Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Thai Basil Chicken or – Pad Krapow Gai – is a beautiful spicy dish of finely chopped chicken thigh, fried up with chillies, garlic, spring onions (scallions) and Thai basil in a light savoury sauce.
It takes a little bit of up-front prep, but it all cooks in 10 minutes.
Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs trimmed and chopped into small chunks (this is about 800g/1.75lbs AFTER trimming – about 1kg/2.2lbs before trimming)
4 Thai chillies thinly sliced (remove the seeds if you want a little less heat)
4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
8 spring onions scallions sliced (use the white and green parts)
small bunch of Thai basil leaves (about 40g/1.4oz), sliced into thin strips (or use Holy basil if you can get hold of it)
Sauce:
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp light brown sugar
4 tbsp water
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
To Serve:
boiled rice
fried egg
halved cherry tomatoes
Instructions
✅Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat.
✅Add the chicken and cook, stirring often for 4-5 minutes, until the chicken is nearly cooked through (it should cook fairly quickly as the pieces are small. The chicken doesn't need to be browned).
✅While the chicken is cooking, mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or jug.
✅Add the chillies, garlic and spring onions to the chicken. Fry, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
✅Add the sauce and fry for 1-2 minutes, until hot.
✅Add the Thai basil and toss together. Cook for a further 30 seconds, then turn off the heat and serve.
✅I like to serve mine with boiled rice, topped with a fried egg, and some halved cherry tomatoes.
Thai Basil Chicken or – Pad Krapow Gai – is a beautiful spicy dish of finely chopped chicken thigh, fried up with chillies, garlic, spring onions (scallions) and Thai basil in a light savoury sauce.
It takes a little bit of up-front prep, but it all cooks in 10 minutes.
Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs trimmed and chopped into small chunks (this is about 800g/1.75lbs AFTER trimming – about 1kg/2.2lbs before trimming)
4 Thai chillies thinly sliced (remove the seeds if you want a little less heat)
4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
8 spring onions scallions sliced (use the white and green parts)
small bunch of Thai basil leaves (about 40g/1.4oz), sliced into thin strips (or use Holy basil if you can get hold of it)
Sauce:
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp light brown sugar
4 tbsp water
1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch in USA)
To Serve:
boiled rice
fried egg
halved cherry tomatoes
Instructions
✅Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat.
✅Add the chicken and cook, stirring often for 4-5 minutes, until the chicken is nearly cooked through (it should cook fairly quickly as the pieces are small. The chicken doesn't need to be browned).
✅While the chicken is cooking, mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or jug.
✅Add the chillies, garlic and spring onions to the chicken. Fry, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
✅Add the sauce and fry for 1-2 minutes, until hot.
✅Add the Thai basil and toss together. Cook for a further 30 seconds, then turn off the heat and serve.
✅I like to serve mine with boiled rice, topped with a fried egg, and some halved cherry tomatoes.
