Pad Kra Pao

Allergens at a glance

• UsuallySoyLight soy sauce and dark soy sauce in the seasoning.
• UsuallyGlutenThai soy sauces and many oyster sauces contain wheat.
• UsuallyFishFish sauce in the seasoning.
• OftenMolluscsOyster sauce is in most versions.
• OftenEggsA crisp fried egg on top is the usual order.
• SometimesCrustaceansPrawn and mixed seafood versions, and a shared wok.

Usually in the standard recipe. Often in many versions. Sometimes in some kitchens, or a cross-contact risk.

Diets

• Not vegetarian as standard: fish sauce and oyster sauce even in tofu versions.
• Not suitable for coeliac (celiac) diners unless the cook uses gluten-free sauces.
• Pork is the classic meat; chicken versions are common, but ask about halal.

Recipes change from kitchen to kitchen. If you have an allergy, confirm every ingredient with the restaurant before you order.

What is pad kra pao?

Pad kra pao is minced meat stir-fried hard and fast with holy basil, garlic and bird's eye chilli, served on jasmine rice with a fried egg. It's Thailand's default lunch: quick, cheap, salty and very hot. Kaphrao is holy basil, which tastes peppery and clove-like, quite different from the sweet Thai basil in green curry.

What's in it

• Minced pork (the classic) or chicken, sometimes beef, prawns, squid or crispy pork belly
• Holy basil leaves, garlic and fresh chillies pounded together
• Seasoning: oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, fish sauce and a little sugar
• Jasmine rice and a fried egg with a crisp, lacy edge

Purists object to onions, carrots or long beans, but many shops add them. Outside Thailand the basil is often swapped for Thai sweet basil, which changes the flavour but not the allergens.

Allergens and diets

The sauces carry most of the allergens. Soy sauce and dark soy are in almost every version, and the common Thai brands list wheat, so assume gluten too. Many Thai oyster sauces also list wheat, and oyster sauce means molluscs. Fish sauce is added for salt.

The fried egg is such a common add-on that it's worth saying no egg clearly if you need to avoid it. Seafood versions bring in prawns and squid, and street woks cook every order in turn with a quick wipe, so shellfish cross-contact is likely at stalls that sell them.

There's no peanut in the recipe, but the same wok may have just cooked a peanut dish. For coeliac or soy allergy, this is one of the harder Thai dishes to adapt, because the flavour depends on the sauces. Confirm with the restaurant.

On the menu

Menus often list it as ข้าวกะเพรา (khao kaphrao), "basil rice", with the egg as a small extra charge.

Last checked 1 November 2026. Spotted something wrong? Email support@inventum.com.au.