This Thai Basil Fried Rice with Shrimp (Khao Pad Goong) is quick easy and delicious: it's on the table in under 30 minutes if you have leftover rice. Plus making it at home means you can save money and custmise it to your desired spice level!

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โญ Why This Recipe is a Star
- Great way to use up leftover rice: Leftover rice is the best rice to use for any fried rice recipe, as it ensures the grains are separate and not sticky after stir-frying. Better for your budget too!
- Easy and delicious: This Thai Fried Rice with Shrimp เธเนเธฒเธงเธเธฑเธเธเธธเนเธ is so good, it was 1 of the dishes we cooked the most often when my Father lived in Thailand (for over 20 years.) If the food at Thai restaurants is sometimes too spicy for you, I show you how to customise this dish to your preferred spice level!
- Quick: if you have leftover rice on hand, it takes no time at all to stir fry, and this seafood main course can be on the table in 30 minutes! Plus, with veggies, protein and carbs all in one dish, you don't even need these fried rice side dishes to go with it!
What is Thai Basil?
Thai Basil is an essential Asian herb, used in a lot of Thai and Taiwanese recipes.
It has dark green, pointy leaves, sometimes with a tinge of purple. There are aniseed and licorice notes to the flavor. It can be hard to find fresh ones in the supermarket, which is why I grow my own, using Click&Grow indoor gardening set. (For a review of Click&Grow, click here.)
If you're vegetarian, make this vegan Thai basil fried rice instead!
๐ฅ Ingredients
You will need a few simple ingredients for this rice dish:
- jasmine rice: Day-old long grain rice works best for fried rice as it's slightly drier and won't become mushy during cooking. (We want to see separate rice grains in the Thai Basil Fried Rice.) If you're not bothered about authenticity, you could use basmati rice as a substitute but it won't be quite as fragrant. If using leftover rice, you may need to add more oil when stir-frying. You can also use brown rice, but note that it takes longer to cook.
- Thai basil: this is a key ingredient, so fresh Thai basil leaves and not dried ones! Yould also use Holy Basil (Gra Pao) which will give the rice a slightly different flavor, more similar to Pad Kee Mao.
- large shrimp: peel and devein. Both fresh or thawed frozen shrimp work. The shells can be kept for making prawn oil or seafood stock.
- Onion: Thai food usually uses shallots so use that if you can get them. If not red onions (2nd best choice) or white and yellow onions also work.
- Garlic cloves: Peel and pound with the red chilies. If you can get Thai garlic, use that instead of China Garlic for more authentic flavor. (You'll need to go to Thai supermarkets for those.)
- Red Bird's Eye Chilies: If you can't take spice, remove the seeds and use large red chilies, not these small ones. (Smaller chilies are spicier.) YOu can also use fewer chilies. Note that when you reduce the spice, you change the balance of the sauce so you may need to adjust the salt and sugar. Generally I find the spicier a dish is, the more sugar it will need. Do NOT substitute with curry powder!
- Carrot: You can substitute this with red bell peppers. (Actually any color works, but red looks more appetising with the green basil.)
- Oyster Sauce: Mix up all the sauces in this list- i.e. the oyster, dark soy, light soy, fish sauce, sugar and chicken bouillon powder- together in a small bowl.
- Dark Soy Sauce: you can substitute with sweet soy sauce. If so, taste before adding the sugar the recipe calls for, as Sweet Soy Sauce is, well, sweeter than dark soy!
- Light Soy Sauce
- Thai Fish Sauce: you can substitute with light soy sauce. However, if you plan to do a lot of Thai and Southeast Asian cooking, I highly recommend getting a bottle of Squid brand Fish Sauce. It's what differentiates Thai fried rice from Chinese fried rice!
- Sugar: Use palm sugar if you can get it- and don't mind grating down the block of sugar. If not, white sugar or brown sugar work too.
- Chicken Bouillon Powder: Optional. If you can't get it- it's available online or in the Asian market- just substitute with chicken broth or add a pinch more salt and sugar.
- Egg: Optional but I love a fried egg with my Thai fried rice!
I didn't show it in the photo above, but you obviously need oil! I recommend a neutral vegetable oil, peanut oil, or the prawn oil made from the prawn shells.
Note: Whilst lime is not used in cooking the rice, I strongly suggest serving lime wedges with this dish. The acidity from the fresh lime juice really helps lift the flavors! If you don't have lime juice, add a touch of white rice vinegar or tamarind water when stir-frying.
