Food and drinkPad kra pao in Thai
Pad kra pao, ผัดกะเพราpàt-gà-prao, is meat stir-fried with holy basil and served over rice.
pad kra pao (stir-fry with holy basil) noun
- pàt low
- gà low
- prao mid
- Low: flat and lower than your normal voice, dropping a little at the end.
Classifier: จานjaan · plate; a plate of (food)
How to use it
Minced pork, chicken, beef or seafood stir-fried with holy basil, garlic and plenty of chilli, served over rice and usually topped with a crispy fried egg, ไข่ดาวkài-daao. It's the dish Thais fall back on when they can't decide, so almost every stall makes it. Crispy pork, หมูกรอบmǔu-gràwp, is a popular upgrade.
The basil matters: it has to be holy basil, กะเพราgà-prao, not sweet Thai basil.
Other spellings you'll see
There's no single official way to write Thai in English letters. We mark the tone of every syllable; online you'll also find:
- pad kra pao
- pad krapow
- phat kaphrao
- pad gaprao
- pad kaprao
- pad ka pow
- kra pao
- krapow
- gaprao
More food and drink in Thai
All food and drink- ข้าว kâao Rice
- ข้าวเหนียว kâao-nǐaw Sticky rice
- ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง kâao-nǐaw má-mûang Mango sticky rice
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Written by the Learn Thai For Free team
Audio: AI voices, quality-checked for tones