Spicy Stir- Fried Thai Basil Pork ( Moo Pad Krapow )

Pad Krapow, The best Thai Stir fry with Thai basil and Pork

The dish literal meaning in thai is Pad-Fried , Krapow- Thai Holy Basil. But, thai holy basil is not easy to find where I live, so I use thai sweet basil. They have different notes of flavour; Thai Holy Basil is peppery and clove flavour, unlike Thai Sweet Basil has a stronger liquorice flavour. They are equally flavoursome.

In Thailand this dish is everywhere, very popular for brunch or lunch, as they normally have their lunches around noon. When you walk on a sidewalk people are selling them already packed in a bag with rice and very crispy fried egg, or stalls and they will cook it fresh in front of you, you can only imagine that flame and aroma while waiting. Super Yum!

Pad krapow is quick and very easy to make, that is why I can personally say, you can make this any day of the week, and even any time of the day, normally if I have thai sweet basil lying around as a herb left-over, then we will have a spicy quick lunch or dinner.

Although pad krapow is widely popular with chicken either thinly slice or minced. But any protein to be fair really works with this recipe. If you haven't tried pad krapow before then chicken is best to start with. But if you have, maybe explore and we can cook together with my pork recipe . Pork works beautifully in a stir fry dish, the balanced umami seasoning from sugar, soy and oyster sauce and the fats from the meat creates a caramelisation and spicy from the famous thai bird's eye chillis. Guarantee it will excites your taste buds!

When I make stir fry dishes, I tend to balance not just the flavours, but also the texture. Don't get me wrong the star of the dish is the thai sweet basil but some vegetables are good add ons. So dish is no exemption. I can not wait for you to try this quick and easy dish. Hope you will enjoy it as much as i do! Happy Cooking!

What you need to get

• Thai Sweet Basil - can be purchase in an asian supermarket, oriental in particular. If you in the UK, can be also find this in our local supermarkets. Note: If you find Thai Holy Basil; even better.

• Fish sauce - available most local supermarket in the UK and of course, in an asian/oriental supermarket.

• Oyster sauce - it has that very rich umami flavour, available in an asian/ oriental supermarket.

• Light soy sauce- it has a thinner body, and golden brown colour. It is aromatic, umami and savoury. Can be purchase in an asian supermarket.

• Dark soy sauce - It is richer, thicker , and lightly sweeter compared to a light soy sauce. It is mostly used to add colour to a dish.

Complete ingredients

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Moo Pad Krapow

Full Ingredients: Serves 2

• 300g minced pork

• 5 cloves garlic, roughly pounded

• 5-6 bird's eye chillis, roughly pounded

• 1 medium white onions, diced

• 1 cup green beans, diced

• 1 medium spicy red chilli, thinly slice

• 1 cup thai sweet basil

• 4 tbsp water

• 4 tbsp cooking oil

• 1 egg/ person, crispy fried to serve

• jasmine fragrant rice, steamed to serve

Seasoning:

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce

• 1 tbsp fish sauce

• 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1/4 tsp white pepper

Method:

Prepare all ingredients, it is very important to have everything within reach when you start cooking. As seen in photo above, garlic and chillis are roughly pounded ( use pestle & mortar), but of course you can also dice them . When ready, time to fire up that wok! or a pan.

1. In a wok, heat oil over medium heat. Add, chilli garlic paste, stir fry until aromatic.

2. Add pork, stir and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes stir occasionally. Add 1-2 tbsp of water if gets really dry.

3. Push the meat towards the front of the wok, if using pan ( push meat to the sides of the pan making space in the middle). Add a lil bit of oil, stir in diced onions, add some more water to cook onion thoroughly then stir ,mix altogether. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add green beans, and medium spicy red chilli stir and mix well.

5. Add seasoning, stir fry and mix well for 2-3 minutes,

6. Add thai sweet basil, stir and mix well for 10- 20 seconds. Remove from heat immediately.

7. Serve hot with steamed jasmine fragrant rice and crispy fried eggs.

Note:

Make sure you do not over cook the thai sweet basil, when over cooked it looses the fragrance and liquorice flavour, ( garnish it with some more fresh thai sweet basil if you like fresh herbs in your food)

The dish shouldn't be too wet nor dry.

Crispy fried eggs adds creaminess to the dish. Make sure when you fry eggs to not over cook yolks.