Thai Basil Fried Rice with Shrimp (Khao Pad Goong)

A plate of Spicy Thai Basil Fried Rice with Shrimp and Egg.

5 from 4 votes

Thai Basil Fried Rice with Shrimp (Khao Pad Goong)

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!

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Cooking Rice Time (If not using Leftover Rice)35

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: thai

Servings: people

Calories: 347kcal

Author: Zen

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
¼ 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.
3½ Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
3-1½ Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce substitute: sweet soy sauce. If so, taste before adding the sugar the recipe calls for, as Sweet Soy Sauce is, well, sweeter than dark soy!
1¼ teaspoon Light Soy Sauce
1¼ teaspoon 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.
1¼ teaspoon Sugar Use palm sugar if you can get it- and don't mind grating down the block of sugar. If not, white sugar works too.
¾ 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.
1½-2 Cups Thai basil leaves Use fresh, never dried. Substitute: Holy Basil (Gra Pao) which will give the rice a slightly different flavor, more similar to 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.
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.
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 and prik nam pla (fish sauce mixed with fresh chilies พริกน้ำปลา.)

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: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.

Nutrition