Pad Kaprow, also known as Pad Kra Pao or Thai Basil Chicken, is a popular Thai dish made with stir-fried chicken (or another protein), Thai holy basil, garlic, chili, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sometimes other ingredients like bell peppers or green beans. It’s typically served over rice with a fried egg on top. The dish is known for its spicy, savory, and aromatic flavors, with the Thai holy basil providing a distinctive taste.
In this version of my Rice Paper wraps, I make this with ground Chicken and it’s flavored with Garlic, Thai Chillies, white Pepper, Soya, Fish & Oyster sauce and Thai Basil.
Thai basil has a unique flavor that is different from the more common sweet basil. It has a strong, spicy, and slightly sweet flavor with hints of licorice, mint, and cloves. It’s often used in Thai, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian cuisines to add a fresh, aromatic flavor to dishes.
The roll is stuffed with Lettuce, Cucumber, Thai Basil, Coriander, Red Chilli & Omelette together with the Chicken, but it can really be stuffed with anything that complements the Chicken.
Rice paper wraps are the perfect light meal. In this recipe, I make a ground Chicken Pad Kaprow version and pack it with Lettuce, Omelette & Herbs.
Garlic, Red Chillies & White peppercorns are pounded together. This is then added to shallots and makes the perfect base for ground Chicken, Soya, Fish sauce and Oyster sauce is added and the Chicken is cooked. To make this a lighter filling, Mushrooms are added as well. The star of the show in my opinion are Thai Basil leaves.
Rice paper is briefly soaked, this is then placed on a board and stuffed with Egg Omelette, Lettuce, ground Chicken, Thai Basil, coriander, cucumber some Chilli and it’s rolled nice and tight.
Pad Kaprow Rice Paper Wraps
Ingredients
Spice blend
- 1 tsp white Peppercorns
- 12 cloves of Garlic
- 6-7 red Thai Chillies
- 1 tsp coarse Salt
Ground Chicken Filling
- 1 cup chopped Shallots
- 2 lbs boneless ground Chicken thigh
- 2 tbsps light Soya sauce
- 2 tbsps Fish sauce
- ¼ cup Oyster sauce
- 1 cup chopped Mushrooms
- 1 cup Thai Basil
- Prepared Spice blend
Other
- 24 Rice Paper sheets 8 inch approx
- 20 pieces of Lettuce
- 1 – 2 Cucumbers sliced or cut into logs
- 1 cup Thai Basil leaves
- 1 cup Coriander leaves
- 1 – 2 red chillies sliced
- 3 – 4 Eggs made into thin Omelettes and cut into strips
Instructions
- Prepare the spice blend by pounding together the peppercorns, garlic, chillies and salt and keep aside
- Heat some oil and saute the shallots, add the spice blend and saute
- Add the ground chicken and saute for a few minutes
- Add the soya, fish and oyster sauce and cook for 10 – 15 mins
- Add the mushroom and cook for a few more minutes
- Finally add the Thai Basil and cook for a few more minutes ensuring that the chicken is fully cooked
- Taste for salt and add more salt if you need
- Soak the rice paper sheets in room temperature water for just about 10 – 15 secs
- Remove and place on a wooden board and dab the excess water with a towel
- Even if your rice paper looks stiff, it will soften in the moisture on the board while you add your fillings
- Add some romaine lettuce – if it’s too long just tear the extra apart
- Add 2 tbsps of the ground Chicken
- Add a few Thai Basil leaves
- Coriander leaves a piece of cucumber and a piece of omelette
- Fold the top half of the rice paper wrap over, fold the sides in and roll to seal tightly
- Other variations
- Start with the Omelette, Lettuce, ground beef, Thai Basil, coriander, little bit of chilli and roll it up
- Continue making these with different variations – be as creative as you like
- The rice paper can tear quite easily, so be careful that the filling ingredients are not too bulky or too sharp to tear the paper.
- These should be prepared an hour or so before serving and kept covered so they don’t dry out. Leftovers can be stored overnight in the fridge, but be aware that they do tend to dry out after a few hours.
- Makes about 24