๐ Variations & Substitutes
- Feel free to substitute the shrimp with other protein, such as chicken, beef, or tofu. This is also a good recipe to use up leftover roast turkey meat or chicken (assuming the meat is not too heavily flavored with a contrasting spice!)
- For a vegetarian version of this Thai Basil Shrimp Fried Rice: use vegetarian fish-sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, omit the shrimp and replace with firm tofu or increase the quantity of vegetables, such as Chinese Broccoli Gai Lan or Xiao Bai Cai.
๐ช Step-by-Step Instructions
1a. If you don't have cooked rice on hand, cook the rice as you usually do, but using 1-2 Tablespoons less water.
1b. Pound the peeled garlic and sliced chilies into a paste.
1c. Mix all the sauces in a small bowl: the oyster sauce, dark soy, light soy, fish sauce, sugar and chicken bouillon powder. Place next to your stove.
1d. Over medium-high heat to high heat, heat oil in a wok or large skillet till shimmering but not smoking. (I sometimes use the prawn oil made from the prawn shells for this.)
1e. Add the onions or shallots and stir-fry in the large wok for about 30 seconds to a minute till fragrant.
1f. Add the carrots or bell peppers and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes till your desired consistency.
2a. Add the chili garlic paste and stir-fry, mixing it well with the onions and veggies.
Note: People usually add the garlic-chili peppers paste first, but we are adding it after the vegetables, because frying bird's eye chili produces fumes that will make you cough and choke. Hence, I do this to reduce the amount of chili-frying time, so you spend less time coughing!
3a. Push the contents of the wok to the side, then add the prawns, and stir-fry till opaque and cooked.
3b. Remove the prawns from the pan as we don't want them to overcook.
4. Add the rice to the pan, and stir till everything is well-mixed. If using cold rice, use the spatula to break up any lumps.
5a. Pour in the sauce mixture and stir-fry for a few mintues till the rice turns an even dark brown.
5b. Return the prawns to the wok and place on top of the rice.
6a. Add the Thai Basil Leaves to the wok and stir till the basil is just wilted.
Note: If using, fry the eggs sunny-side up and serve with the shrimp rice, along with lime wedges, fresh cucumber, sliced tomatoes, coriander or green onions and prik nam pla (fish sauce mixed with fresh chilies เธเธฃเธดเธเธเนเธณเธเธฅเธฒ.)
๐ฅก How to Store
- If you're using day-old rice rice to make this dish, I don't recommend keeping leftovers.
- If using freshly cooked rice, refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container within 1-2 hours. (Rice can give you terrible food poisoning.)
Reheating
Reheat the shrimp fried rice in a wok, making sure the entire dish is thoroughly warmed up.
If not, put it in a microwave-safe dish, cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave in 20 second intervals till piping hot at 165 F.
๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ณ Expert Tips
Tip #1: If you don't have the time or patience for pounding the garlic-chili paste, simply mince up the garlic and chilies before stir-frying.
Tip #2: Do not touch your eyes after handling chilies. It will STING!
Tip #3: To transport your guests to a street stall in Thailand, serve shrimp fried rice with a wedge of lime, sliced red chili, fresh cucumber, sliced tomatoes, coriander or green onions. Most importantly, don't forget the prik nam pla (fish sauce mixed with fresh chilies เธเธฃเธดเธเธเนเธณเธเธฅเธฒ!) Thai street stalls often have containers of sugar, fish sauce, peanuts and chili flakes on the table too.
Tip #4: Thai recipes often use white pepper. Add ยฝ a teaspoon to the sauce mixture, if you have some on hand. Note that it clumps easily and has a strong flavor so don't be too heavy handed.
๐ฅ Suugested Accompanying Recipes
Enjoyed this easy Spicy Thai Fried Rice Recipe? Please leave a 5-star ๐๐๐๐๐rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked this Khao Pad Goong Recipe, please consider supporting it by buying me a bottle of fish sauce! ๐ (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!
Thai Basil Fried Rice with Shrimp (Khao Pad Goong)
Equipment
- mortar and pestle Substitute: knife and cutting board to mince the garlic and chili if you don't want to pound.
- Large wok
- heat proof spatula
Ingredients
- 1 Cup uncooked jasmine rice 180g/ 6.35 ounces. This will cook up into about 3 Cups of cooked rice. Day-old rice is the best for fried rice as it's slightly drier and won't become mushy during cooking. If using leftover rice, use 3 Cups of it. If you're not bothered about authenticity, you could use basmati rice as a substitute but it won't be quite as fragrant.
