Pad Kra Pao (Thai Basil Beef)

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A fundamental dish in classic Thai cooking is Pad Kra Pao, otherwise known as Thai Basil Beef. This hugely popular dish is packed full of immense flavors right across the spectrum, with huge sweet, salty, sour flavors that all come together in perfect harmony in this vibrant plate of food. It can be enjoyed in several ways such as an appetizer portion served on large Lettuce Leaves, or as a hearty main course with a big bowl of perfectly cooked Jasmine Rice

The big flavor in Pad Kra Pao comes from the Sauce

Thai cuisine is famous for it’s big, bold flavors and in most cases that flavor originates from the sauce the dishes are cooked in. Thai Basil Beef is no exception to this, with massive flavors coming from this sauce that completely transform the dish from a regular stir-fry, into an explosion of flavor

The sauce consists of quite a few ingredients, but we’re making it very easy for you by adding a little short cut. Instead of making your own homemade Sambal or Curry Paste to flavor the sauce, we recommend simply buying some Thai Red Curry Paste from the store. This will cut out the need for you to purchase a load of additional ingredients and go through the painstaking process of making the Paste from scratch

In addition to the Red Curry Paste, the amazing Pad Kra Pao sauce includes Fish Sauce, Soy Sauce, Brown Sugar (you can also use Palm Sugar), Oyster Sauce, Sesame Oil, Lime Juice, Coriander Powder, Ginger Powder, and finally, Cornstarch! Phew, that’s a lot of ingredients!

Making the sauce is so easy. Simply combine the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. That’s it! You then add the sauce to the Stir Fry right before it’s ready to be served. Oh, another little trick for you – try stirring the sauce with Chopsticks instead of a spoon. It’ll prevent the ingredients from sticking to it, so you keep everything in the bowl

Ok we’ve got the sauce done, what about the rest of the dish?

Pad Kra Pao is a classic stir fry dish. That is, cooking the ingredients in a large Wok or frying pan on a high heat, quickly. What I love about stir fry dishes is they’re so easy to make. Sure, there is ‘technically’ an order of when the ingredients go into the pan, but it really doesn’t matter too much

The high heat will cook all the ingredients super-fast, so you just need to be prepared before you start cooking. Have all of your ingredients prepped, sliced, and portioned out because once you start cooking, it’s go time!

The Vegetables used in the dish are Brown Onions and Red Bell Peppers. These are stir fried quickly to get them cooked through, but to still retain a nice snappy texture to them. We add some Garlic right before the sauce is added for some extra flavor. Don’t be shy on the Garlic either. We recommend using 4 cloves

This is a spicy dish!

Thai food is spicy, and Thai Basil Beef is no exception to that rule. The heat in this dish comes from three sources. First is from Jalapenos, which we slice up nice and thin and add to the Stir Fry right before the Sauce goes in. Second are Red Chilis, which are added at the same time as the Jalapenos. The third heat element is from Cayenne Pepper, which is added to the Sauce

If you want to scale back the heat in your Pad Kra Pao you totally can. We’d recommend removing the seeds from the Chilis before adding them to the pan. The seeds carry so much heat and pack a mighty punch. You can also replace the Cayenne Pepper with regular Black Pepper for the Sauce

However, if you’re looking for the truest Thai cuisine experience then keep all those seeds in the Chilis. If you want to make this thing ridiculously hot, why not try some Thai Red Chilis too, which are one of the hottest chilis in the world!

The amount of Basil in this dish may seem like a lot but trust us – you need it!

Our recipe requires 1 cup of Basil leaves, which seems like a lot. Especially when you’re plucking each leaf off the stem and adding it to a pile during prep. The amount of Basil seems crazy! However, trust us, the dish needs it

The Basil cuts through the richness of the Sauce very well and leaves its own unique and pronounced flavor in the dish. Basil has similar qualities to Spinach when cooked, in that it will wilt dramatically. So, what seems like too much Basil when it’s on the cutting board will quickly seem like not enough once it’s in the pan!

We recommend adding Basil right at the end of cooking. Literally once everything is cooked, turn off the heat the mix in the Basil. Basil will cook immediately, and it’s much better to enjoy when it’s just cooked. It can go bitter if cooked too long as well, so try to avoid that

I like to retain a few Basil leaves for garnishing the dish. It looks so pretty on the plate and adds beautiful vibrancy to the dish. Try keeping a few Red Chili pieces for the same effect. We also like to add some crushed Peanuts for a great flavor and texture as a final garnish to the Thai Basil Beef dish

Thai Basil Beef is a great mid-week meal, as it can be completely made in under 20 minutes

Stir Fry dishes are perfect for feeding the family for a mid-week dinner because they’re easy and quick to make, and they’re healthy. This dish is packed with Vegetables so it’s a nutritious meal, but it also tastes ridiculously good, so everyone will be happy eating it! The whole dish can be made from start to finish in just 20 minutes. That included prep time and everything

It’s also a fuss-free dish. You just literally throw a bunch of ingredients together in the pan and mix them around until it’s cooked. So, if you’ve got a million other things going on during the week it’s the perfect meal to make

Pad Kra Pao (Thai Basil Beef) Recipe

Ingredients

• 500g / 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
• 1 cup of Thai Basil or Fresh Basil Leaves
• 1 Medium Brown Onion, finely sliced
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, deseeded and sliced
• 1 Jalapeno, deseeded and sliced
• 1 Red Chili, deseeded and finely sliced
• 4 Garlic Cloves, diced
• 2 Limes
• 1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
• ½ cup Peanuts, roughly chopped
  
  

For the Sauce

• 2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp. Oyster Sauce
• 2 tbsp. Fish Sauce
• 2 tsp. Thai Red Curry Paste (you can also use Sambal paste)
• 1 ½ tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp. Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp. Ginger Powder
• 1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tsp. Cornstarch
• 1 tsp. Sesame Oil
• Juice of 1 Lime
  
  

Instructions

1. Begin by making the Sauce. Simply combine all of the Sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and mix well then set aside
2. Heat the Vegetable Oil in a large frying pan or Wok over high heat. Once smoking, add the Onions and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Move the Onions to the side then place the block of Ground Beef in the center of the pan. Push down to maximize the surface area of the Beef touching the pan
3. Leave Beef for 3 minutes on the high heat to char, then break it up with a wooden spoon and mix through well. Add the Jalapenos, Red Chili, Garlic and Red Bell Peppers and stir through for 1 minute
4. Once the Beef is cooked, pour in the Sauce you made earlier and stir through. It will immediately start to caramelize so will not need long to cook; 1 minute is enough. Add the Basil Leaves and mix well to combine, then remove from heat
5. Finish the dish by adding the Juice of 1 Lime and chopped Peanuts. Serve immediately
   
   

Recipe Notes

• Serve with steamed Rice or large Lettuce Leaves to make lettuce cups
• If you want to scale back the spice levels you can remove the Red Chili and replace the Cayenne Pepper in the Sauce with Black Pepper. For more heat, keep the seeds in the Chilis
  
  

That’s our tasty and easy recipe for authentic Thai Pad Kra Pao, otherwise known as Thai Basil Beef. We’re huge fans of food from Southeast Asia here at Dinnertime Somewhere, so if you want more of these delicious flavors here’s a few of our favorites we recommend trying:

• Tom Kha Gai – Thai Coconut Soup
• Spicy Thai Beef Salad
• Peanut Sauce Chicken
• Sticky Wings
  
  

Happy Cooking!