Rezept

Pad Krapao in 15 minutes: the recipe

Pad Krapao is a street food staple in Thailand: minced meat, fresh basil, fried egg, and rice. With the ready-made THAANI sauce, the dish is on the table in 15 minutes.

3 Min. Lesezeit

Pad Krapao in 15 Minuten: das Rezept

Pad Krapao is what people order in Thailand when no one can decide what to eat. In street kitchens, it is considered the default answer to the question of what to have: quickly stir-fried in a wok, always available, and affordable for everyone.

The dish is relatively young and relies on a single ingredient: holy basil, called "Krapao" in Thai, which gives it its name. The sauce for it is accordingly called ซอสผัดกะเพรา, literally Pad Krapao sauce. Without the basil, it would just be spicy stir-fried minced meat.

For this recipe, THAANI Sauce provides oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, and chili in one step. The additional ingredients you need are minimal, and the basil goes into the wok fresh, not from a bottle.

Classically, Pad Krapao is cooked with minced chicken or pork, though some street kitchens also use beef or coarsely chopped meat instead of finely ground meat. The fried egg on the side is not just a garnish; it is as essential to the dish as the rice underneath.

  • 4servings
  • 15 min.preparation time
  • 3/5on the THAANI scale

Shopping list

What else you need

  • 170 ml THAANI Pad Krapao Sauce (approx. 2/3 of a bottle)
  • 500 g minced meat, chicken, beef, or pork
  • 1 bunch of fresh Thai basil, coarsely plucked
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 400 g jasmine rice, cooked
  • 1 fresh red chili, sliced into rings, optional

Preparation

  1. Cook the rice. Cook the jasmine rice according to the package instructions and keep warm so that it is still hot when serving.
  2. Fry the minced meat. Heat rapeseed oil in a wok over high heat, fry the minced meat until crumbly and browned on all sides, with no pink center visible.
  3. Add the sauce. Pour in the THAANI Pad Krapao Sauce and toss briefly with the meat until everything is evenly coated.
  4. Fold in the basil. Only now add the fresh basil and let it wilt briefly; otherwise, it will lose its color and aroma.
  5. Fry the eggs. Parallel to this or afterward, fry the eggs in a little oil until the edges are crispy and the yolk is still runny.
  6. Serve. Arrange the rice, minced meat, and fried egg on the plate; if desired, sprinkle additional chili rings on top.
Krapao goes into the wok last, otherwise its aroma will burn before it even reaches the plate.

Variations and tips

  • For a vegetarian version, use chopped tofu or finely diced mushrooms instead of meat, and fry them a bit longer to develop roasted flavors.
  • If you cook Krapao often, buy two bunches of basil at once and freeze the leaves in portions.
  • For a juicier sauce, feel free to use 200 ml instead of 170 ml; that way, there is more left over to mix with the rice.
  • Leftover minced meat tastes great cold in a sandwich the next day or reheated with fried eggs.

Once opened, the sauce can be kept refrigerated at +2 to +6 °C and should be used within 2 weeks. A whole bottle is enough for 6 servings of Pad Krapao; this recipe only requires two-thirds of it.