DISH RESEARCH · Main dish

Pad Kra Pao

Also known as: Phat kaphrao, ผัดกะเพรา

Pailin Chongchitnant’s selected raw-chicken pad kra pao branch stir-fries chicken breast with a pounded chili-garlic paste and an own savoury sauce. Holy basil wilts off the heat, with jasmine rice and optional separately prepared fried eggs alongside.

About Pad Kra Pao

Research draft based on the references below. These notes describe particular recipes and presentations; ingredient connections are still being reviewed.

Pailin Chongchitnant’s selected pad kra pao uses the raw chicken-breast branch of her flexible Thai holy-basil stir-fry formula. She explains that the different English spellings refer to the same dish, named for stir-frying and holy basil.

The chicken takes a fish-sauce marinade while an own sauce combines oyster sauce, soy sauce, another fish-sauce portion, water and sugar. A selected optional dark-soy portion can deepen its colour.

Thai chilies are pounded before garlic and selected mild spur chilies join the rough paste. The chicken sears separately, then the chili-garlic mixture cooks in the wok with optional diced onion.

The chicken returns with the sauce for a quick coating. Selected holy-basil leaves are tossed in only after the heat is switched off, so they wilt into the mixture.

The stir-fry is served with separately prepared jasmine rice. The recipe offers fried eggs on top and prik nam pla alongside when those eggs are chosen, keeping this selected chicken-and-basil version distinct from its other protein and basil options.

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Ingredients in Pad Kra Pao

Recorded ingredient connections, rather than a complete recipe. Explore an ingredient for more detail.

Chickenprotein
Chilli pepperseasoning
Steamed Ricebase
Eggtopping
Vegetable Oilother
Garlicother
Fish sauceother
Holy Basilother
Oyster Sauceother
Soy Sauceother
Porkother
Sugarsweetener

Ingredient connections awaiting review. Versions and preparation vary.

Origins & food traditions

Explore the countries and cooking traditions associated with this dish. These connections do not establish a single birthplace or limit where the dish is eaten today.

Countries

Thailand

Cuisines & regions

Central Thai Cuisine

Associations in the cited sources

These describe source-specific cultural or geographic connections. Catalogue links may still need review.

Countries & places: Thailand
Cooking traditions: Thai-style

AI-generated illustration of one possible presentation. Recipes and ingredients vary; the image does not establish allergen content.

Sources & references

The Only PAD KRA PAO Recipe You Need - Holy Basil Stir Fry