Hey guys.
About to get real serious about basil right now.
We’ve published several recipes on this blog that involve Thai basil, like this 10-Minute Chicken & Basil Stir-fry and this Thai Basil Beef. In said recipes, we used what our local Asian grocery store labels as, “Thai Basil,” which is actually a variety of cinnamon basil. This is also the kind of basil most commonly used in Thai restaurants here in the States, I believe.
That said, a few commenters on those recipes felt very passionately about our basil usage, suggesting––demanding––that we use holy basil in our recipes. The translation of “Pad Kra Pao,” is apparently “holy basil stir-fry,” so you can’t (technically) make the dish without this key ingredient.
It’s elusive, though. We scoured the Asian markets in our area for holy basil, but could never find it. Finally, we decided to take our only remaining course of action, just to see what all the fuss was about. We bought a packet of seeds on the Internet, stuck ’em in our backyard garden, and waited.
After a few weeks, the little holy basil plants started popping out of the ground:
As the summer wore on, our holy basil crop grew and grew––and we now have a pretty serious holy basil patch in our yard––enough to make endless plates of pad kra pao (Thai holy basil) stir-fry. The picture below is a bit old––we now probably have quadruple the amount you see there).
When I started cooking with it, I finally knew why people had such strong feelings about using it in this Pork Pad Kra Pao stir fry dish––it has a very particular flavor. It’s almost licorice-like, or perhaps fennel-like. In any case, I was a fan. That said, if you’re not into the idea of growing this uncommon (here in ‘Murica, anyway) variety of basil in order to get your hands on some, I maintain that using cinnamon basil or even regular sweet basil is better than having no stir-fry at all!
Ok, on to the pad kra pao stir fry recipe. :)
You’ll need:
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 7 cloves garlic, sliced
- 3 Thai bird or holland chilies, de-seeded (if desired) and thinly sliced
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon thin/light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- ⅓ cup low sodium chicken broth or water
- holy basil leaves (about 1 1/2 cups packed)
In a wok over medium high heat, add the oil, shallots and garlic, and fry for 3 minutes.
Add the chilies and cook for another minute.
Crank up the heat to high, and add the ground pork, breaking it up into small bits and allowing it to crisp up.
Add the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Stir-fry for another minute and deglaze the pan with the broth or water. Because your pan is over high heat, the liquid should cook off very quickly. Add the basil, and stir-fry until wilted.
Serve this Pork Pad Kra Pao(Holy Basil Stir-fry) over rice!
I think we could have named this Pork & Holy Basil Stir-fry a 10 minute Pork Pad Kra Pao stir fry because it was that quick and easy!
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 7 cloves garlic, sliced
- 3 Thai bird or holland chilies, de-seeded (if desired) and thinly sliced
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon thin/light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- ⅓ cup low sodium chicken broth or water
- holy basil leaves (about 1½ cups packed)
- In a wok over medium high heat, add the oil, shallots and garlic, and fry for 3 minutes. Add the chilies and cook for another minute. Crank up the heat to high, and add the ground pork, breaking it up into small bits and allowing it to crisp up.
- Add the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Stir-fry for another minute and deglaze the pan with the broth or water. Because your pan is over high heat, the liquid should cook off very quickly. Add the basil, and stir-fry until wilted. Serve over rice.
Amber says
This was just amazing. Loved every bite.
Judy says
So glad you enjoyed it, Amber!
Adriane says
I made this last night and it was absolutely incredible. It tasted just as good as the best thai food we’ve ever had at a restaurant. My boyfriend loved it so much he went on and on and on. Saying how good it was was the last thing he said before going to sleep and the first thing he said when he woke up! I will definitely be making this again. Thank you so much!
Sarah says
Hahaha that’s so awesome Adriane! I love hearing stories like that. So glad that you guys enjoyed it and found a new staple. :)
CW says
I made this with Thai basil since the Japanese market nearby didn’t have holy basil. It’s delicious!
Sarah says
So glad you liked it!
