Pad Kra Pao (Holy Basil Stir-Fry) ผัดกะเพรา
Minced pork or chicken flash-fried with holy basil, garlic and bird’s-eye chilli, over rice with a crispy fried egg — Thailand’s default lunch.
- Spice:
- 🌶🌶🌶 Spicy
- Also spelled:
- pad krapow, pad gaprao, pad kaprao, thai basil chicken
What is Pad Kra Pao?
Ask Thais what they eat when they can’t decide and the answer is often pad kra pao: meat stir-fried with garlic, a fistful of chillies, a splash of fish sauce and oyster sauce, and holy basil (kra pao) — peppery and clove-like, not the sweet Thai basil.
Served over jasmine rice with a fried egg (khai dao) with lacy, crispy edges and a runny yolk, it is the most ordered dish in the country.
Debates about whether long beans or onions belong in it are a national sport; the stripped-back version is just meat, garlic, chilli and basil.
Regional versions
Pork (moo sap), chicken (gai), beef (neua), crispy pork belly (moo krob) or seafood.
How to order it
“Kra pao moo sap khai dao” = minced pork with a fried egg. “Khai dao mai suk” = runny egg.
Watch: Pad Kra Pao on YouTube
Embedded from the creators’ own channels (Mark Wiens, More Best Ever Food Review Show, Pailin's Kitchen). View counts as of 14 Oct 2026.
Top 2 places not to miss for Pad Kra Pao
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 (opposite the Eastern Bus Terminal), Bangkok
A one-dish pad kra pao shop co-founded by Mark Wiens, with heat levels from mild to brutal.
- 2. Krua ApsornDinso Road and Sam Sen Road (Dusit), Bangkok
Family-run Thai kitchen loved by the royal family: fluffy crab-meat omelette, green curry with fish balls, chilli-fried pork.Known for its stir-fried pork with bird’s-eye chilli.
More by city: Bangkok food map