Do you love thai food ? I think if you do you will fall in love with this spicy and salty holy basil stir fry from thailand which is called 'pad gaprao' where 'pad' means stir fry and 'gaprao' means holy basil.
This aromatic stir fry often uses chicken as its protien but we will be using crumbled tofu instead to make it vegan which will soak up all the flavors of the stir fry sauce and end up tasting like absolute luxury instead of bland boring tofu pieces.
'Pad gaprao' is often eaten in Thailand as lunch over rice with a 'kai dao' which is thai style fried egg or like a snack almost equivalent to a burger . In Thailand there are 3 types of stir fries one are thai of course and second are chinese but 'pad gaprao' is the hybrid of the two.
This dish is so comforting and comes together in minutes, serve it over some hot jasmine rice and a 'kai dao' on top ,YOU WILL BE IN HEAVEN!
Now enough of the rambling lets get into it.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE 'PAD GAPRAO'?
Holy basil its holy basil you saw that coming right!? this will give this stir fry its characteristic aroma and flavour that is just so good. if you can't find holy basil you can sub thai basil but I would suggest to look for it in your asian supermarket.
Long beans this is the vegetable that you will find most commonly in this stir fry but if you cannot find it you can use french beans instead but they are a little thicker than long beans.
Garlic and onions of course you need garlic to make the flavour base for this stir fry and onions for some crunch.
Thai chillies you can use any hot red pepper that you want here if you cannot find thai red chillies.
Spur chillies these are long fat red peppers typically found in thailand and have a mild heat, you can use any mild red chilli or a red bell pepper instead if you cannot find these.
Crumbled tofu for our protien we will be using crumbled tofu.
Veg oyster sauce oyster sauce is traditionally non vegetarian but nowadays you can find the same thing made with mushrooms which is completely vegan, look for it online and make sure to read the label just to be sure that it does not contain any dairy or animal products. It should have the same consistency as normal non vegetarian oyster sauce.
Light soy sauce use any light soy that you love.
Dark soy sauce this soy sauce is a soy which has molasses added to it which give it that syrupy texture, you can use any brand that you like and if you cannot find it just skip it and add more sugar but the colour of the stir fry will be compromised.
Sugar and salt These things are essentials and will make this stir fry more balanced in its flavour.
Jasmine rice and eggs for serving you will need some steamed jasmine rice and a 'kai dao' for serving.
CUISINE:THAI
COURSE:MAIN OR STARTER
TOTAL TIME:30MINS
SERVES: 2
RECIPE OF 'PAD GAPRAO'
INGREDIENTS
For the sauce
1tbsp oyster sauce
2tsp soy sauce
1tsp black soy sauce
1/2tsp sugar, you may need more or less depending on various factors
For the stir fry
5 oz medium firm tofu, crumbled
oil, as needed for stir frying
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 thai chillies, finely chopped
5 long beans, finely sliced
1/3cup onion, finely diced
1 spur chilli, sliced into 1/2 inch chunks
1cup cooked rice
2 eggs for 'kai Dao'
3/4cup holy basil
salt as per taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat a wok over medium high heat ,add your garlic to the pot along with your thai chillies and sauté until fragrant.
add long beans and sauté until tender.
add your onions along with the spur chilli and cook until translucent.
In a bowl mix all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
add the crumbled tofu and salt to the wok along with your mixture of sauces.
cook for 5 minutes, check the seasoning one last time as you may need more of a certain type of soy sauce or sugar. (it should taste salty and spicy with a hint of sweetness in the background)
Add your holy basil and turn off the flame, your 'pad gaprao' is done!
serve with hot steamed rice with a 'kai dao' on top.
