Recipe: Dodee Paidang’s Pad Krapao Is “Total Comfort Food”

When I mention growing up in Thailand, you might think, “Oh, this guy must’ve had pad Thai every single day!” But nope, that’s not it – the real MVP, the everyday champion for me, is pad krapao, aka stir-fried Thai holy basil.

For many, it’s the national dish of Thailand; ask 100 Thai people, and 101 of them would call it their go-to choice. I regularly had this dish growing up, just swapping out the type of meat. For me, it’s total comfort food. And since it’s beloved among Thais, there are numerous recipes available, depending on regional or personal preferences. I am sharing my own version, which I believe is easily made at home.

This is a quick dish you’ll spend only a couple of minutes cooking, so have everything close at hand, and be prepared and ready before you crank up the wok.

Dodee Paidang’s pad krapao

Serves 4

Ingredients

160ml tbsp vegetable oil
800g chicken mince
1 tbsp sliced long red chilli, plus extra to taste
1 tbsp minced garlic
80ml (⅓ cup) oyster sauce
2 tsp Thai black soy sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp chicken stock powder
2 tsp caster sugar
40g snake beans, chopped
20g Thai holy basil
Steamed rice, to serve

Method

Heat a wok over medium–high heat. Once it feels hot, pour in half the oil, swirl to coat, then add half the chicken and stir to break it up. Stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until lightly browned, then transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken, then add the reserved chicken back to the wok.

Crank up the heat, add the chilli and garlic and stir-fry until the entire kitchen is filled with their awesome scent, about 10 seconds. In other recipes, you might see garlic and chilli being added first. Ours differs because we use high heat, so we add them afterwards. Be warned, this step might make you sneeze – achoo! – but that’s how you know your dish is capturing those proper Thai flavours.

Now, it’s time to add all the good stuff that makes the meat tasty. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, stock powder and sugar, and continue to stir-fry and toss until the sauce reduces and gets nice and sticky, but the chicken is still juicy and delicious, about 1–2 minutes.

The trick is to let the meat soak up all those flavours without getting too soggy. A great pad krapao features meat that bursts with flavour but isn’t swimming in liquid.

Once the chicken is nicely browned and well coated, add the snake beans to give the dish more texture, plus some more chilli if you want more heat. Mix it all up, then add the Thai basil to infuse that wonderful scent. Stir for just 5 seconds with your spatula, and voilà: you’re ready to serve. This is great with a bowl of rice.

This is an extract from the Broadsheet cookbook The New Classics , which features 80 all-new recipes by Melbourne’s top cooks, chefs and restaurants. Published by Plum, the book is available for $54.99 at shop.broadsheet.com.au.

Looking for more ways to use pork mince? Visit Broadsheet 's pork mince recipe hub. And for more dishes to cook once the mercury drops, check out our winter recipe series.