Khao Pad (Thai Fried Rice) ข้าวผัด
Jasmine rice fried with egg, garlic and fish sauce, served with lime, cucumber and chilli fish sauce — elevated to an art with crab.
- Spice:
- — Not spicy
- Also spelled:
- khao phat, thai fried rice, crab fried rice
What is Khao Pad?
Khao pad is day-old jasmine rice fried quickly with egg, garlic, onion and a little fish sauce, served with a lime wedge, cucumber, spring onion and a dish of prik nam pla (chilli in fish sauce) to season.
The everyday version comes with pork, chicken or prawns; the celebrated version is khao pad poo, loaded with crab meat.
Squeeze the lime over everything — it is part of the dish.
Regional versions
Khao pad sapparot (pineapple fried rice) is a tourist favourite; khao pad kapi uses shrimp paste.
How to order it
“Khao pad poo” (crab), “khao pad goong” (prawn).
Watch: Khao Pad on YouTube
Embedded from the creators’ own channels (Mark Wiens Abroad, Mark Wiens, Pailin's Kitchen). View counts as of 14 Oct 2026.
Top 1 places not to miss for Khao Pad
Only places backed by the MICHELIN Guide, reputable food press or a creator who filmed there; each one shows its source. We list fewer rather than pad the list.
- Ekkamai, Bangkok
The “insane” crab fried rice heaped with blue-swimmer crab; Bib Gourmand. Queue before opening.The famous heaped crab fried rice.
More by city: Bangkok food map