One of Thailand’s most beloved street food dishes and definitely one for those who like their food on the hot and spicy side!
Pad kra pow moo, like so many Thai dishes, is packed full of flavour. The reliable combination of shallots, garlic and hot chillies combines with soy sauce, fish sauce and fresh basil leaves for a delicious stir-fry dish that comes together in just a few minutes.
As the name implies, holy basil is traditional in this dish. This can be hard to find, but the dish works with holy basil, European basil or Thai basil, albeit with slightly different results.
Ingredients For Pad Kra Pow Moo
How To Make Pad Kra Pow Moo
I hope you’ll try this pad kra pow moo recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!
- 2-3 Thai / birdseye chillies
- 1 small shallot
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- Dash dark soy sauce
- Dash fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 100g pork mince
- 1 small handful green beans, sliced
- 75 ml light chicken stock or water
- 1 handful holy basil, Thai basil or basil see notes
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In a pestle and mortar, roughly pound the Thai chillies, shallot & garlic and set aside.
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In a bowl, add oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, fish sauce & sugar. Mix well and set aside.
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Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. Add the pork mince and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the sliced green beans. Add the prepared chillies, shallot and garlic and continue to stir-fry for 1-2 mins until the pork is browned.
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Add the prepared sauce and mix through. Add the light chicken stock or water and stir-fry for a further 1-2 mins until the sauce reaches your preferred consistency and the pork is fully cooked.
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Switch off the heat, add the basil and mix through for 20 seconds until the basil just begins to wilt.
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Pour the pad kra pow moo over steamed jasmine rice & serve with a crispy fried egg and some cucumber slices (see notes).
While holy basil is traditional (hence the name), Thai basil or Italian basil will also work while different flavour notes. Holy basil and European basil have a slightly sweet aroma, while Thai basil offers a more prominent aniseed note.
Kai dow, or Thai style fried eggs are cooked in a generous amount of oil. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a hot pan, crack the egg into the pan and spoon some of the hot oil over the top of the egg. The egg will immediately puff up and the edges will become crispy whilst the yolk remains soft. You can, of course, cook the fried egg whichever way you prefer, but this crispy and indulgent cooking method is standard in Thailand and is absolutely delicious.
