This dish brings me straight back to Thailand where you can find it on almost any menu. And if it’s not on the menu, ask for it and you’ll find yourself with a plate of the stuff in no time. It’s spicy, sweet, savory and simple to make. The 4 S’s.
Bryce & I are sorely missing our time in Thailand, so to celebrate the trip (and reminisce a bit) we’ve decided to dedicate this week to making some of our favorite Thai dishes.
There are a lot of Thai dishes/foods/ingredients we love – green curry, spring rolls, mango sticky rice, fried banana, pad Thai, cashew chicken, etc. etc. etc. – but one that was readily available (and one that would always pack a punch of spice) was Pad Ka Prow Moo – Spicy Thai Basil Pork.
Usually you find this dish made with chicken (also known “Gai” in Thai) but today we’re using Pork (“Moo” in Thai). So if you decided to substitute chicken for the pork in the recipe below, this dish would be called Pad Ka Prow Gai. We went with pork simply because we had a bunch of pork tenderloin leftover from the weekend and didn’t want to see it go to waste. You can substitute a number of proteins for the pork if you wish; try chicken, shrimp, beef, tofu or cauliflower to name a few. Pad Ka Prow is usually served with rice and a fried egg that can be laid on-top – once I get the finished dish, I like to mix everything together, spreading out all those yummy flavours.
Spicy Thai Basil Pork
Skill Level: Basic | Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 30 min
Ingredients
4 Tbsp. canola oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
6 red Thai chillies, thinly sliced crosswise – this is spice level 5/5
1½ cups of protein finely chopped, here we used leftover pork tenderloin
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
½ cup bean sprouts
1 cob of corn – corn cut from the cob (~ 1 cup kernels)
3 tsp. white sugar
4 tsp. fish sauce
9 tsp. oyster sauce (gluten free if needed)
½ cup basil leaves, sliced in two or VERY loosely chopped
water, as needed
Serve with
Sunny-side down (over easy) fried egg (1 per serving)
Rice
Heat a non-stick skilled on medium until hot, add the canola oil.
Add the garlic and the Thai chilies. Stirring occasionally until fragrant.
Add the protein. Cook for about 3 minutes.
Add the onion, bean sprouts & corn. Cook, again stirring occasionally, until the protein & veggies are cooked through. About 8 minutes.
Add the sugar, fish sauce & oyster sauce. Cook for another 2 minutes. Meanwhile, if you’re topping the dish with an egg, fry it separately in some butter on another non-stick pan.
Add the basil. Stir, cook for 1 min. Serve with a side of rice & egg on top.
The Playful Palate 