MUSHROOM PAD KRA PAO
Recipe and images by Amber Bremner
Pad kra pao is a very popular Thai stir-fry dish that uses generous amounts of chilli and Thai basil, and a blend of sauces for a spicy, sweet and umami finish. It’s often made with pork or chicken but can easily be made plant-based using tofu, or in this case a mix of fresh oyster and shiitake mushrooms. This dish is quick and easy to make (it’ll be done in the time it takes to cook rice) and it takes me straight to memories of Thailand, where I’ve eaten many versions of this dish with tropical waters in front of me and white sand between my toes. You can use Thai holy basil, which has a peppery, clove flavour, or regular Thai basil, which has stronger anise notes. Both are delicious here.
Serves 4
¼ cup cooking oil
3–4 shallots, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped (about 2 tbsp)
2–5 fresh red chillies, finely chopped (see notes)
500g fresh mushrooms, finely chopped (I used about ¾ oyster mushrooms and ¼ shiitake mushrooms)
100g green beans, thinly sliced in rounds
1 cup Thai basil leaves, whole
2 tbsp oyster sauce (vegetarian if required)
1 tbsp dark, sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp soft brown sugar
To serve
Cooked jasmine rice
Cut limes to squeeze
Heat cooking oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add shallots, garlic and chillies, and cook for a few minutes until sizzling and fragrant.
Add mushrooms and green beans, and continue cooking, stirring often, until the mushrooms have browned and cooked down a fair bit.
Add the Thai basil, sauces and sugar, and cook for a few more minutes, stirring often, until glossy and fragrant.
Serve straight away with jasmine rice and a squeeze of lime juice.
Try using any leftover mushroom mixture chilled and wrapped in crunchy iceberg or baby cos lettuce leaves. Simply delicious.
Notes
You can dial the chilli up or down as much as you like, by adjusting the quantity of chillies, or adding in a few small bird’s eye chillies if you really want it hot. I used three long red chillies for a medium level of heat that my children were comfortable with.
I used mushroom-based vegetarian oyster sauce, Thai black soy sauce and light soy sauce, which are easily found at Asian grocers. Alternatively you can use ABC sauce for the dark sauce, and regular soy sauce for the light soy sauce. The combination gives the right balance of umami, sweet and salt.
