Thai Basil Chicken

Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Kaprao Gai) is a fast, punchy street-food stir-fry of minced chicken, garlic, and chiles bound in a savory-sweet sauce and finished with a flood of peppery holy basil. It's traditionally topped with a crispy fried egg and served over jasmine rice.

By YumYum Editorial · Thai

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 20 min · Total: 35 min · Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chicken (or hand-minced chicken thigh)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 5-8 Thai bird's eye chiles, minced
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp water or chicken stock
• 1.5 cups Thai holy basil leaves
• 4 eggs, for frying
• 4 cups steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Instructions

1. Pound or pulse garlic and chiles together into a coarse paste using a mortar and pestle or food processor.
2. Heat oil in a wok over high heat until shimmering.
3. Add the garlic-chile paste and stir-fry 10-15 seconds until fragrant but not browned.
4. Add ground chicken, breaking it up, and stir-fry until mostly cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.
5. Add oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and water; stir-fry another 1-2 minutes until chicken is fully cooked and sauce coats the meat.
6. Remove from heat and fold in holy basil leaves until just wilted.
7. In a separate pan, fry eggs in hot oil until edges are crispy and yolks stay runny.
8. Spoon chicken over jasmine rice and top each portion with a fried egg.