Quick Thai stir-fry of ground chicken with Thai basil, chilies, and garlic in a savory sauce, served over rice.
A central Thai stir-fry whose template — protein plus aromatic basil over rice — emerged in mid-20th-century Bangkok as wok-cooked rice plates (raat khao) became standard street food. Wok techniques arrived earlier with Teochew Chinese immigrants; the Thai contribution is the basil and fish-sauce-forward seasoning. Often plated with a fried egg on top in restaurant versions.
Pad krapow gai — the holy basil (krapow) is non-negotiable; Thai or Italian basil makes it pad horapa, a different dish. Wok must be screaming, the egg crispy at the edges.
Often confused with Pad Krapao (holy basil) but distinct: this uses Thai sweet basil (horapha), giving an anise-licorice perfume rather than peppery bite. Ground or sliced chicken hits a screaming wok with garlic, bird's eye chili, oyster sauce, and soy; basil goes in last and wilts in residual heat. Served over jasmine rice. If basil is fully cooked, the dish loses its lift.
The whole dish runs on residual heat. Wok must be smoking hot, oil shimmering — chicken cooks in under a minute. Basil added off-heat or right before plating preserves the volatile methyl chavicol (estragole) that gives horapha its anise-like character. Stew it and you get spinach-like greens with no smell.
Variations
Pad krapow moo (pork, the canonical street version); pad krapow nuea (beef); seafood version with squid in coastal provinces; Issan cooks add long beans.
On the Palate
Where Thai Basil Chicken sits in the Thai flavor cloud
Get the wok truly smoking before the chicken hits it and throw the basil in only at the very end, off the heat if you can — long cooking boils off the anise oil and you're left with limp, scentless greens.
Ingredients
How it's made
5 steps · 7 min
- 12 min
In a small bowl, mix together the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- 21 min
Heat oil in a wok over high heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and chili, quickly stir-frying for 10 seconds until fragrant.
Watch outGarlic and chili go in and hit fragrant in about ten seconds — move fast, they scorch and turn bitter the moment they brown.
- 32 min
Add the chicken pieces and white parts of the green onion to the wok. Stir-fry until the chicken is just cooked through, about 2 minutes.
Watch outEnsure the chicken is cooked through to avoid any raw spots.
- 41 min
Pour in the sauce mixture, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens and coats the chicken, about 1 minute.
Watch outThe sauce goes glossy and clings to the chicken instead of pooling — that thick, coating look is when it's done.
- 51 min
Toss in the green parts of the green onion and basil leaves. Stir until the basil is just wilted, then serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.
Watch outBasil just collapses and goes glossy-green — stir a couple of times and plate; any longer and the smell fades.
