Recipes
Real Thai you can make at home — no ketchup
The most cooked dish in Thailand — watch me make it
Pad Kra Pao — Holy Basil Chicken
You asked — thousands of you — so here it is: my million-dollar Kra Pao. One 50g portion of sauce = one serving. High heat, fast wok, and holy basil.
Ingredients
Method
- 250 g minced chicken (or pork)
- 50 g Kra Pao sauce
- 50–100 g water to finish
- 10 cloves garlic plus chilies, pounded
- 1 big handful holy basil
- 1 egg, crispy fried
- Oil and jasmine rice
1. Pound the garlic and chilies. Screaming-hot wok, oil, fry until fragrant.
2. Add 250 g chicken. Spread it and let it sear before breaking it up.
3. Add about 50 g sauce. Toss until it starts to caramelise golden.
4. Splash in 50–100 g water to finish juicy and glossy.
5. Kill the heat, fold in holy basil until just wilted.
6. Serve over jasmine rice with a crispy-edged fried egg.
See every recipe in Chef Mo's living cookbook
Recipes
Real Thai you can make at home — no ketchup
The most cooked dish in Thailand — watch me make it
Pad Kra Pao — Holy Basil Chicken
You asked — thousands of you — so here it is: my million-dollar Kra Pao. The trick isn't just the wok, it's the make-ahead sauce. Cook it once, keep it a year, and dinner takes five minutes. Holy basil, high heat, and never, ever ketchup.
Ingredients
Make-ahead sauce (makes ~10 servings):
To cook (per serving):
• 100 g oyster sauce (Maekrua) • 100 g light soy sauce (Healthy Boy) • 100 g Golden Mountain sauce • 100 g sugar (palm or white) • 100 g water • 50 g dark soy sauce (for colour) • MSG or Rosdee, optional, to taste
• 250 g minced chicken (or pork) • about 50 g Kra Pao sauce • 50–100 g water to finish • ~10 cloves garlic plus chilies, pounded • 1 big handful holy basil • 1 egg, crispy fried • oil • jasmine rice
Method
Part 1: The make-ahead sauce
- 1) Combine the oyster, light soy, Golden Mountain, dark soy, sugar and water in a pot.
- 2) Simmer on low 3–5 minutes, stirring, until it just bubbles and the sugar melts. Taste — add a little MSG/Rosdee only if you want it bolder.
- 3) Cool completely, then store: a clean jar in the fridge for a month, or portion into ~10 ziplock bags of 50 g and freeze up to a year. One 50 g portion = one serving.
Part 2: Cook it in 5 minutes
- 4) Pound the garlic and chilies rough — don't chop. Screaming-hot wok, oil, fry until fragrant.
- 5) Add 250 g chicken. Spread it and let it sear before breaking it up — colour, not steam.
- 6) Add about 50 g sauce. Toss, then keep frying until it looks dry and starts to caramelise golden.
- 7) Splash in 50–100 g water to bring it back juicy and glossy — moist, never dry.
- 8) Kill the heat, fold in the holy basil until just wilted — off the flame so it stays fragrant.
- 9) Serve over jasmine rice with a crispy-edged fried egg (kai dao).
See every recipe in Chef Mo's living cookbook