What do you think the most popular Thai street food is? Pad Thai? think again. If a Thai goes out for lunch / dinner and has no idea what to eat in particular, 99% of a time they'll end up taking Pad Gra Pow. Even for non-Thai like myself, the simplicity and balance of pad gra pow is simply irresistible after I was first introduced the dish.
A pad grapow literally means stir fried holy basil. A meat or seafood dish liberally flavoured with garlic, chilli and holy basil; seasoned with dashes of fish sauce, pinch of sugar and a touch of dark soy sauce. To be authentically Thai, top the pad grapow with a sunny side up. It might be weird for the ears but the combination works like a charm.
Holy basil is not basil and also not Thai basil. However, shall you failed to find any Thai holy basil, then any basil is better than none, and definitely better than any of the pre-made pad gra pow sauce. To create the dish, use the ratio of 1 clove garlic: 50g minced meat: ½ Thai bird's eye chilli (chilli padi). So if you have 200g of minced meat, then minced 3-4cloves of garlic & chopped 2 chillies.
Few important notes to a successful pad gra pow:-
1. Use constant high heat
2. Do not over-seasoned
Now heat a tablespoon of oil in wok, when hot, add chili & garlic. Toss them around for 30 seconds or so until fragrant, then add in minced meat. Once the meat begin to colour, add three sloshes of fish sauce, two pinches of sugar and a minute drop or two of dark soy sauce (just for the colour). That's it. When meat is about to be ready, add in a handful of gra pow (holy basil) and toss them around until the leaves become wilted.
Serve with white rice & fried egg (kai dow). Bon appetite!
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