Bell peppers stuffed with spicy Thai basil chicken (pad krapow gai), baked until tender and topped with a crisp fried egg.
Pad krapow gai — stir-fried chicken with holy basil, garlic, and chile — is arguably Thailand's most common lunch dish, sold from food carts and home kitchens across the country, almost always served over rice with a fried egg on top. This recipe keeps the exact flavor profile of pad krapow but stuffs it into bell peppers and bakes them, turning a fast stir-fry into a heartier baked dinner while keeping every element that makes the original dish work. The technique that defines pad krapow is cooking the chicken hard and fast with garlic and chile pounded (not just chopped) into a rough paste, then finishing with fish sauce, a little sugar, and a generous handful of Thai holy basil stirred in at the very last second so it wilts but keeps its punchy, slightly peppery aroma. That filling is fully cooked on the stovetop before it goes into the peppers, since baking alone wouldn't develop the same char and depth. Baked until the peppers are tender but still holding their shape, then topped with a crispy fried egg just before serving, this dish delivers all the spicy, garlicky, basil-forward flavor of the original in a format built for a sit-down dinner.
Serves 4
Heat oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add garlic, chiles, and shallot, stir-frying 30 seconds until fragrant. Add ground chicken and cook, breaking it into small pieces, 5-6 minutes until fully cooked.
Add diced red bell pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar. Cook 2-3 minutes until the pepper softens slightly and the sauce coats everything evenly.
Remove from heat and immediately stir in Thai basil leaves so they wilt from residual heat without overcooking and losing their aroma.
Add the basil off the heat, not while the pan is still on the burner — direct heat too long turns the leaves dark and bitter instead of glossy and fragrant.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Pack the chicken filling into the hollowed peppers, mounding slightly. Stand them in a baking dish with 1/4 cup water in the bottom, cover with foil, and bake 25-30 minutes until the peppers are tender.
While the peppers finish baking, fry eggs in a hot oiled skillet until the whites are set and edges crispy but the yolk is still runny, 2-3 minutes. Serve each stuffed pepper with rice and a fried egg on top.
Mince the garlic and chiles very fine, or pound them together in a mortar and pestle, which is the traditional method and releases more flavor than a simple chop.
Cook the chicken filling fully seasoned on the stovetop before stuffing — baking alone won't develop the same savory depth as a proper hot wok stir-fry.
Fry the eggs just before serving so the yolks are still runny and can mix into the filling when broken.
Use ground pork or turkey instead of chicken, following the same technique.
Skip the peppers and serve the filling directly over rice for a faster, more traditional pad krapow plate.
Add a handful of green beans, sliced thin, to the filling for extra vegetables and crunch.
Refrigerate stuffed peppers (without the fried egg) up to 3 days. Reheat covered in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes, and fry a fresh egg to top each portion when serving.
Pad krapow gai is considered one of Thailand's most iconic everyday dishes, especially popular as a fast lunch, and traditionally uses holy basil (krapow), a spicier, more peppery variety than the sweet Thai basil more commonly found outside Thailand. It's almost always served with steamed rice and a fried egg, a combination so standard it's often just called 'krapow' on menus.
Holy basil (krapow) has a spicier, more peppery flavor and is the traditional herb in pad krapow, while Thai basil is sweeter with an anise note — Thai basil is more widely available outside Thailand and works as a substitute, though the flavor will be milder.
Yes, reduce the Thai chiles to one or omit them entirely — the dish will still have plenty of flavor from the garlic, fish sauce, and basil without the heat.
No, covering them with foil for the first part of baking steams them tender without a separate blanching step.
Per serving (380g / 13.4 oz) · 4 servings total
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