This is genuinely one of the fastest proper dinners I know how to make — from cold pan to table in under half an hour, and it tastes like something you'd order from a Thai restaurant. Gai Pad Krapow is a Thai street food classic, all heat and basil and savoury sauce, traditionally served over rice with a fried egg on top. Do the fried egg. It's worth it.
The holy basil in the authentic version has a slightly different flavour to regular basil, more peppery and anise-like. If you can find it at an Asian grocer, use it. If you can't, regular basil is genuinely fine and nobody at your table will know the difference unless they've lived in Thailand.
The oyster sauce-fish sauce-sugar balance is what gives it that addictive flavour. Don't be tempted to cut back the fish sauce because it smells — it will taste completely different once it hits the heat. This is one of those dishes where trusting the recipe is the entire technique.
"Do the fried egg on top. Don't skip the fried egg on top."
Ingredients
- 600g chicken mince
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2–3 long red chillies, finely sliced (seeds in or out, your call)
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 large handfuls fresh basil leaves (holy basil or regular)
- 4 eggs, for frying
- Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
Method
Step 1
Combine the oyster sauce, fish sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Have everything prepped and next to the stove before you start — this cooks fast.
Step 2
Heat the oil in a wok or large frypan over very high heat until smoking. Add the garlic and chilli and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chicken mince and stir-fry for 3–4 minutes, breaking it up as you go, until cooked through and slightly caramelised in spots.
Step 3
Pour in the sauce mixture and toss to coat everything. Cook for 1–2 minutes more. Turn off the heat and fold through the basil leaves — they'll wilt just enough from the residual heat.
Step 4
Fry the eggs in a separate pan with a little oil over high heat until the whites are crispy at the edges but yolk is still runny. Serve the chicken over steamed rice, topped with a fried egg.
