20-Minute Pad Kra Pao (Thai Basil Pork)
Pad Kra Pao or Thai Basil Pork is the ultimate weeknight meal. It is super flavorful, made with pantry staples, and comes together in just 20 minutes! In this blog post, learn how to make this dish with ground pork, chicken, or beef.
Pad Kra Pao or Thai Basil Pork has always been a favorite Thai dish of mine. I had it for the first time in college at Berkeley, and it was one of my go to dishes my entire time in college. These days, I still crave it so I thought I would develop a recipe for it so I can have it all the time. The best part is it takes on 20 minutes to make!
How my Pad Kra Pao is different
This recipe is not a authentic recipe since I’m not Thai. I really love this dish, so I tested the recipe based on my research and tweaked it until it had the right combination of flavors. I also don’t use traditional holy basil for my recipe. To me, Thai food is very similar to Vietnamese food especially in the ingredients. The sauce for Pad Kra Pao is pretty similar to my lemongrass pork marinade. What distinguishes it from Vietnamese dishes is the Thai basil. We don’t typically use Thai basil in our stir fry dishes. We mostly use Thai basil as a topping for pho and other Vietnamese soups. I had leftover Thai basil from my vegan pho recipe, so I decided to make this dish!
Key Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments
- Oyster sauce – Oyster sauce can be substituted with vegan oyster sauce. Some vegan oyster sauces are also gluten free.
- Granulated sugar – Balances out the umami flavors with some sweetness. I would not recommend substituting with any kind of brown sugar.
- Thai chilis – Thai chilis add some spiciness to the dish. I would be very careful how many you use since Thai chilis are pretty spicy. One thing I did in testing is I made this dish without Thai chilis and added sriracha before serving. It still tasted really good but it wasn’t as spicy as with the Thai chilis.
- Chicken broth – Adds some more flavor to the sauce. I marked this as an optional ingredient because I did make this dish without chicken broth while testing, and it still tasted really good. A good substitute for chicken broth is water.
- Thai basil – One of the stars of this dish! As mentioned, for a more authentic taste, use holy basil. I used Thai basil because that’s what I could find.
How to make pad kra pao
Tips on how to make the perfect pad kra pao
High heat is the key to this recipe
This dish is essentially a stir fry which means you should use high heat for most of the cook time. The high heat evaporates most of the liquid, so the sauce isn’t too watery.
Can you make this dish without Thai chilis?
Thai chilis can be very hot, and if you’re not a fan of spicy food, you can make this dish without them. A good substitute is to drizzle some sriracha sauce on top before serving. It’s less spicy.
What can you serve this dish with?
Traditionally, this dish is served with white rice. You can also serve it with brown rice.
Did you make this dish?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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Get the Recipe:
20-Minute Pad Kra Pao (Thai Basil Pork)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 ½ tsp granulated sugar
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Thai chilis, thinly sliced, see note 1
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 lb ground pork, see note 2
- ¼ cup chicken broth, or water, optional
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves, packed
- 4 eggs, 1 per person
Equipment
Instructions
- Combine 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp of dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of fish sauce, and 1 ½ tsp of granulated sugar in a bowl. Mix and set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat. Add the minced 5 cloves of garlic, minced shallot, and thinly sliced 3 Thai chilis. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Increase the heat to high. Add the pork. Break apart the pork in the pan and cook until brown (2-3 minutes).
- Add the sauce from step 1 and ¼ cup of chicken broth. Mix and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Lastly, add 1 cup of Thai basil leaves. Mix and cook until leaves are wilted (~1 minute). Remove from the heat.
- Fry 4 eggs. Serve Thai basil pork with fried eggs and white rice.
Notes
- Thai chili note. Thai chilis can be very spicy, so feel free to make this without the Thai chilis if you don’t like spicy food. A good substitute is a squeeze of sriracha sauce right before serving.
- Ground pork substitutes. Ground pork can be substituted with ground chicken or beef.
- Storage Instructions. Store this in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I’ve made this half a dozen times now and it never fails to hit the spot! I’ve spent a lot of time in Thailand, eaten many Pad Kra Paos and this is exactly how I remember it. Delicious! Thanks for sharing
Thank you so much for making the recipe and for the kind words! So excited you like it!
I grow both holy basil and purple or so-called Thai basil in my garden.
What’s shown in the images here is the more common, purple basil. Holy basil has an entirely different aroma and NO purple in it at all; it is a pale green color.
Thanks for pointing that out!
This recipe is perfect! It was divine and my whole family loved it! I hid the leftovers in the back of the fridge so I can enjoy it again for lunch tomorrow. Hopefully nobody finds it first!
😂 I hope you get those leftovers! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Thisbrecioebwas delicious..best basil pork I’ve made! I had it in Laos and loved it, but couldn’t find a good recipe. Will definitely make it again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for making the recipe!
Great recipe. It’s very close to authentic. I reduce the basil a bit. I can’t find Thai basil close to me, so unfortunately I have to use standard basil. The place I love that makes it uses sauteed onion and bell peppers, so I do add that. But your sauce, meat and measurements are spot on. Thanks for this recipe. It tastes just like Crush Craft, the small menu place we frequent. It’s owned by a Thai chef. Great recipe development!.
Hi Kimberley. It’s such an honor to hear that this recipe tastes close to what you get your local place! Thank you so much!
So good! Love ordering this dish, now I like that there is an easy recipe I can make at home
(Review provided by a family member of Cooking Therapy.)
Look delicious and yummy
(Review provided by family member of Cooking Therapy.)
Thank you!
Simple and easy 👍
(Review provided by family member of Cooking Therapy.)
Thank you!