Ingredients
- 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 ((450g))
- 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))
Instructions
- 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.
Full Article
Pork and Holy Basil Stir-fry (Pad Kra Pao), by thewoksoflife.com
This pad kra pao (pork & holy basil-stir-fry) features a key ingredient: holy basil! With jasmine rice, it’s perfection. And it only takes minutes to make.
Thai Basil Vs. Holy Basil
Okay, 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).
Pork and Holy Basil Stir-fry (Pad Kra Pao), by thewoksoflife.com
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!
Pork and Holy Basil Stir-fry (Pad Kra Pao), by thewoksoflife.com
Ok, on to the pad kra pao stir fry recipe.:)
Pad Kra Pao Recipe Instructions
In a wok over medium high heat, add the oil, shallots and garlic, and fry for 3 minutes.
Pork and Holy Basil Stir-fry (Pad Kra Pao), by thewoksoflife.com
Add the chilies and cook for another minute.
Pork and Holy Basil Stir-fry (Pad Kra Pao), by thewoksoflife.com
Crank up the heat to high, and add the ground pork, breaking it up into small bits and allowing it to crisp up.
Pork and Holy Basil Stir-fry (Pad Kra Pao), by thewoksoflife.com
Add the sugar, fish sauce, thin/light soy sauce, d 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 holy basil leaves, and stir-fry until wilted.
Pork and Holy Basil Stir-fry (Pad Kra Pao), by thewoksoflife.com
Serve this Pork Pad Kra Pao(Holy Basil Stir-fry) over rice. A fried egg on top wouldn’t hurt either!
Pork and Holy Basil Stir-fry (Pad Kra Pao), by thewoksoflife.com
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!
Even better with a fried egg!
Watch me make it on YouTube to see why this is one of the easiest Thai dishes you can make!
Recipe
4.92 from 123 votes
Pork & Holy Basil Stir-fry (Pad Kra Pao)
This pad kra pao (pork & holy basil-stir-fry) features a key ingredient: holy basil! With jasmine rice, it’s perfection. And it only takes minutes to make.
by: Sarah
Serves: 4
Prep: 10
Cook: 5
Total: 15
Ingredients
- 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 (450g)
- 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)
Instructions
- 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.
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 435kcal (22%) Carbohydrates: 9g (3%) Protein: 22g (44%) Fat: 35g (54%) Saturated Fat: 18g (90%) Cholesterol: 82mg (27%) Sodium: 929mg (39%) Potassium: 554mg (16%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 4g (4%) Vitamin A: 638IU (13%) Vitamin C: 53mg (64%) Calcium: 45mg (5%) Iron: 2mg (11%)
TheWoksofLife.com is written and produced for informational purposes only. While we do our best to provide nutritional information as a general guideline to our readers, we are not certified nutritionists, and the values provided should be considered estimates. Factors such as brands purchased, natural variations in fresh ingredients, etc. will change the nutritional information in any recipe. Various online calculators also provide different results, depending on their sources. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities used.