Recipes

Thai Basil Chicken – Pad Kra Pao Gai

Pad Kaprow Gai

Bone-in chicken stir-fried with crushed chili, garlic, and holy basil

Prep

10 min

Cook

5 min

Serves

4

Heat

very hot

This version of Pad Kaprow uses bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh rather than the more common sliced or ground meat, letting the bone add extra flavor as it cooks alongside a generous crush of hot chili and garlic. Yardlong beans and baby corn round the dish out with texture, while a mild long chili adds color without extra heat. As with any Kaprow dish, the basil goes in only once the pan is off the heat, wilting gently rather than cooking through, which keeps its distinct peppery aroma front and center against the rich, fiery chicken.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Chicken thigh meat, bone-in, skin on (cut into 1-inch cubes, bone chopped)
• 2 cups Holy basil leaves
• 1 Brown or yellow onion (sliced)
• 1 cup Yardlong beans (cut into pieces)
• 15 Thai hot chilies (crushed with the garlic)
• 5 Garlic, large cloves (crushed with the chili)
• 2 Thai long chili (sliced, for color)
• 5 Baby corns
• 4 teaspoons White cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons Light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon Dark sweet soy sauce

Directions

1. Cut most of the meat from the chicken thigh bones, chop the bones in half, and cut the meat into 1-inch cubes, keeping the skin on. Pick the basil leaves. Measure and organize the rest of the ingredients — this dish cooks fast, so everything needs to be ready before you start.
2. Crush the hot chilies and garlic together with a mortar and pestle until well broken up.
3. Heat the oil in a wok until quite hot. Add the crushed chili and garlic and fry for a few seconds.
4. Add the chicken and stir well. Fry, stirring constantly, until fully cooked — bone-in chicken takes a few minutes; sliced meat or seafood cooks faster, so watch closely.
5. Add the onion and stir in. Cook for about a minute, stirring the whole time.
6. Once the onion has softened, add the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. Stir well until the sugar fully melts.
7. Add the yardlong beans and stir-fry for about a minute, adding a splash of water if the pan looks dry — there should be a little brown sauce coating everything.
8. Add the mild chili and baby corn. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds and remove from heat.
9. Stir in the basil quickly as the pan cools — the residual heat is enough to soften it without full cooking.
10. Serve immediately with a generous portion of jasmine rice, arranging the chili, corn, and basil attractively on top.

Notes

Cook bone-in chicken thigh a few minutes longer than you'd think, stirring constantly, since the bone slows the cooking compared to boneless sliced meat — rushing it leaves the meat near the bone underdone.

Substitutions

Sliced or ground pork, shrimp, or other seafood can all replace the chicken thigh with no other changes needed.