- 18 shrimp peel and devein. Both fresh or thawed frozen shrimp work. The shells can be kept for making prawn oil or seafood stock. You can use more shrimp if you want but this makes for 3 shrimps per person
- 4-5 Red Bird's Eye Chilies If you can't take spice, remove the seeds and use large red chilies, not these small ones. (Smaller chilies are spicier.) YOu can also use fewer chilies. Note that when you reduce the spice, you change the balance of the sauce so you may need to adjust the salt and sugar. Generally I find the spicier a dish is, the more sugar it will need.
- 7 cloves Garlic Peel and pound with the red chilies. If you can get Thai garlic, use that instead of China Garlic for more authentic flavor. (You'll need to go to Thai supermarkets for those.
- 3 Tablespoons Oil Neutral vegetable oil, peanut oil or prawn oil from the prawn shells
- ยผ Onion Thai food usually uses shallots so use that if you can get them. If not red onions (2nd best choice) or white and yellow onions also work.
- 1 Carrot Peel and dice.
- 3ยฝ Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
- 3-1ยฝ Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce substitute: sweet soy sauce. If so, taste before adding the sugar the recipe calls for, asย Sweet Soy Sauceย is, well, sweeter thanย dark soy!
- 1ยผ teaspoon Light Soy Sauce
- 1ยผ teaspoon Fish Sauce you can substitute withย light soy sauce. However, if you plan to do a lot ofย Thai and Southeast Asian cooking, I highly recommend getting a bottle.
- 1ยผ teaspoon Sugar Useย palm sugarย if you can get it- and don't mind grating down the block of sugar. If not, white sugar works too.
- ยพ teaspoon Chicken Bouillon Powder Optional. If you can't get it- it's available online or in the Asian market- just substitute with chicken broth or add a pinch more salt and sugar.
- 1ยฝ-2 Cups ย Thai basil leaves Use fresh, never dried. Substitute: Holy Basil (Gra Pao) which will give the rice a slightly different flavor, more similar toย Pad Kee Mao.
- 6 Eggs Optional but I love a fried egg with my Thai fried rice!
- 2 Fresh Limes Cut into wedges and serve with the rice. Squeeze over the rice before eating. If not, add a few teaspoons of white rice vinegar or tamarind water when stir-frying the rice.
Instructions
- If you don't have cooked rice on hand, cook the rice as you usually do, but using 1-2 Tablespoons less water.ย
- Pound the peeled garlic and sliced chilies into a paste.
- Mix all the sauces in a small bowl: the oyster sauce, dark soy, light soy, fish sauce, sugar and chicken bouillon powder. Place next to your stove.
- Over medium-high heat to high heat, heat oil in a wok or large skillet till shimmering but not smoking. (If I have it, I use the prawn oil made from the prawn shells for this.)
- Add the onions or shallots and stir-fry in the large wok for about 30 seconds to a minute till fragrant.
- Add the carrots or bell peppers and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes till your desired consistency.
- Add the chili garlic paste and stir-fry, mixing it well with the onions and veggies. Note: people usually add the garlic-chili peppers paste first, but we are adding it after the vegetables, because frying bird's eye chili produces fumes that will make you cough and choke. Hence, I do this to reduce the amount of chili-frying time, so you spend less time coughing!
- Push the contents of the wok to the side, then add the prawns, and stir-fry till opaque and cooked.
- Remove the prawns from the pan as we don't want them to overcook.ย
- Add the rice to the pan, and stir till everything is well-mixed. Note: If using cold rice, use the spatula to break up any lumps.
- Pour in the sauce mixture and stir-fry for a few mintues till the rice turns an even dark brown.
- Return the prawns to the wok, along with the Thai Basil Leaves, and stir till the basil is just wilted.
- If using, fry the eggs sunny-side up and serve with the shrimp rice, along with lime wedges, fresh cucumber, sliced tomatoes, coriander or green onions andย prik nam plaย (fish sauce mixed with fresh chiliesย เธเธฃเธดเธเธเนเธณเธเธฅเธฒ.)
Notes
- Storage: If you're using day-old rice rice to make this dish, I don't recommend keeping leftovers. If using freshly cooked rice, refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container within 1-2 hours. (Rice can give you terrible food poisoning.)
- Note:ย the nutritional information is anย estimateย automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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