Pad Krapow Moo Saap
ผัดกะเพราหมูสับ·(paht gra-pow moo sahp)
Weeknight Kab Khao: The Thai Family Table
If Thailand had an official menu of last resort, this is it. In the diaspora, we grew up choking on the beautiful, stinging smoke of sizzling garlic and bird's eye chilies hitting a rocket-hot wok. Forget the sad, watered-down restaurant versions bulked up with bell peppers and green beans. A true, old-school grandmother's Pad Krapow is an exercise in ruthless restraint: just minced pork seared hard in its own fat, a deeply savory, sticky glaze, blistering heat, and the unapologetic peppery punch of holy basil.
Before you start
Combine the liquid seasonings.
Whisk the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and water in a small bowl and set aside right next to the stove so it is ready the moment you need it.
Pound the aromatics.
Vigorously pound the fresh chilies, dried chilies, garlic, and coarse salt in a mortar and pestle until they break down into a coarse, rustic paste.
Ingredients
- garlic cloves5 large
- fresh red Thai bird's eye chilies5 med
- dried red Thai chilies2 med
- coarse salt1/4 tsp
- neutral cooking oil2 tbsp
- ground pork1 lb
- holy basil leaves1 1/2 cup
- oyster sauce1 tbsp
- light soy sauce1 tbsp
- fish sauce1/2 tbsp
- dark sweet soy sauce1/2 tsp
- granulated sugar1/2 tsp
- water1 tbsp
- jasmine rice2 cup
- eggs2 large
Method
- 01
Heat the wok until it smokes.
Place a heavy-bottomed wok or large skillet over high heat until smoking, add the neutral oil, and immediately scrape in the chili-garlic paste.
- 02
Stir-fry the aromatics until you cough.
Toss the paste rapidly in the hot oil for 10 to 15 seconds; the fumes should sting your eyes and make you cough, indicating you have achieved proper wok hei.
- 03
Sear the pork undisturbed.
Add the ground pork, flatten it against the hot pan with a spatula, and let it sear for 15 seconds before vigorously breaking it up into small pieces.
- 04
Dry fry the meat until the moisture evaporates.
Keep stir-frying until the grey liquid from the pork completely cooks off and the sound changes to a sharp crackle, allowing the meat to fry in its own rendered fat and develop crispy brown edges.
- 05
Glaze the pork.
Pour the sauce mixture into the wok and toss rapidly for about a minute until the liquid reduces into a dark, glossy coating on the meat.
- 06
Wilt the basil entirely off the heat.
Turn the burner completely off, fold in the basil leaves, and let the residual heat wilt them for 10 seconds to release their volatile peppery oils without turning them bitter.
- 07
Serve immediately with a crispy fried egg.
Mound steaming jasmine rice on a plate, spoon the deeply glazed pork alongside it, and top with an egg fried in a shallow pool of oil until the whites are blistered and the yolk remains molten.
Notes
Do not substitute Thai sweet basil for holy basil.
Thai sweet basil (horapa) has a distinct anise flavor that fundamentally alters this dish. If you cannot find true holy basil (krapow) at an Asian market, use standard Italian basil supplemented with a few fresh mint leaves for a remarkably close peppery match.
Make a quick prik nam pla for the table.
No Thai table is complete without this condiment to cut the richness of the egg yolk. Combine 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons lime juice, a minced garlic clove, a few sliced Thai chilies, and a pinch of sugar to drizzle over your plate.
From Cook Thai in America.