Asia After Dark May 2017 | Page 32

PAD KRA PAO “ GAI ” I ngredi ents you’ l l need For the f ri ed egg ( opti onal , but I thi nk i t’ s mandatory) 1 egg 2 tabl espoons of oi l f or f ryi ng For the basi l chi cken 1 chi cken breast ( or any other cut of bonel ess chi cken, about 200 grams) 5 cl oves of garl i c 4 – 10 Thai chi l i es – when you f ry the chi l i es, they aren’ t as spi cy 1 tabl espoon oi l f or f ryi ng 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce 1/2 teaspoon l i ght soy sauce 1 spl ash of dark sweet soy sauce ( you can use I ndonesi an kecap mani s) 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1 handf ul of Thai hol y basi l l eaves ( real l y try to get hol y basi l ) Another way you can real l y el evate the f l avor of thi s Thai basi l chi cken reci pe i s by usi ng a m ortar and pestl e to hand gri nd your garl i c and chi l i es. A garl i c press woul d al so do the j ob wel l . Unl i ke m i nci ng, gri ndi ng real l y rel eases al l the j ui ces and oi l s of the chi l i es and garl i c and i t bri ngs out an extra depth of f l avor, whi ch i n return m akes the enti re di sh of chi cken basi l m ore vi brant, garl i cky and spi cy. Y ou don’ t need to crush the garl i c and chi l i es down to a curry paste, but you’ re j ust l ooki ng f or j ust a coarse crush, l i ke i n the photo above. But no worri es i f you don’ t have a m ortar and pestl e, m i nci ng i s sti l l adequate.