4 ms·

I love making this and it is probably my favorite Thai dish. I got holy basil and red holy basil seeds off eBay just to save myself the trouble of finding fres

I love making this and it is probably my favorite Thai dish. I got holy basil and red holy basil seeds off eBay just to save myself the trouble of finding fresh holy basil. Tip #1 is get a mortar and pestle and make your own chili garlic paste using real thai chilis. Doing that seems to bless the dish with a pervasive but not overpowering heat. Tip #2 is don't sweat it if you only have Italian or Thai basil. Sure it's not right but it's still delicious. I prefer ground pork for the meat. It's delicious and insanely cheap. A lot of restaurants will list this on the menu as "basil <meat(i.e. beef)> instead of some variant of "pad grapow".

taurath 3y ago
Agree, I’ll use sweet basil (labeled Thai basil) and it can work okay for the dish! The quality of the ground pork matters - especially in American grocery stores the ground pork smells like cat food. If it’s pink all the way through and looks ultra processed, it’s probably not good.
- andybak 3y ago
  I've occasionally tried tarragon as a substitute for Thai Basil. It's not perfect but it does a similar job. I'd be curious to know if anyone else has tried this and what they thought?
  - kevinmchugh 3y ago
    During the worst of Covid we were making $herb $meat, following the pok pok thai basil chicken recipe using whatever herbs we could get at the farmer's market and whatever meat showed up in our weekly grocery box. The best was shiso lamb, though I don't think people who can source Thai basil will have better luck with shiso
randomcarbloke 3y ago
agree on all points, but don't grind the paste smooth it should be chunky
- 01100011 3y ago
  I find coarse ground pork in the meat counter in most Asian grocery stores. It seems to work well.
- 01100011 3y ago
  Sorry, was half asleep when I read that and thought you meant the meat. I don't know, I like it rather fine. I think it distributes the heat more evenly and results in a more pleasant burn. Now, it shouldn't be food-processor smooth. I did a batch in a vitamix once and didn't like that as much as from the mortar and pestle.

taurath 3y ago

Agree, I’ll use sweet basil (labeled Thai basil) and it can work okay for the dish! The quality of the ground pork matters - especially in American grocery stores the ground pork smells like cat food. If it’s pink all the way through and looks ultra processed, it’s probably not good.

andybak 3y ago
I've occasionally tried tarragon as a substitute for Thai Basil. It's not perfect but it does a similar job. I'd be curious to know if anyone else has tried this and what they thought?
- kevinmchugh 3y ago
  During the worst of Covid we were making $herb $meat, following the pok pok thai basil chicken recipe using whatever herbs we could get at the farmer's market and whatever meat showed up in our weekly grocery box. The best was shiso lamb, though I don't think people who can source Thai basil will have better luck with shiso

randomcarbloke 3y ago

agree on all points, but don't grind the paste smooth it should be chunky

01100011 3y ago
I find coarse ground pork in the meat counter in most Asian grocery stores. It seems to work well.
01100011 3y ago
Sorry, was half asleep when I read that and thought you meant the meat. I don't know, I like it rather fine. I think it distributes the heat more evenly and results in a more pleasant burn. Now, it shouldn't be food-processor smooth. I did a batch in a vitamix once and didn't like that as much as from the mortar and pestle.