Thai Pad Ga Prau Look Chin

“Pad Ga Prau Look Chin” ( ) is a variation of the classic Pad Ga Prau, where meatballs are the main ingredient. They are stir-fried in a wok with the typical garlic and chili paste and finished with aromatic holy basil. This version of the street food classic is also best served with steamed jasmine rice and a crispy fried egg.

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Preparation

First we peel the garlic cloves and chop them finely. Then we cut the Thai chilies into small pieces. Garlic and chilies are then pounded in a mortar to form a coarse paste. You can adjust the heat of the dish with the amount of chilies. Pad Ga Prau does live from a certain level of heat, so I would not use too few chilies.

Next we mix fish sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Golden Mountain Sauce. We dissolve the palm sugar completely in this mixture. Then we pluck the holy basil leaves from the stems and set them aside.

The Look Chin should already be cooked, as they are only stir-fried briefly. If you use larger meatballs, you can halve or quarter them so they absorb the sauce better. Smaller Look Chin can stay whole. You can also score them crosswise to give the sauce more surface to cling to.

Now we heat plenty of oil in a wok or large pan and fry one egg per serving. In Thailand these eggs are often fried in more oil than in the classic Western style, so the edges become nicely crisp. Once the eggs have reached the desired color and consistency, we take them out and keep them warm.

Then we pour off about half of the oil and briefly fry the garlic and chili paste in the remaining oil until it releases its aroma. Then we add the meatballs and stir-fry them over high heat for two to three minutes.

When the Look Chin have browned in places, we add the prepared sauce mixture and let everything reduce for one to two minutes at most. The dish should not become too dry.

Finally, we turn off the heat, wait for a short moment, and fold in the holy basil. This prevents the leaves from turning dark. Then we serve Pad Ga Prau Look Chin immediately with jasmine rice and the crispy fried eggs. If you like, garnish everything with a few cucumber slices.