After more than two weeks of travelling around the U.K. and Europe, we returned with a hankering for spicy Asian food. Exploring local food cultures is exciting and one of the real joys of travel but we do often find restaurant menus to quickly become monotonous and repetitive particularly in small towns in island destinations. Even the best cured hams, charcuterie, cheeses and artisanal breads soon lose their appeal if consumed on the daily.
Our first meal back home is almost always drawn from the Far East. As a little nod to the Thai new year festival of Songkran, we enjoyed the universally loved Pad Kra Pow - the mince and holy basil stir-fry that is a staple of Thai home cooking and street food. Served with jasmine rice and a fried egg on top, it is a tasty and easy meal to whip up in less than 30 minutes. In Thailand (and neighbouring Malaysia), Pad Kra Pow is considered an ‘economy meal’ that is satiating, substantial and inexpensive.
For the most part, Pad Kra Pow requires relatively straightforward ingredients. Any type of meat, seafood or tofu, either thinly sliced or minced, is cooked with pounded chillies and garlic, then seasoned with fish sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sugar and optionally, dark soy sauce to give the mince some colour. The final, most important ingredient is a generous handful of holy basil, which is difficult but not impossible to find, particularly if you live near a Thai or South East Asian grocer. Many chefs and cooks use the sweeter Thai basil as substitute, but at a pinch, make do with fresh Italian basil leaves and a good grating of black pepper. It won’t replace the vibrant, peppery flavour of holy basil but it will make a very tasty dish nonetheless.
Adaptations:
With Pad Kra Pow as inspiration, I often make a vegetarian stir-fry incorporating soy mince and various finely chopped vegetables. I would also include fresh lemongrass and makrut lime leaves to boost the flavour profile of the dish. During early spring, some finely chopped wild garlic leaves might be added. And at the height of summer, my patio grown Vietnamese mint leaves transform the dish with their fresh citrussy notes. As an added bonus to paid subscribers, I’ve added a recipe for my veggie version below.
Pad Kra Pow
Serves 4
3-5 Thai bird’s eye chillies, to taste (or 2-3 mild long, red chillies)
3-4 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbsp vegetable oil of choice
1 small onion (or 2 banana shallots), peeled and finely chopped
300g minced pork/chicken/beef/turkey
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce/kicap manis
1½ tsp palm sugar/caster sugar/other sugar substitute
good grating of black pepper
handful of holy basil leaves/Thai sweet basil
If you wish for a milder stir-fry, deseed the chillies then finely chop them. Using a pestle and mortar, pound the chillies and garlic to rough paste.
Heat a wok or a large pan over medium high heat. Swirl the oil around the wok then add the chilli and garlic paste and stir-fry for a minute, until fragrant. Add the chopped onion and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Add the mince and use a spatula to press and break up the mince as it cooks. Keep stirring the mince every once in a while, until it all turns opaque. Now add the beans and stir-fry for another few minutes until the beans are just tender.
Add all the sauces, sugar and a generous grating of black pepper to the wok and stir to mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking - it should be mostly savoury with heat from the chillies and black pepper and a hint of sweetness. When you are happy with seasoning, turn off the heat and stir in the holy basil leaves.
To serve, spoon the stir-fry over steaming plates of steamed jasmine rice and top with fried egg (see below).
Thai Fried Eggs
The Thai style of frying eggs uses the opposite principle of French cookery where eggs are cooked in a gentle manner. Instead, eggs are fried in very hot oil so that the edges turn bubbly and crisp. To do so, heat about 1cm of oil in a wok over medium high heat. When the oil is very hot, crack an egg directly into the wok, where it will splutter and sizzle. Cook until the egg white is set and crisp around the edges but the yolk is still runny. You do not need to flip the egg. Remove to a plate and repeat.
Thai-style Vegetarian Stir-fry
If soy mince is something you can’t source easily, use a firm or marinated tofu.