Main course Thai
Pad Kra Pao with Pork and a Fried Egg
Finely hand-chopped pork stir-fried with garlic, chillies and holy basil. The sauce reduces to a glossy coating, served with jasmine rice and a crisp-edged fried egg.
Ingredients
2 servings · metric units
Cook larger quantities in batches of no more than two portions in a wide wok. Divide the meat, paste, sauce and basil between batches before cooking. The egg-frying oil can be reused for successive eggs and need not increase in direct proportion to the servings. Each extra batch adds cooking time.
Substitutions
Substitute amounts are adjusted to your selected servings.
- Instead of boneless pork shoulder or collarboneless, skinless chicken thigh
Use the same weight as the pork, following the author's alternative. Chop finely and cook thoroughly; do not shorten the cooking solely because the pieces are small.
- Instead of holy basil leaves, bai kra paoItalian basil with a little mint and black pepper
A fallback from the author's notes: use a similar volume of basil, with a few mint leaves and a little freshly ground black pepper. Add off the heat. It does not reproduce holy basil exactly; keep the mint in the background.
- Instead of palm sugarfine cane sugar
Use the same level spoon measure. The flavour will be less caramel-like; dissolve the sugar in the sauce before frying.
You’ll need
wok or wide, heavy frying pan · sharp knife or cleaver and chopping board · pestle and mortar · small bowls for sauces and eggs · stir-frying spatula · spoon and slotted spoon · plate lined with kitchen paper · heatproof container for excess oil
Method
0/8 stepsPrepare the meat and basil
Have the hot jasmine rice ready to serve. Pat the pork dry, slice thinly, cut into strips and chop finely. Keep distinct, uneven pieces a few millimetres across rather than a paste. Remove the tough stalks from the holy basil, wash the leaves and dry them thoroughly.
Prepare the meat and basil Pound the aromatics and mix the sauce
Peel the garlic, remove the chilli stalks and pound them together into a coarse paste with visible pieces. In a separate bowl, mix the oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauces, fish sauce, palm sugar and water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Set everything beside the hob.
Pound the aromatics and mix the sauce Make the optional prik nam pla
If serving prik nam pla, finely slice its chillies and thinly slice its garlic. Mix with the fish sauce and lime juice from the same ingredient group. Set aside for serving; do not add this condiment to the wok.
Make the optional prik nam pla Fry the crisp-edged eggs
Pour all the oil into the wok and heat over a medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Fry the eggs individually: crack an egg into a small bowl and carefully slide it into the oil. The white should sizzle and bubble immediately. Spoon hot oil over the white, avoiding the yolk. Fry for about 1–2 minutes, until the white is fully set and the edges are golden brown and lacy; leave the yolk soft or cook it further to your liking. Lift onto kitchen paper. Once all the eggs are fried, pour excess oil into a heatproof container, leaving a thin coating for the meat.
Fry the crisp-edged eggs Fry the aromatics and meat
Set the wok with the remaining oil over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic and chilli paste and stir for about 0.5 minutes until fragrant, without browning the garlic. Increase the heat, add the pork and spread it over the base. Stir-fry for 4–6 minutes, breaking up clumps and stirring regularly, until cooked through with some browned edges. If watery juices collect, let them evaporate before adding the sauce.
Fry the aromatics and meat Reduce the sauce to a glaze
Pour the mixed sauce around the edge of the wok and immediately stir it into the meat. Stir-fry for about 1–2 minutes until reduced. The meat should be dark brown and glossy, coated in a thin glaze with no watery pool underneath. Stop reducing if the sauce begins to stick and darken.
Reduce the sauce to a glaze Fold in the basil
Turn off the heat and move the wok away from the hot hob. Add all the dried holy basil leaves. Toss briefly in the residual heat, just until wilted; the leaves should remain visible and green.
Fold in the basil Serve with rice and egg
Divide the hot rice between plates. Spoon the basil pork alongside and place the fried eggs on top. Serve immediately, with the optional prik nam pla separately. Break the soft yolk into the rice as you eat, adding a few drops of prik nam pla only after tasting.
Serve with rice and egg
Tips
- Prepare everything before heating the wok. Once the garlic goes in, there is no time to chop or measure sauces.
- On a less powerful hob, fry the meat in smaller batches. Do not add the sauce until watery juices have evaporated.
- The oil should form a small pool in the bottom of the wok. The same amount in a wide, flat frying pan gives less puffed egg edges.
- Switch on the extractor before frying the chillies and keep your face away from the wok.
- Prik nam pla is salty and hot. Taste the meat with the rice before adding a few drops.
Storage
Serve straight away where possible, and fry the eggs just before eating. Keep only fully cooked meat: cool it quickly in a shallow container, refrigerate within 2 hours and use within 2 days. Store rice separately, cool it quickly and use within 24 hours. Reheat only once until piping hot throughout, and fry a fresh egg. ([food.gov.uk](https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/5-cminders-cookingsafely-01-cooking-and-reheating-safely.pdf?utm_source=openai))
Timing
Hands-on: 25 min · Cooking: 12 min
