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4.8 from 27 votes

3-Chili Fried Rice with Thai Basil

Kao pad nam prik pao is a Thai fried rice that features our Thai chili paste as the main seasoning, but also has dried chili flakes and fresh chilies. It sounds spicy, but you can adjust and make it as spicy as you can handle. The Thai basil add freshness and fragrance that completes the dish. Pair it with chicken, tofu, shrimp or any kind of meat. Quick to prepare, and gluten-free!

Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 644 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Thai

Ingredients

Marinated chicken
  • 8 oz chicken breast boneless skinless, bite-size pieces about 1 cm thick
  • 2 teaspoon soy sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
Fried Rice
  • 1 ½ tablespoon Thai chili paste plus about 1 teaspoon of the oil, if desired
  • 2-3 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoon neutral oil or as needed
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped
  • ½ - 1 teaspoon roasted chili flakes see note 1
  • 12.5 oz cooked jasmine rice
  • ½ cup diced onion
  • 3 tablespoon sliced fresh chilies see note 2
  • 1 cup Thai basil leaves
  • Lime wedges for serving
  • Cucumber slices for serving

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Combine the chicken with all marinade ingredients and mix well. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes, stirring halfway through, and until most of the water has been absorbed into the chicken and is no longer pooling.
  2. Mix the chili paste with 2 teaspoon of fish sauce to loosen it up and allow it to mix more easily into the fried rice.
  3. Sear the chicken: Heat a wok or a large nonstick skillet over high heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Once the oil is very hot, add the chicken and spread it out into one layer. Allow the chicken to sear until the underside is browned, then toss and keep cooking until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the pan, leaving the oil behind.
  4. Scramble the eggs: In the same pan, add a little more oil if needed (if using a nonstick pan you may not need any oil at all) and heat at medium high until it's hot and ready to go. Add the eggs and scramble them, keeping the yolks and whites slightly marbled. Once the eggs are done, remove from the pan. At this point if the pan has some bits of eggs stuck on it you can wipe or scrape them off, but there's no need to clean the pan.(PS. The egg is cooked separately and added back in in order to keep its colour vibrant. Otherwise it will get coated in the chili paste and everything looks the same colour.)
  5. Fry the rice: Add about a tablespoon of oil to the wok and heat it over medium heat. Add the garlic and dried chilies and saute until the chilies start to smell a bit smokey, about 1 minute.
  6. Add the rice and toss with the garlic briefly, then turn the heat up to high. Add the onion and the sauce and toss until the rice grains are separated and evenly coated in the sauce. If there are clumps, use your spatula to push them down to break them apart.
  7. Add the eggs and the chicken back in along with any collected chicken juices in the bowl. (*If for some reason your rice is looking too moist and it doesn't look like it can handle more liquid without getting mushy, hold back on the chicken juices.)
  8. Turn off the heat then taste and add more fish sauce if needed. Add the fresh chilies and Thai basil and toss just until the basil is wilted.
  9. Serve with lime wedge and fresh cucumber slices, be sure to squeeze the lime over the rice before eating!

Notes

  • You can buy store bought chili flakes and toast them over low heat in a dry skillet until they darken in colour and smell a bit smoky. I make my own from whole dried chilies which I toast in a dry skillet over medium high heat until they are charred and smoky, then grind in a coffee grinder.
  • Use any fresh chilies whose heat you can handle, given the two other chilies you've added. Jalapenos or fresnos are great, and you can remove the seeds a pith to reduce the heat. Bell pepper also works really well if you don't want to add any more heat.

Nutrition Information

Calories 644kcal (32%) Carbohydrates 57g (19%) Protein 36g (72%) Fat 29g (45%) Saturated Fat 5g (25%) Polyunsaturated Fat 4g Monounsaturated Fat 18g Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 236mg (79%) Sodium 1017mg (42%) Potassium 656mg (19%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 274IU (5%) Vitamin C 6mg (7%) Calcium 72mg (7%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 2servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories 644

% Daily Value*

Calories 644kcal 32%
Carbohydrates 57g 19%
Protein 36g 72%
Fat 29g 45%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g 24%
Monounsaturated Fat 18g 90%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 236mg 79%
Sodium 1017mg 42%
Potassium 656mg 14%
Fiber 2g 8%
Sugar 3g 6%
Vitamin A 274IU 5%
Vitamin C 6mg 7%
Calcium 72mg 7%
Iron 2mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.