Today we will be making my all-time favorite Thai dish. In fact, I’d go as far as saying it’s one of my top five favorite dishes in the entire world! No, I’m not talking about pad thai, or drunken noodles, though I do have a love for them both. The dish I’m referring to is pad prik king.
It’s a dish that can be found in practically every Thai restaurant. However, if the name doesn’t sound familiar it’s because you’ve probably seen it labeled “green bean stir fry”. But the traditional name for the dish is pad prik king, or phad phrick khing depending on what spelling you use. Which is an awesome ass name, but what does it mean? Well let me break it down for you.
First, you have “Pad” which basically means stir fry.
“Prik” means chili peppers
And “king” means ginger, though in reality it is referring to galangal which is similar but slightly different.
So basically it translates as chili pepper ginger stir fry, but it’s so much more than that.
You see the real flavors of pad prik king come from delicious Thai red curry paste. Which includes additional ingredients like garlic, lemongrass, dried shrimp, and lime leaves. This makes it not only a super delicious dish, but something that you can make in minutes. So if you’re ready to make some pad prik king then let’s get into the recipe.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- There are three main Thai ingredients that you need to make authentic pad prik king. Thai red curry paste, fish sauce, and kafir lime leaves. Red curry paste, and fish sauce can be found in most markets these day’s, however, lime leaves are fairly rare. And while lime leaves are important for achieving an authentic taste, they are probably the least important of the three ingredients. So if you can’t find lime leaves then leave then feel free to them out. That being said if you are having trouble finding any of these ingredients I will provide a link for them below.
- Like most people I like my Thai food spicy. And luckily the red curry paste should bring enough heat. However, if it’s not spicy enough then you can kick it up a couple of notches by adding in some sliced Thai chilies. That being said if the curry paste is too hot for your liking then you can always add in another tablespoon of brown sugar to tone it down.
- You should be aware that store bought red curry paste will taste different depending on the brand. The brand I prefer to use is “Thai Kitchen”, mainly because it’s the most readily available. So if you are using a different brand of red curry paste then understand that you might need to adjust the amounts of garlic, sugar, or fish sauce.
- I like to keep it simple and serve this dish with a side of jasmine rice. However, if you want to really make this into a Thai meal then try making our tom yum soup for a nice starter.
Pad Prik King Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
1 Lb Chicken breast, sliced thin
1.5 to 2 Cups of green beans, cut into 2-inch sized pieces
2 Bell peppers (1 green & 1 red), sliced into thin strips
1 Carrot, peeled and cut into thin coins
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
4 to 6 Kaffir lime leaves ripped into pieces (optional)
½ Cup of chicken stock
4 Tablespoons of neutral-flavored oil
3 to 5 Tablespoons of Thai red curry paste, depending on how spicy you like it
1 Tablespoon of brown sugar
1 Teaspoon of fish sauce
Instructions
- Prep all of your ingredients: Cut up the chicken and vegetables so that they are ready for stir-frying. Place the sliced chicken in a bowl add 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 teaspoon of fish sauce. Mix this together and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Semi-cook the chicken: Get out a wok, or skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil to it and place it over high heat. Once its hot add the chicken and let them cook for 2 to 3 minutes just to get it semi-cooked.
Then transfer the semi-cooked chicken to a plate and set aside till later. Also depending on the size of your wok/skillet you might want to cook the chicken in batches so that they aren’t overcrowded and “stew”.
- Make the sauce: Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil to your wok/skillet and turn the heat down to medium. Then toss in the red curry paste and garlic. Stir and let this cook for 1 minute.
Then toss in the tablespoon of brown sugar stir it in, and let it continue to cook for another minute. Finally toss in the kaffir lime leaves and chicken stock, stirring it all together.
- Add the vegetables: Toss the carrots, bell peppers, and green beans into the wok/skillet and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Return the chicken: Return the semi-cooked chicken to the wok/skillet. Then continue to stir fry everything for about 2 more minutes, or until the vegetables are as soft as you prefer and the sauce is a thick as you like.
- Plate the pad prik king along with some rice to soak up the delicious sauce. Enjoy!
Pad Prik King Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Lb Chicken breast sliced thin
- 1.5 to 2 Cups of green beans cut into 2-inch sized pieces
- 2 Bell peppers 1 green & 1 red, sliced into thin strips
- 1 Carrot peeled and cut into thin coins
- 2 Cloves of garlic minced
- 4 to 6 Kaffir lime leaves ripped into pieces optional
- ½ Cup of chicken stock
- 4 Tablespoons of neutral-flavored oil
- 3 to 5 Tablespoons of Thai red curry paste depending on how spicy you like it
- 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar
- 1 Teaspoon of fish sauce
Instructions
- Prep all of your ingredients: Cut up the chicken and vegetables so that they are ready for stir-frying. Place the sliced chicken in a bowl add 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 teaspoon of fish sauce. Mix this together and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Semi-cook the chicken: Get out a wok, or skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil to it and place it over high heat. Once its hot add the chicken and let them cook for 2 to 3 minutes just to get it semi-cooked. Then transfer the semi-cooked chicken to a plate and set aside till later. Also depending on the size of your wok/skillet you might want to cook the chicken in batches so that they aren’t overcrowded and “stew”.
- Make the sauce: Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil to your wok/skillet and turn the heat down to medium. Then toss in the red curry paste and garlic. Stir and let this cook for 1 minute. Then toss in the tablespoon of brown sugar stir it in, and let it continue to cook for another minute. Finally toss in the kaffir lime leaves and chicken stock, stirring it all together.
- Add the vegetables: Toss the carrots, bell peppers, and green beans into the wok/skillet and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Return the chicken: Return the semi-cooked chicken to the wok/skillet. Then continue to stir fry everything for about 2 more minutes, or until the vegetables are as soft as you prefer and the sauce is a thick as you like.
- Plate the pad prik king along with some rice to soak up the delicious sauce. Enjoy!
Try out some of these other Thai recipes from other blogs
Pad Kee Mao a.k.a. Drunken Noodles from the Woks of Life
Pad Thai from Recipe Tin Eats
Pad Gaprao a.k.a. spicy basil stir fry from Hot Thai Kitchen
