Thai Pad Krapow Gai: 20-Minute Holy Basil Chicken for Busy Weeknights

Pound the garlic and chilies to a rough paste in a mortar, or pulse them together in a small food processor. Leave some texture; this is not meant to be smooth.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb ground chicken (or finely chopped chicken thigh)
• 4 cups cooked jasmine rice, hot
• 1 cup loosely packed holy basil leaves (Thai basil is the usual substitute)
• 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 3 to 5 red bird's eye chilies, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil, plus more for the eggs
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup chicken stock or water
• 4 large eggs, for frying

Instructions

1. Pound the garlic and chilies to a rough paste in a mortar, or pulse them together in a small food processor. Leave some texture; this is not meant to be smooth.
2. Stir the oyster sauce, fish sauce, both soy sauces and sugar together in a small bowl so the sauce goes in all at once later.
3. Cook the rice first, or reheat day-old rice, and keep it covered. The stir-fry takes four minutes and will not wait for it.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or wide skillet over high heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic-chili paste and stir for 20 seconds, just until fragrant and before it colors.
5. Add the chicken and press it flat against the pan for 30 seconds to get some browning, then break it up and stir-fry for 3 minutes until no pink remains.
6. Pour in the sauce mixture and the stock. Let it bubble hard for 1 minute, scraping the pan, until it reduces to a glaze that clings to the meat.
7. Kill the heat, add the basil and fold it through for about 10 seconds. It should wilt from residual heat only, staying bright green.
8. Fry the eggs in a shallow pool of hot oil until the whites are blistered and lacy at the edges and the yolks are still soft, about 90 seconds.
9. Spoon the chicken over rice, top each plate with an egg, and break the yolk into the rice as you eat.
10. Pad krapow is Thailand's default answer to the question of what to eat when there is no time to decide, sold from lunch carts and open-front shophouses across the country. The dish is defined by holy basil, whose peppery, almost clove-like bite is quite different from sweet Thai basil, and by the fried egg, which is not a garnish but the thing that turns a quick stir-fry into a full meal.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 620 kcal
• Protein: 38g
• Fat: 24g
• Carbohydrates: 58g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 4g
• Sodium: 1180mg