Pad Gaprao: The Real National Thai Dish? Ep. 12
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Sabai Talk Podcast is a conversation about Thai food, Thai cooking and Thai culture from the most visible Thai female Chefs in media: Hong Thaimee and Pailin Chongchitnant.
In this episode Hong and Pailin talk about Pad Gaprao, aka Pad Kra Pao, and discuss what it should be the real national dish of Thailand. We discuss variations of the dish, our childhood memories of this ubiquitous dish, and tips for making it at home.
Connect with us at sabaitalk@hongthaimee.com
As Mentioned in the Episode:
Pad Gaprao Recipe with Veggies: hot-thai-kitch...
Old-School Pad Gaprao Recipe: hot-thai-kitch...
The Madness of Spelling Thai Words in English: • The Madness of Spellin...
Hong Thaimee
Hong’s Instagram / hongthaimee
Hong’s Shop www.hongthaime...
Hong’s TH-cam Channel / @hongthaimee
Pailin Chongchitnant
Pailin’s TH-cam Channel / pailinskitchen
All of Pailin’s Recipes hot-thai-kitch...
Pailin’s Cookbooks hot-thai-kitch...
#PadGrapao
#PadKrapao
In January, I found a lot of pad kaprao moo krob in Bangkok. My favorite was at "Crispy Pork Alley" (ตรอกหมูกรอบ).
Yeah, moo krob seems to be a very common option these days - and it works really well. A mix of moo krob and moo sab works great, too 😋
I made a trip to Crispy Pork Alley last December, but the guy wasn't there :( Everyone needs a day off, I guess!
I think อาหารสิ้นคิด is also considered “easy-no brainer choice” Lots of Thais don’t cook and they go to “cook-to-order” quick meal (อาหารตามสั่ง) or fast meal rice and curry (ข้าวราดแกง) Sometimes it take a while to make up your mind, hence Pad Ga Proa is always the perfectly eventual choice.
It's not just Thailand, same reason why Curry rice is technically Japan's national dish over ramen, sushi or tempura 😅comfort food that's easy to make or takeout.
I made Pad Gra Pao with a combination of Thai Basil, Italian Basil and Mint - that worked really well actually
Loving your discussions about classic Thai dishes! My mom makes Beef Pad Kee Mao like Pad Gaprao without the noodles. It's loaded with garlic, green beans and basil. It's one of my favorites behind Khao Man Gai and Kai Palo.
The phrase "If you can't think of anything else to eat" also perfectly describes why Chicken Rice is considered the national dish of Singapore, Kimchi for Korea, and Curry Rice for Japan.
None of them would be considered the absolute best tasting dish of each country, but they are comfort foods that everyone goes back to.
Thank you both for presenting us so many Thai dishes. I live in Brazil and unfortunately Thai food is not very known over here. Thanks to you, I’m able to cook and try so many different and delicious recipes.
So glad to hear that! Hope you keep enjoying cooking and discovering more Thai flavors!
It's weird. I've had pad gaprao stateside but I do not remember our cook ever cooking it when we lived in Chiang Mai back in 1974-75. I do like it best with holy basil as I'm not fond of the licorice flavor of Thai basil. Since it is impossible to find here in Montana and I don't have a garden right now and seeds are somewhat hard to come by, I'll try using regular Italian basil. Thank you for the tip.
This is Thailand's true national dish.
I love it because it's so delicious, versatile, flavorful, and most importantly, accessible because it's so easy to make.
I order in Bangkok and asked to get it with No chilli she looked at me funny but to me it was still delicious and that Thai basil is some thing else
I wonder if the beans and onions thing is regional? I lived in Bangkok for a year pre-Covid and went back for a month last year, and I ate a LOT of pad gaprao, from a lot of different places. Not a single dish came with beans or onion.
I don't think the average vendor has gone back to the old-school recipe that Pailin talks about here. They're definitely putting oyster sauce and/or dark soy, they're just not adding vegetables (apart from chillies, obviously!)
good job, You should do better.