Thai food is one of the most well-known Southeast Asia cuisines in western countries. There are more than 3,000 Thai restaurants in Australia, 3 times more than the United States per capita of its population. Most of the Thai restaurants are located in Australia’s 2 largest cities – Sydney and Melbourne, from fine dining world-class restaurant to cafe style and street food takeaway.
When it comes to food, I am a big fan of traditional-style street food in Asia – authentic, simple, delicious and cooked the same way for generations. There is nothing pretentious about street food – what you see is what you get and it doesn’t put a big hole in your pocket.
“Pad krapao” is a popular street food in Thailand. “pad” means frying and “krapao or kraphrao” refers to Thai basil or Thai holy basil. It has anise and licorice taste. Normally serve with a fried egg with the yolk still runny and steam rice. The dish requires basic ingredients, except Thai basil which is easily available at an Asian supermarket if you live in a western country. It is easy and quick to make at home. You can either do a version of pad krapao “kai” which is chicken or pad krapao “neu mu” which is pork.
Below is my recipe for “neu mu” pad krapao.
Ingredients:
what you need to make this dish are:
- pork mince
- garlic – 4 cloves
- onion – 2 french shallots
- chili – 2 fresh red chilies
- basil leaves – a bunch of Thai basil
- sauce – 1 tablespoon light soy, 1 tablespoon dark soy, 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon sugar
Preparation:
what you need to do next:
- chop the garlic finely and set aside
- slice the chilies and shallots thinly and set aside
- remove the basil leaves from its stalk and set aside
- mix all the sauces in a small bowl and set aside
Cooking:
it’s time to cook:
- Heat a cup of cooking oil in a hot wok
- Once the oil is hot but not smoky, toss in the chopped garlic first. Give it a quick stir fry before adding the sliced shallots and chilies. Continue to fry until the ingredients are aromatic and infuse with the oil
- Toss in the pork mince. Mix through and fry until pork is almost cooked
- Add the sauces and basil leaves and continue to stir fry until pork is cooked
- Optional – add green beans (if you like some vegetables) with your dish. After adding the beans, pour in a pre-mixed 1/2 cup of water and starch to make the gravy and cover with a lid. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer until the beans are cooked. It should take less than 5 minutes not to overcook the beans
