Pad Krapow Gai (Spicy Thai Basil Chicken)

Stir fried with hot basil or Pad Krapow in Thai (Kra prao is hot basil in Thai) is one of the most popular and simple menu in Thai cuisine. We can find this anywhere in Thailand from a street food vendor to Dine-in restaurants. Pad Krapow is not popular only for Thais but also for foreigners who visit Thailand. And this menu can be cooked in many ways with chicken, pork, beef, prawn, fish etc. But the most popular is made with chicken or minced pork.  

Well, let us introduce a super simple way of cooking this menu that you can make at home. And the ingredients to cook are regularly available at general fresh markets and super markets. What we recommend is use the fresh raw materials to cook that will make this simple menu to be a heavenly dish. Let’s see how to cook this menu now.

Pad Krapow Gai Recipe

Ingredients: (1 servings)

• Chicken breast or thigh 150 grams
• Thai garlic, peeled and chopped 1 tablespoon
• Bird’s chili 7-10 seeds
• Hot basil 4-5 branches
• Soy sauce ½ tablespoon
• Seasoning sauce ½ tablespoon
• Oyster sauce 1 ¼ tablespoon
• Sugar 1/3 teaspoon
• Black soy sauce 2-3 drops
• Water or soup stock 2 tablespoons 
• Cooking oil 2 tablespoons

Directions:

1. Rinse chicken and drain well and cut to small pieces and set aside. (Use chicken breast or thigh as preferred. Chicken thigh has some fat while breast is full of flesh).
2. Hot basil, we recommend to use Thai hot basil because it is stronger in aroma, even though its leaves are smaller than other one. Rinse whole branch and rip only leaves to use. 
3. Bird’s chili, rip the stalk and rinse well. (the number of chili will cause to the taste to be much or less hot, if prefer very hot taste, can add more 5-6 seeds of chili).
4. Pound chili and garlic together to paste.
5. Heat the pan over medium and add oil, when the oil is hot and add chili and garlic paste, stir well until its aroma comes out. Add chicken and stir well until is almost cook then add flavor with soy sauce, seasoning sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, black soy sauce and water or soup stock, stir well. 
6. Stir until the chicken is cooked, then add hot basil leaves, stir quickly and turn off the heat.
7. Put in dish or over the steamed rice and can serve with deep fried egg or omelet as optional.

Remarks:

• Can substitute fish sauce for soy sauce or can add fish sauce to the ingredients as well.
• If do not like thick sauce style so can reduce portion of oyster sauce and add more soy sauce, seasoning sauce or fish sauce instead.
• For one who do not eat chicken can replace to pork, minced pork, beef, prawn or fish or ones who is vegetarian can make with cabbage, mushroom, tofu, fresh bean flour sheets etc.). 

Nutrition and Dietary Benefits of Pad Krapow Gai

1.  Rice: provides energy and warmness

2.  Chicken: provides protein and minerals, help in body growth and maintenance 

3. Hot basil leaves: carminative, excrete the gas. Contains calcium, beta-carotene and vitamin c which will activate together as anti-oxidant to prevent cancers.  

4. Chili: provides vitamin c and beta-carotene, capsaicin in chili that gives hot in taste take action as anti-oxidant and prevent cancer to attack cell in the body

5. Garlic: provides organo-sulfur compounds to prevent the growth of some bacteria which cause of cancers.