Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry Recipe (Pad Kra Pao)
Looking for a quick and flavor-packed dinner? This Pad Kra Pao (Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry) is bold, spicy, and ready in under 20 minutes. It’s one of Thailand’s most beloved street food dishes, and also one of my favorite Thai dishes!
Pad Kra Pao (ผัดกะเพรา), is a Thai stir-fry made with ground meat (pork, chicken, or beef), chilies, garlic, and holy basil. It’s stir-fried quickly and served over steamed rice, usually with a crispy fried egg on top. If you can’t find holy basil, you can also use Thai basil.
Looking for more Thai dishes? Check out Thai Red Curry Ramen Soup, Thai Green Curry Wonton Soup, and Thai Chicken Lettuce Wrap.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Make sure you also tag me @onehappybite on Instagram and hashtag it #onehappybite so I can see your creations!
Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry Recipe (Pad Kra Pao)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 10 clove garlic, minced
- 1 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 bird's eye chili, chopped
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup Thai basil
- rice
- egg
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a cooking pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, shallots, and chilies. Stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add ground beef and cook, breaking it up with spatula, until browned and cooked through.
- Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir and let it cook for 1–2 minutes so the beef absorbs the flavor.
- Toss in the basil and cook until wilted.
- To serve, spoon the beef over rice and top with a crispy fried egg.
I made this for my family for dinner last night. It was so quick to make but so delicious. There was so much flavor for being such a simple recipe. We wasn’t sure about the egg but gave it a try and we all loved the addition. This will definitely go into our regular rotation.
Ahhhh so happy to hear that you and your family like the dish! Thank you for leaving a review 🙂
Amazing, so quick, fresh and tasty. My husband said it was restaurant standard! Thank you.
Wow, that’s awesome to hear! So glad that your husband liked it!! Thank you so much for trying the recipe!
Bomb!!! Was exactly what I was looking for in a simple recipe. Pad Kra Pao will be a new go to!!
so happy to hear that you liked the recipe!