No, not this KAPOW!
We're making Pad Krapow! This popular Thai dish packs a ton of flavour and can be prepared with almost any protein. In Thai, "Pad" means fried and "Krapow" means Holy Basil, a key ingredient of this dish. Sadly, I couldn't find any Holy Basil in my area and had to make do with some Thai Basil from the garden. Thai Basil has a sweet, anise quality whereas Holy Basil is more spicy and peppery so I'll be seasoning the dish with more pepper to make up for this.
The dish is generally served with white rice and a crispy fried egg with browned edges. Given the sweltering heat and my limited spice tolerance (cough), I've opted to prepare a less spicy version. Let's get cooking!
Pad Krapow
Difficulty: ⭐⭐
Serves: 3-4pax
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
5 bird's eye chilies (adjust to your preference, this amount is mild)
5 cloves garlic
3 long beans
300g ground pork (or any protein of your choice)
2 cups of Thai Basil
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (adjust depending on how fatty your protein is)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoon water (add if too dry)
Pepper to taste
*Best to prepare this dish with a wok.
*Suggested to serve with jasmine rice and fried egg.
Directions:
1. Roughly chop the garlic cloves and remove the stems of the chillies. You can pound or cut the chillies to release more spiciness.
2. Wash the long beans & cut them into roughly 1cm pieces.
3. Wash the basil & remove tough stems (you only want the leaves)
4. In a wok or a large saute pan, heat the vegetable oil on high/medium-high heat. Saute minced garlic & chilli until the garlic starts to turn slightly golden.
5. Add long beans and continue to saute for another minute.
6. Add minced pork and toss until they're no longer in big clumps. Add the sauces (oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce & dark soy sauce) and continue tossing until the meat is cooked. Add water if it's too dry, I added a tablespoon.
7. Turn off the heat and stir in the basil.
Give it a taste and add pepper if necessary. And you're done!
Optional but highly recommended: Crispy Fried Egg
For the egg, heat a generous amount of oil (about 1/2 cup) in your wok over high heat. Once the oil is smoking hot, crack in the egg and cook until the edges and bottom are golden brown and crispy. You may splash the hot oil over the egg to cook the yolk - completely up to your preference!
Now serve everything with fragrant jasmine rice.
That wasn't so difficult, right? It's a highly satisfying meal that you can easily prepare at home. (also probably the closest we'll get to Thailand with this prolonged lockdown, haha) Till the next cook, stay safe & makan well!