Lori Franko says
This is the second time I’ve made this recipe this week! I found a big bag of Holy Basil at my favourite Asian grocery. This dish really showcases it in all of its delicious glory! Thanks for sharing!
Sarah says
You’re welcome, Lori! Must be a well-stocked grocery store to have Holy basil––we can’t even find it at our Asian market!
Mark Abbott says
Great taste that Pad Kra Pow Nuer…Aloy mak..!
Sarah says
Thanks Mark!
Susan says
This was delicious!!! I found the ingredients at my local HMart but I’ve recently gone gluten-free (not by choice but necessity) so used tamari in place of the two types of soy sauce and gluten-free oyster sauce. The store didn’t carry Holy Basil so used Thai Basil instead. Be sure to follow the cooking directions and allow the pork to crisp up a bit before deglazing wok/pan. I served this with rice and topped it with a crispy fried egg (with runny yolk). Frying the egg was messy business but it rounded out the dish and added an extra layer of deliciousness. Thank you for an excellent recipe – I can’t wait to make it again tomorrow!!
Sarah says
Hey Susan, love that you added the crispy fried egg––I will totally have to try that. I also think it’s totally fine to use Thai basil if you can’t find holy basil. It’s a different dish, as those Thai cuisine aficionados would tell you, but it’s still delicious!
Alan says
I picked off a couple of your Thai Basil recipes yesterday, so I can make them soon. Your story regarding the holy basil is great, and educational. I had Thai basil fried rice with chicken at a Thai restaurant on Thursday. First time I ever had that and I’m addicted now. Can’t wait to try some on my own. What magic in that combination. As you stated, holy basil is a treasure hidden from our midst. I’ll have to buy the seeds and plant them and wait. Cooking time, 2 months. lol
You “guys” comprise my favorite food blog of all time. Your accompanying stories and descriptions, along with Sarah’s photography, and of course your recipes make your presentations the very best.
Sarah says
Hahahaha “cooking time: 2 months.” such dedication!
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Alan. We’re so glad to have you on the blog enjoying the recipes. :)
Keryl says
Holy hell is it hard to find Holland chiles in Los Angeles. Short of going to Thai Town, which I haven’t done yet because I live across town, I’m striking out all over! I’m going to concede and use bird chilis, which I’m sure will taste fine, but where do you guys find the bigger Thai red chiles? I know you’re not in LA but is there a place I should be looking that I’m not looking? (I’ve tried Koreatown, indian stores, Mexican shops with many varieties of peppers, and upscale grocery stores that sometimes have random obscure produce.) And if not, aside from bird chilis is there another good substitute that might be easier to find? Thanks!
Sarah says
Hey Keryl, we generally find those chilies at our local Chinese grocery store. It’s pretty big and well-stocked, so it’s quite possible that they just aren’t available where you are. That said, long hot red chilies, Thai bird chilies, or something like a jalapeño will work fine. Just bear in mind the varying heat levels in these different peppers and adjust accordingly.
Annie sun says
Making this for dinner tonight!
Sarah says
Yay!!! (I already got feedback from you on it in person, haha!)
D. Kalah says
This was so good! Made this 3 times already!
Sarah says
thanks for the feedback! So glad you liked it!
Supada M says
I just finished making it and eating it as I type. This is an excellent recipe! The techniques are similar to the way a restaurant cooks. My mom was a very good cook and her techniques is sub-par compared to this recipe. Thank you for teaching me how to make this wonderful dish!!
Sarah says
You’re welcome!
19834 says
A Thai stumbled upon your post.
Just FYI. You can substitute minced pork with other meats. Chicken (or minced chicken), beef (or minced beef), crispy pork. Even Chinese meatball or Vietnamese sausage.
Also you can add some vegetables. Some food shops here add carrot, baby corn, onion, long bean, mushroom, etc. to their dishes.
