the heat to high, and add the ground pork, breaking it up into small bits and allowing it to crisp up.
• Add the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Stir-fry for another minute and deglaze the pan with the broth or water. Because your pan is over high heat, the liquid should cook off very quickly. Add the basil, and stir-fry until wilted. Serve over rice.

SPICY THAI BASIL CHICKEN (PAD KRAPOW GAI)

Steps:

• Whisk chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a bowl until well blended.
• Heat large skillet over high heat. Drizzle in oil. Add chicken and stir fry until it loses its raw color, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in shallots, garlic, and sliced chilies. Continue cooking on high heat until some of the juices start to caramelize in the bottom of the pan, about 2 or 3 more minutes. Add about a tablespoon of the sauce mixture to the skillet; cook and stir until sauce begins to caramelize, about 1 minute.
• Pour in the rest of the sauce. Cook and stir until sauce has deglazed the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until sauce glazes onto the meat, 1 or 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
• Stir in basil. Cook and stir until basil is wilted, about 20 seconds. Serve with rice.

SPICY BASIL BEEF (PAD KRAPOW)

Steps:

• Combine the sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce and chili paste in a small bowl and reserve.
• Heat your wok or large skillet over high heat and add 3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Crack one egg into the wok and allow the bottom to crisp for a couple of seconds, while keeping the pan moving, then baste until the top of the egg is mostly white, about 1 minute. Set aside on a paper-towel-lined plate, and then fry the second egg. Hold both eggs on the plate until ready to serve.
• Heat your wok or large skillet over high heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons vegetable oil. When wisps of white smoke appear, add the ground beef, flattening against the pan, and cook undisturbed for about 45 seconds. The beef will start to brown; turn over once, press flat against the pan and cook for another 30 seconds. Add garlic and chilies. Cook them until the garlic starts to brown, about 30 seconds. Add the onion. Break up the meat into gravel-size pieces and drain any excess liquid.
• Stir in the bell pepper and stir-fry for about a minute. Add the reserved sauce to the wok and combine the ingredients thoroughly for about 1 minute. Add the Thai basil and cook until the beef is thoroughly cooked and onions are slightly tender. Finish with white pepper.
• Transfer to a platter and top with the reserved fried eggs.

PAD KRAPAO (THAI STIR-FRY PORK WITH BASIL)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add garlic and chile peppers and cook until garlic starts to brown, about 30 seconds. Add pork and stir-fry until browned, about 3 minutes. Pour in dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, and fish sauce. Cook and stir until liquid has reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
• Add chile paste, onion, and bell pepper. Stir-fry until pork is cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in basil leaves and season with pepper. Stir until well combined.

PAD KAPROW

Steps:

• Basil chicken Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces. 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. Now it's time to start cooking. 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, ½ teaspoon light soy sauce, ½ 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.

GROUND CHICKEN STIR FRIED WITH BASIL - KAI PAD BAI KAPROW

Steps:

• In oil over medium-high heat, saute onion, basil, garlic, green onions, chilies, and grated ginger in oil until onions are soft.
• Add ground chicken and sauté until browned.
• Mix fish sauce and brown sugar together; add into chicken/basil mixture and stir to coat.
• Saute for another 3 to 4 minutes.
• Serve with rice.
• Note: please use Thai basil if at all possible, which holds up better under heat and is much more aromatic than common Italian/French basil.

GAI PAD BAI GAPROW

Steps:

• Freeze chicken, wrapped in plastic wrap, 30 minutes to facilitate slicing. Cut chicken lengthwise (along grain) into thin slices and cut slices lengthwise into thin strips. Cut strips crosswise into 2-inch pieces.
• Heat a wok or heavy skillet over high heat until hot. Add oil and heat until hot but not smoking. Add garlic and stir-fry until golden. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly to prevent sticking, until all chicken is opaque white, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add chilies, broth or water, fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, and black pepper and stir-fry until combined. Add basil and stir-fry 30 seconds. If using holy basil, stir-fry 1 minute more, or until basil is wilted but still green. Stir in lime juice.
• Serve chicken with rice.