Pad kra pao is a dish almost everyone in Thailand has ordered at a made-to-order street stall. But did you know its roots go back more than 330 years?

Pad kra pao is one of Thailand's most popular one-plate dishes, sold at street stalls and made-to-order shops all over the country. It's so common that Thais jokingly call it the "can't decide" dish: when you don't know what to order, you order pad kra pao.

The History of Pad Kra Pao

In the records of the French envoy Simon de la Loubère in 1687, holy basil appears among "vegetables with a pleasant smell, such as holy basil". It is thought that the plant arrived with Brahmanism, since Brahmins used holy basil in worship. In 1873, Dr Dan Beach Bradley's Thai dictionary described it as "a small plant with fragrant leaves, used in curries and in medicine".

The stir-fry itself is believed to have appeared around the reign of King Rama VII, sold by Chinese cooks in made-to-order shops, and to have become widely popular around 1957. It may have been adapted from a Chinese dish of black bean paste fried with garlic and minced or sliced meat seasoned with fish sauce and dark soy sauce, or modelled on beef stir-fried with holy basil's cousin, the dill-like "yi-ra" leaf.

A late-1970s Thai cookbook describes beef pad kra pao seasoned only with fish sauce and MSG, then tossed with rice into a fried rice and eaten with raw yardlong beans.

What Goes into Pad Kra Pao?

The core ingredients are meat, holy basil, chilli and garlic. Some cooks add other vegetables such as baby corn, carrot, onion or yardlong beans. The meat can be chicken, pork, beef, prawns, squid, or even fish, mussels or crab.

Everything is stir-fried together and seasoned with fish sauce and sugar, sometimes with dark soy sauce, ground pepper or a splash of stock to make it a little saucy. It's eaten with hot steamed rice, often with a fried egg and prik nam pla (fish sauce with chillies) on the side.

Tips for a Better Pad Kra Pao

  • Thai garlic is more fragrant than Chinese garlic
  • For more heat, add bird's eye chillies and pound them finely; the finer, the hotter
  • Don't peel all the garlic; frying it with some skin on makes it even more fragrant
  • Small-leaf home-grown holy basil or red holy basil smells stronger than the large-leaf kind from the market
  • Use holy basil soon after picking or buying; stored too long, it loses its aroma
  • For a saucy version, add a little water; for a dry version, fry until dry or season only with fish sauce and sugar
  • Use only a little oil, or the dish becomes greasy

Pad Kra Pao by the River

To try pad kra pao by the Chao Phraya, order stir-fried pork or seafood with holy basil at Coco Chaophraya, or try our fusion take, capellini with holy basil and grilled beef (in Thai), or wagyu beef with holy basil.

  • Address: 49/1 Phra Sumen Road, Chana Songkhram, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200
  • Tel: 02-281-9918 · LINE: @cocochao
  • Open: daily 10:00–23:00

About us: Coco Chaophraya has been open for more than 10 years. We started at the front of Baan Chao Phraya before moving to the Chao Phraya riverside. Our chefs have more than 10 years of experience, and our professional baristas have more than 10 years of experience making coffee.