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A wooden cutting board with a rectangular plate and spoon on top, the plate has a mound of rice on the back half. On the front half, there's a pile of ground pork, basil, and peppers.
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4.87 / 15 votes

Thai Pork

This Thai basil pork recipe is easy and slightly spicy and made with ground pork, fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic, shallots, Thai chiles, and basil. A quick weeknight dinner that's cheaper and better than takeout.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Mains
Cuisine: Thai
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Calories: 578

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced (2 tablespoons)
  • 5 Asian shallots, or 1/2 small onion, cut into thin slices (1/3 cup)
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
  • 6 red Thai chile peppers, seeded, if desired, and thinly sliced into rounds
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups packed fresh holy basil or Thai basil leaves*
  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper, (optional)
  • Steamed white rice , (optional)
US - Metric

Instructions

  • Heat a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Carefully swirl in the oil and heat until it becomes runny and starts to shimmer but doesn't begin to smoke. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and shallots and cook, stirring, until the garlic is lightly golden and fragrant, 15 to 30 seconds.
  • Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in the pork, using the edge of your spoon or spatula to break up the clumps. Stir and cook until the meat has just lost its blush of pink, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Reduce the heat to medium and toss in the chiles. Add the oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar and stir to coat the meat evenly. Stir in the basil and cook until the basil is wilted and the pork is cooked through, another 30 to 60 seconds.
  • Move to a serving dish and, if desired, sprinkle with a pinch of black pepper. Serve hot with freshly steamed rice.

Notes

*What is a substitute for holy basil?

As the author explains, Thai basil pork is traditionally made with the jagged leaves of holy basil (bai gkaprow), which is native to Asia. However, Thai sweet basil (bai horapa) tends to be easier to find in Asian markets in the United States and makes a laudable stand-in. But if you can't get your hands on either, no worries. You can always substitute any variety of basil you can get your hands on or, even better, a mix of basil and mint.

Thai Basil Pork variations

Instead of pork, you can opt for ground chicken or turkey or virtually any fresh seafood, including shrimp, scallops, mussels, or firm-flesh fish like halibut or salmon.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 578kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 1101mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g