Mostly we eat it with fried egg as a side dish, like Mr. Alvin said below. You can also eat it with some fresh vegetable to lower the spiciness. Cucumber is recommended. (FYI in FYI. Most Thai dish are bold. That’s because we tend to eat them with rice or other vegetable as side dishes. The rice or the side dishes would reduced the boldness or spiciness of the main dish and make it balanced. For example the well-known Pad Thai. Authentic Pad Thai will have lots of vegetable as side dish: beansprout, banana flower (yes it’s edible), Chinese chives, etc.)
That’s all I can think for now. Enjoy you cooking. :)
Sarah says
Thanks for sharing! That’s awesome. I did also do a version of this recipe with chicken, actually!
The idea of serving a fried egg on the side is an awesome one. Will have to remember that for next time!
Alvin says
in Thai language, ผัดกะเพรา just means stir fried basil… you need to include หมูสับ (moo saab/ minced pork)… and you also need ไข่ดาว (khai daao/ sunny-side-up)
the name of this dish is: ผัดกระเพราหมูสับลาภข้าวไข่ดาว
Sarah says
Thanks for the info, Alvin!
Radu says
Do you know where to get minced pork like that one in Thailand or how it’s made or what part from the pork body is it made from? In my country the minced meat in the supermarket is really bad and smells like sodium.
Thanks!
Angeline says
Made this tonight and the family loved it! We had leftover ground pork and fresh basil and this dish was perfect way to use up leftover ingredients. I used regular basil and dried red chilli flakes since that’s what I had on hand. The dish still turned out pretty darn good imo.
This recipe will definitely be a repeat in this household! Thank you!!
Sarah says
You’re welcome, Angeline––so glad you liked it.
Nice says
I substituted a few ingredients for this recipe. I had to mince pork loin into small chunks, and I also had to replace the basil leaves with mint.
Regardless, this recipe came out delicious. When I get the chance, I will go to the grocery store to buy the proper ingredients to execute this recipe properly next time.
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I will use it often.
Also, I’ve noticed that your instructions and pictures are amazing. When will you and your family publish a cookbook? I will be the first to pre-order!
Sarah says
Good to know mint is an option here! We grow a ton of it during the summer.
To answer your question, we don’t have any concrete plans for a cookbook at the moment, but we’re thinking about the possibility!
lind says
Thanks for this recipe! It’s amazing and simple, even for an inexperienced cook like myself. I realised that using when using Thai basil for this dish (couldn’t get holy basil), the basil flavour didn’t come out as strong as I’d have liked it to be.
I also didn’t have to add water / broth to deglaze the pan as there was quite a bit of liquid coming out from my pork.
My partner and I absolutely loved this and he thinks I can go open a restaurant already hahaha. Will be making this again!
Sarah says
Thanks for sharing Lind! So glad you guys liked it. :)
Stefanie says
Thanks for the easy and delicious recipe! Someone actually asked me if it was takeout from a very good Asian restaurant down the street from where I live – and they were shocked to find out I had made it at home :)
Sarah says
Woooowww that’s awesome stefanie!
Winnie says
Thank you so much for this recipe!! This was delicious!! I had an eggplant, so I added some cooked cubed eggplant. I gobbled it down.
Sarah says
MM, the addition of eggplant sounds awesome, Winnie!
Fernando | Eating With Your Hands says
Seriously amazed by the passion for basil here! I made the 10-minute stir fry some weeks ago, and since it’s hard here in Berlin to find very specific food items (unless you are willing to spend the day flying around the city’s neighborhoods in search of it) I used regular sweet basil. And it was amazing nonetheless!
Sarah says
Thanks Fernando! So glad you liked it. Yes, it was kind of crazy to wait an entire summer for the basil to grow just so we could do this recipe, but apparently that’s how we roll haha. Thanks for the lovely comment, as always. :)
Jeff says
Very nice version. Technically I believe this is Pad Kra Pao Moo (as opposed to Pad Kra Pao Gai — chicken or pad Kra Pao Nua — beef.)
Very good served with a very crispy fried egg with runny yoke!
Sarah says
Thanks for the clarification, Jeff!!
FEL!X says
Maybe helpful for those who search the correct seeds: the botanical name of Holy Basil is «Ocimum tenuiflorum» or «Ocimum sanctum».
