Our resident perfectionist puts the Thai street food stir-fry through its paces
This gloriously aromatic stir-fry is the Thai equivalent “of a sandwich or a burger”, says chef and YouTube star Pailin Chongchitnant. “Something quick, easy and ubiquitous that lots of people have for lunch.” The Thai restaurant chain Rosa’s describes it as “something of a national dish … we sometimes call it ‘no idea’, because if you have no idea what to order, you often just order this – it’s so good, you don’t even have to think about it”.
Often served over rice, and with a deep-fried egg on top (a one-dish meal food writer Kay Plunkett-Hogge calls “one of my favourite things to eat in the world”), like much street food, it’s almost as quick to prepare as it is to eat. As writer and cook Leela Punyaratabandhu explains, once you’ve tracked down some holy basil, pad kra pao “is very easy to make; to ruin it, you have to try pretty hard”. Sounds good to me.
