Spicy Pad Kaphrao, made with SN1

A fusion of Thailand’s everyday pad kaphrao with our spices. Ten minutes of cooking and you are somewhere else entirely 🏝

SPICE CURRY SPICE PACK (Spice Curry Spice Pack Symphony No.1 / SN1) — a spicy pad kaphrao.

Pad kaphrao is a Thai dish of minced meat fried with green peppers, sweet peppers and onion, seasoned with nam pla and other sauces, and served over rice.

Pad kaphrao is already excellent on its own, but we wondered whether adding SN1 from the Spice Curry Spice Pack might turn up something new — and it gave us a superb plate of food 👏

The kaphrao in pad kaphrao is holy basil, a kind of basil — so the name amounts to “basil stir-fry rice”. Fresh basil was not in season when we made this, so we used coriander instead.

Either basil or coriander is excellent here. Use whichever is fresh and available.

A fried egg on top — runny yolk, crisp edges — is essential 🍳

And it is quick: about ten minutes from start to finish.

“Spicy” though it is, SN1 contains almost nothing that brings heat, so children can eat plenty of it. Add heat to taste if you want it.

Ingredients (serves 4)　　

• SN1 / starter spices (the whole-spice sachet): 1 sachet
• SN1 / powder spices (the ground-spice sachet): 1 sachet
• Onion: 1
• Sweet pepper (yellow or red): 1/2
• Green pepper: 1
• Basil (or coriander): as much as you like
• Lime (or lemon): 1
• Cooked bamboo shoots: about 100g (leave them out if you have none. They add a welcome bite.)
• Garlic: about 1–2 cloves (chopped finely)
• Pork mince: 300g (any mince works. Use what you like.)
• Nam pla (Thai fish sauce): 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp
• Soy sauce: 1 tbsp
• Sugar: 2 tsp
• Oyster sauce: 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp
• Oil: 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you like. For this recipe we recommend olive oil or light sesame oil)
  
  

The peppers are entirely up to you, in type and combination. As a guide, about 1 to 1.5 peppers in total gives a good balance.

Preparation

• Chop the garlic finely.
• Chop the onion finely.
• Cut the green pepper, sweet pepper and bamboo shoots into fairly large pieces. (This changes the look and the texture, so cut them as you prefer.)
• Cut the lime (or lemon) into wedges.

Method

1. Put the “oil: 3 tbsp” into a pan over a low heat, and once the oil is warm, add the “starter spices (the whole-spice sachet)”.
   
   
2. When you hear the “mustard seeds (the small black ones)” start to crackle, add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds, stirring it through the spices.
   
   
3. Once the garlic smells good, add the “onion”, stir it in, then turn the heat to high and cook for 3–5 minutes, until it is translucent and just starting to go golden.
   
   
   
   
4. Turn the heat to medium, add the “pork mince: 300g” and fry.
   
   
5. When the meat is nearly cooked, add the sweet pepper, green pepper and bamboo shoots and fry for about 2 minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Add the “nam pla: 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp”, “soy sauce: 1 tbsp”, “sugar: 2 tsp” and “oyster sauce: 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp”, stir them in and fry for about 1 minute.
   
   
7. Once it is bubbling, add all of the “powder spices” and stir them in.
   
   

   Cook the powder spices through properly, frying them so they settle into the oil.

8. Taste it, and if it needs more salt, adjust by adding nam pla about 1 tsp at a time.
   
   
9. 🍳Fry the eggs.
   
   
10. Plate it up, top with the fried egg, basil or coriander, and lime, and it is done.

If you want more heat, sprinkle over some chilli powder or black pepper once it is plated 🌶

Pad kaphrao is at its best when you squeeze over the lime (or lemon) and mix everything together roughly with a spoon just before eating.

Inspice spice curry spice sets contain none of the usual sources of heat — chilli, cayenne pepper or chilli powder — so please add heat to your own taste.