Phat ga-prau moo (pork) or gai (chicken) is mostly served as a single dish, topped with a fried egg.
More information on my blog: search for «Holy Basil» (in German!).
Best regards from Thailand,
FEL!X
Sarah says
Thanks for the info Felix!
Sage says
In Vietnam, we have a very similar dish, but with minced lemongrass instead of holy basil. This is one of my favourite dishes. Now I’ll have to try the Thai version :-)
Sarah says
That sounds amazing, Sage! I have some lemongrass in my fridge right now actually––will have to look into a recipe for the dish you’re talking about.
Sage says
Since it’s home cooking, we don’t have a recipe for it :), but basically just add 2 stalks of lemongrass (minced, only the white part) to your aromatics in step 1 and forget the basil in step 2. Also, we only use fish sauce, sugar and black pepper as seasonings (no soy sauce or oyster sauce), so you’ll have to adjust the quantities accordingly.
Jen says
That sounds so good,lemon grass is amazing
Megan says
Hi! I could not prevent myself from commenting on this…I love holy basil, ate it when I lived in Philly and CA, and lamented when I moved and could no longer buy it at the store. I’m Chinese but love love Thai food.
I, too, bought the same exact package (same company, same picture) of ‘holy basil’ seeds from my local greenhouse, and planted it in my garden, hoping to make pad kee mao and pad ga prao. It, too, grew easily and prolifically, and even now pops up in places where I didn’t sow it. The flowers even look pretty similar to the holy basil I remember. HOWEVER, when I plucked some once it was big enough, it didn’t taste right..I thought, hm, must be my tastebuds are weird today. Later, I plucked some and made pad ka prao with it, the taste was not the holy basil I remember from when I bought holy basil from a Cambodian grocery store. The holy basil I planted lacked the fiery and almost alcohol-y (in a good way) flavor profile that I remember from holy basil in Thai food, and this botanical interests holy basil is more on the clovey side, in my opinion.
I scoured the internet for what seemed like days, and there are several types of ‘holy basil,’ and I guess both Thais and Indians name some herbs as ‘holy basil’ –> http://www.grownfromtheheart.com/basil-varieties/holy-basil-varieties. I believe the type we both planted is Vana Tulsi basil, based on the plump leaf shape and similarity in jaggedness.
If you look closely at pictures and compare, this vana tulsi basil looks different than the holy basil if you google kaprao on SheSimmers website (I consider her an authority on Thai food) or holy basil kaprao on seed catalogs online. One such catalog which I think shows the right type names it as “Holy Kaprao Rama Tulsi”. It looks like it’s easier to find the whitish-green holy basil, rather than the purpley kind in the US?
Anyway, just wanted to point out that I have a reasonable degree of confidence that the holy basil that Botanical Interests advertises as holy basil, is not the type that Thais use in cooking. :( (Much to my dismay).
Next year I plan to try again with a different seed source :)
Sarah says
Phew, thanks for that comprehensive comment, Megan. Seems like the world of basil continues to be vast and confusing. I will definitely look into that article that you shared. In the meantime, I hope you crack the code––let us know if you find a good alternative seed source if you have a chance!
megan says
I just ordered mine from this lady – http://www.ebay.com/itm/Holy-Basil-Seeds-THAI-Vegetable-Seeds-2-g-Min-Qty-4-000-Seeds-/301921647197?hash=item464beeba5d:g:OmwAAOSwtnpXkvmc .
It seems a bit dodgy perhaps, but it was a great price and seems she has fairly good reviews.
Excited for the real holy basil next year!
Sarah says
Thanks for sharing, Megan!
Pey-Lih says
AW Man! My mouth is watering over here, and it’s only breakfast time. I just bought a big packet of holy basil from my asian grocer store. I will definitely make this recipe! This is total comfort food for me, and I have got nutrition homework to do. I will definitely be making this for lunch. Need to go buy some ground pork! Thank you!
Sarah says
You’re welcome, Pey-Lih! Sounds like you’re one of the lucky few that can find this elusive herb. ;)