Thai Basil Pork Stir-Fry (Pad Krapow Moo)

Eight minutes from cold pan to plate, which is why it is the default lunch across Thailand. Everything hinges on having the sauce mixed and the aromatics pounded before the wok goes on the heat.

What makes this different

The basil is the point. Holy basil — krapow — is peppery and faintly clove-like, and it is what the dish is named for. Thai sweet basil makes a pleasant anise-scented cousin, but it is a different dish and worth knowing that going in.

The second thing is heat. This is a wok dish in the literal sense: the pan needs to be hot enough that the pork sears rather than stews. If your hob is weak, cook the pork in two batches instead of dropping the temperature with a full pan.

Ingredients

For the stir-fry

• 300 g pork mince, not too lean
• 4 garlic cloves and 3–6 Thai chillies, pounded to a rough paste in a mortar
• 1½ tbsp neutral oil
• 1 large handful holy basil leaves (Thai sweet basil if unavailable)

For the sauce

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce, for colour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2–3 tbsp water or stock

To serve

• Jasmine rice
• A crispy fried egg per person

Method

1. Stir the oyster sauce, fish sauce, both soy sauces, sugar and water together in a small bowl and set it beside the hob.
2. Heat a wok over your highest flame until it just begins to smoke. Add the oil, then the garlic and chilli paste. Ten to fifteen seconds only — you want it fragrant, not browned.
3. Add the pork. Press it flat against the pan and leave it for 30 seconds to take some colour, then break it up and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until cooked through with some genuinely browned edges.
4. Pour in the sauce and toss for 30–60 seconds until it glazes the meat and mostly reduces.
5. Take the wok off the heat, add the basil and fold it through two or three times. Residual heat is enough — anything more and it blackens.
6. Serve over rice, with a fried egg cooked in a shallow pool of hot oil until the white is blistered and lacy and the yolk is still runny.

Troubleshooting

• Watery and grey. The pan was not hot enough or too full. Sear in batches.
• Bitter, black basil. It went in over direct heat. Off the hob, always.
• Too salty. The sauce over-reduced. It should coat the pork, not disappear into it — add a splash of water.
• Harsh garlic. You browned the paste in step 2. Fifteen seconds is genuinely all it needs.

Make ahead, store, reheat

This is not a make-ahead dish; it takes less time to cook than to reheat well. What you can do is pound the paste and mix the sauce earlier in the day, which removes the only part with any real prep. Leftovers keep a day and are best refreshed in a hot pan rather than a microwave.

Reader questions