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ผัดกะเพราหมูสับPad krapow moo

The wok-fried basil and minced pork of the daily Thai home — the dish that is the default over rice when there isn't anything else going. Garlic and chilies in the wok, the pork broken and browned, the fish sauce and dark soy added, and the basil dropped in last so the leaves just wilt and release their oil. Fast, hot, and the whole point is that it happens in the space of a few minutes.

Origin: Thai (ผัดกะเพรา), the default daily stir-fry
Difficulty: 2 / 5
Servings: 2
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 4 min
Total: ~10 min, plus the rice already cooked

Technique notes

A stir-fry at the fast end of the line — the whole dish is a 4-min wok pass once the heat is there, and the one mistake to avoid is letting it sit on the stove and cook down into a braise. The garlic and chilies go into the hot oil first (the "aromatics in hot fat" move from the stir-fry article), then the minced pork is broken up and cooked just until it loses its pink, and then the two sauces — the fish sauce for salt and umami, the dark soy for a touch of color and depth — go in with a little water so they can coat the pork instead of burning on the surface. The leafy basil is dropped in last, in the final 15–20 s, so the leaves just wilt and release their essential oil — the smell that is the whole point of the dish — without cooking down and going dark. The minced pork is the "moo sab" (หมูสับ) of the name, and it is meant to be a loose, broken mass, not a pressed patty.

Equipment

Wok or 28 cm (11 in) heavy skillet — the wide surface, the high heat, the wok-heat setup
Tongs or a flat spatula, to break the pork up
A plate of hot jasmine rice at the side, ready to serve (the rice article)

Ingredients

200 g (7 oz) minced pork (moo sab), a little fat with it for the fry
10 g (2 cloves) garlic, sliced thin
15 g (1–2) bird's eye chilies (or 2 (15 g) dried), chopped — the heat in the dish
15 ml (1 tbsp) vegetable oil
20 ml (1⅓ tbsp) fish sauce — the salt and umami
10 ml (2 tsp) dark soy sauce — the color and depth
5 g (1 tsp) sugar — the counterbalance
30 ml (2 tbsp) water — to coat and loosen
40 g (1 generous handful) Thai holy basil (krapow; or Thai basil in a pinch, the note is a little softer)
2 (from 120 ml) eggs (optional but traditional — the fried egg on top)
2 (90 ml) limes, cut into wedges — for the table
2 (15 g) bird's eye chilies, cut on the diagonal — for the table

Method

Mise en place. Slice the garlic, chop the chilies, measure the two sauces together in a small bowl (the fish sauce, the dark soy, the sugar, and the water, stirred to a single 50 ml of mixed liquid), and tear the basil leaves from the stems. Have the plate of hot rice at the side of the wok. The whole dish is a 4-min pass, so every step after the wok is lit is a 10–20 s job.
Light the wok and fry the aromatics. High flame, the wok properly hot — 1–2 min, a thin wisp of smoke. In with the oil, then the garlic and the chilies, and 15–20 s, just until the garlic edges are a pale gold and the raw smell has turned to a fragrant, slightly sweet one. This is the "aromatics in hot fat" move, and it is where the smell of the dish starts, before the pork is even in.
The pork. In with the minced pork, and break it up with the spatula or tongs as it cooks, 1–2 min, until it has lost its pink and is a loose, broken, lightly browned mass — not a pressed patty, not a fine crumb, a loose broken mass with a few pieces that have a touch of char. Off to one side of the wok.
The sauce, briefly. Pour the mixed sauce down the side of the wok, not over the pork, and 10–15 s of it will spit and steam — that's the point, and it also means the sauce is hot enough to coat the surface instead of pooling. Toss the pork in, 15 s, so every piece is coated and the sauce has tightened on the surface. The balance here is salt-first, then a little sweet to round it; taste one piece of the pork against the sauce and adjust with a few more drops of the fish sauce if it's flat.
The egg, if you're using it. Push the pork to one side, and the instant you've made the gap, pour the beaten eggs in a thin stream down the middle. 30 s, just until set in a film, and break it into rough pieces and fold it into the pork. The egg is there to break up the mass and give a soft, tender counterpoint to the broken pork, not to be a separate omelet.
The basil, last. In with the torn basil leaves, and toss 15–20 s, just until the leaves have wilted and released their oil — the smell that fills the room is the point — but they are not dark, not cooked down. Off the heat, immediately, and tip the lot over the plate of hot rice. A few of the cut chilies on top, a lime wedge on the side, and the dish is done. The stir-fry is meant to happen fast, and this is the one where "fast" is the recipe, not an optional step.

Common failures

Dark, cooked-down basil that tastes of "boiled leaves." The basil sat in the wok past the point of "just wilted" (step 6). The leaves are a 15–20 s job, and the smell that is the point of the dish is released in the first few seconds of wilting. Leave them in longer and they brown and go bitter, and the dish reads as "pork with cooked leaves" instead of "pad krapow."
A pressed, patty-like mass of pork. The pork was packed and cooked as a whole (step 3). Break it up as it goes, so it's a loose, broken mass with a few charred edges — that's the "moo sab" texture, and it is what gives the dish its character against the rice.
Sauce pools, pork sits in it. The sauce went in on a wok that wasn't hot enough, so it steamed instead of sticking. The mixed sauce (step 4) is meant to coat and tighten on the surface of the pork in 15 s, and that only happens if the wok is properly hot when you pour.
Grey, pale pork with no flavor. The aromatics in step 2 were under-done, so the fat never bloomed, and the pork was cooked in a cold, steaming wok. The "aromatics in hot fat" move is where the smell of the dish starts, and it's the one step the whole dish leans on.
Everything cold and limp at the table. The wok pass took too long and the pile sat while you were plating. The whole dish is a 4-min pass and a 30-s plate — that's the speed it's meant to happen at, and the rice is there, hot, to catch it.

Variations & substitutions

Chicken, beef, or shrimp. The same wok pass, the same aromatics, the same sauces — only the protein changes. Shrimp: a little longer in the wok ( 2–3 min) and tip out before the sauce step, tip back in at the end. The dish reads identically.
The fried egg on top is the house signature. A fried egg, yolk still loose, laid over the pile of pad krapow and the rice, and broken into when you eat, is the classic version in most Thai homes. The soft yolk against the hot, broken pork is a good half of the reason the dish is the default daily stir-fry.
Milder. Drop the chopped chilies in the wok (step 2) to 5 g or less, and keep the rest at the table — the table-side chili is the polite, adjustable version of the same idea, and it's the one most people should start with before committing the heat into the wok.

What to serve with it

This is the "default over rice" of a Thai home — the one that stands in for every other dish when there isn't anything else going, and it is the rice dish of the section. It pairs with anything that is cool and green to cut its heat and density: a som tum (green papaya salad) is the classic, and a tom kha kung (lemongrass–coconut soup) is also right, the fragrant soup against the hot, broken pork. A khao pad (fried rice) is the other starchy companion, for the people who want two rice dishes on the same table, and it works.

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