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    Home » Recipes by Category » Stir-fries

    Published: Apr 10, 2019 · Modified: May 11, 2020 by Nart · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Thai Holy Basil Chicken | Pad Kaprao Gai

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    thai holy basil chicken or pad kraprao gai in a white bowl

    So you go to a Thai restaurant and feel overwhelmed by the choices available? Great, ’cause we get that too!

    Whenever I go to a Thai dtam sang (made to order) place or cart with my friends, there’s always that one person, sometimes myself, who can’t decide what to eat and ends up ordering pad kraprao. Ask any of your Thai friends and you’ll be surprised to know that this holy delicious dish is known among Thai people as the dish to go for when we’re being annoyingly indecisive in a restaurant and everyone else is waiting for us to, for goodness’ sake, order.

    thai holy basil chicken or pad kraprao gai in a white bowl

    But guess what, you don’t have to be like us. If you don’t live in Thailand and are going to treat yourself to a Thai restaurant, get something that’s more difficult for you to prepare yourself and keep the Thai holy basil stir-fry something you make at home. It’s one of the most basic Thai dishes to make and when you make it yourself, you can have it as spicy or garlicky as you want. (I like mine pretty hot with lots of basil leaves because I have an endless supply of holy basil that my father grows.) 🙂

    rice with thai holy basil chicken or pad kraprao gai

    To make a great holy basil stir-fry, you want to make sure you really do pick the right kind of basil. You must get *holy basil* for this dish or your pad kraprao ends up a disaster. 🌪 Well, maybe not a disaster…but definitely something else. As far as chilies go, traditionally, this dish is supposed to be a little spicy so you’ll want a hot type. Of course, you don’t have to use as many chilies as I use in this recipe if you don’t like spicy food. I went to school with a dude who always got pad kraprao with no chilies, so that’s totally fine. 😂 And as always, cook your rice before you cook anything else! You’ll want to serve pad kraprao with rice and it’s best eaten when still warm. Oh, and a little of prik nam pla (Thai chili fish sauce condiment) will definitely make this dish taste better!

    Enjoy!

    📖 Recipe

    thai holy basil chicken or pad kraprao gai in a white bowl

    Thai Holy Basil Chicken | Pad Kaprao Gai Recipe

    A quick and easy spicy Thai stir-fry. Delicious and filling over rice!
    5 from 15 votes
    Print Rate
    Cuisine: Thai
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Servings: 2 servings
    Author: Nart

    Ingredients

    • ¼ teaspoon white peppercorns
    • 7 cloves garlic peeled
    • 6 chilies
    • 270 grams chicken sliced
    • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    • 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
    • ½ teaspoon sugar
    • 1 cup holy basil leaves

    Instructions

    • In a mortar, pound the white peppercorns, garlic and chilies with a pestle.
    • Heat cooking oil in a wok over medium heat and stir-fry the garlic and chili paste until fragrant.
    • Add the chicken and season with soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar.
    • Turn off the heat when the chicken is done and stir in the holy basil leaves.
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    All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Priya Lakshminarayan says

      December 07, 2020 at 12:19 pm

      5 stars
      Love Thai food! They are always packed with flavors. This looks yum

      Reply
    2. rika says

      December 07, 2020 at 12:03 pm

      5 stars
      Basil chicken is one of my favorite Thai foods! Your version of basil chicken looks so good. Yum.

      Reply
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    Hi, I'm Nart!

    I'm Thai born and bred and I love cooking for my family, friends and myself. I'm here to share with you my Thai and other Asian recipes with a bit of baking and Western recipes thrown in here and there. More about me →

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