Khao Pad The Real Deal Thai Fried Rice with Prawns Fresh Lime

Khao Pad The Real Deal Thai Fried Rice With Praw

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Preparation time:20 Mins

Cooking time:10 Mins

Servings:2 servings

Ingredients:

• cups cold, cooked day-old Jasmine Rice
• large Eggs, lightly beaten
• oz Peeled prawns (or chicken/tofu)
• cloves Garlic, finely minced
• small Shallot, thinly sliced
• /2 cup Yellow Onion, small dice
• cup Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) or Green Beans, chopped
• Tbsp Vegetable or Peanut Oil
• 1/2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
• tsp Light/Thin Soy Sauce
• tsp Palm Sugar (or granulated sugar)
• /2 tsp White Pepper, freshly ground
• /4 cup Fresh Cilantro, roughly chopped
• stalks Scallions (green parts only), thinly sliced on a bias
• Fresh Lime Wedges
• /2 cup Sliced Cucumber (for serving)
• /2 cup Sliced Tomatoes (for serving)

Instructions:

• Mise en Place & Sauce Prep: Prepare all vegetables, protein, and mince garlic. Mix the Fish Sauce, Soy Sauce, Palm Sugar, and White Pepper in a small bowl until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Set everything within arm's reach of the stove.
• Sear the Protein: Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in the wok over high heat until shimmering. Quickly cook the protein until just done. Remove immediately from the wok and set aside.
• Scramble the Eggs: Add another 1 Tbsp of oil to the hot wok. Pour in the beaten eggs. Let them set for a few seconds, then quickly scramble them into small pieces. Push the eggs to one side of the wok.
• Aromatics & Veg: Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil (if needed) to the cleared part of the wok. Add the minced garlic and shallots; stir fry rapidly (about 15 seconds) until fragrant do not burn! Add the diced onion and harder vegetables (like broccoli stems). Stir fry for 1 minute.
• Introduce the Rice: Turn the heat down slightly to medium high. Add the cold rice to the wok. Break up any clumps with your spatula, pressing the rice against the hot surface to toast it slightly. Toss continuously for 2 3 minutes until the rice is hot and glistening.
• Sauce & Final Toss: Push the rice mixture to the sides of the wok, creating a well in the centre. Pour the prepared sauce mixture into the well and let it bubble for 5 seconds, then immediately toss everything together vigorously until the rice grains are evenly coated and slightly browned.
• Reintroduce & Finish: Return the cooked protein and the scrambled eggs to the wok. Add the softer greens (like broccoli florets). Toss for one final minute to heat everything through.
• Serve: Turn off the heat. Stir in half of the sliced scallions. Immediately transfer the Khao Pad onto serving plates. Garnish heavily with fresh cilantro, the remaining scallions, a side of crisp cucumber and tomato slices, and serve with generous lime wedges for squeezing over the top.

Nutrition Facts

Calories	2770 kcal
Protein	36.4 g
Fat	68.7 g
Carbs	157.1 g
Fiber	36.6 g
Sodium	7756 mg

Recipe Info

Category	Main Course
Cuisine	Thai

Get Ready for Proper Thai Fried Rice (Khao Pad)

I still remember the first time I nailed this. I was trying to impress someone classic, right? I chucked everything in the pan, and it ended up like soggy porridge. Disaster! Now, though?

Now I know the secrets to making Thai Fried Rice (Khao Pad) that tastes exactly like it came straight from a Bangkok street stall.

This recipe isn't just about throwing rice in a pan, mate. We're aiming for light, separate grains, bursting with that beautiful balance of salty, sweet, and sour. Forget spending a bomb on delivery; we are unlocking that gorgeous smoky flavour, that elusive wok hei , right on your hob.

Solving Your Khao Pad Puzzles

I know what you’re thinking before you even start. "Will my rice go sticky?" "Is my heat high enough?" "What the heck is fish sauce?" Those are the top three sticking points for most home cooks tackling this dish.

This guide sorts all that out, detailing why cold rice is your absolute best mate and how to manage high heat without burning your kitchen down. Honestly, this walkthrough is far less faff than those massive, overly complicated Khao Pad Recipe posts out there.

What Makes This Khao Pad Recipe Different

Most recipes just list ingredients and jump straight to "stir fry everything." But getting Authentic Thai Fried Rice is about respecting the layers. We’ll focus heavily on preparing your ingredients mise en place first.

That’s crucial, because once the wok is hot, things move at lightning speed. We focus on the specific sauce ratio that gives you that signature bright flavour, rather than just a heavy soy colour.

If you’ve been trying to achieve true Thai Style Fried Rice , this method especially the staggered introduction of the vegetables is going to be your game changer.

Essential Thai Fried Rice Ingredients Check

Before we even look at the steps for making Khao Pad Thai Chicken (though we are using prawns here!), we need to talk about the basics. The right Thai Fried Rice Ingredients make or break the whole shebang.

You absolutely need cold, day-old Jasmine rice. I cannot stress this enough. If you try this with fresh rice, you’ll end up with a clump, not the lovely texture you get in great Khao Pad Egg Fried Rice .

Get your good quality fish sauce ready, and make sure your pan or ideally, your wok is screaming hot before anything hits the surface. We’re looking for speed, flavour, and zero sogginess when we figure out How To Make Thai Fried Rice properly.

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Right then, settle in, put the kettle on, and let’s talk about Khao Pad —authentic Thai Fried Rice . Forget those stodgy, takeaway versions you might have encountered; the real deal is bright, fragrant, and cooked with a fierce, high heat that gives it that gorgeous smoky 'wok hei'.

This recipe is my go-to for a stunning weeknight dinner that feels like a holiday on a plate. If you want to nail How To Make Thai Fried Rice that tastes like it came straight off a Bangkok street stall, the ingredients are everything.

Core Shopping List

Getting the right gear makes all the difference. For this Khao Pad Recipe , we’re sticking mainly to Jasmine rice it has the right starch content.

Don't even think about using that fluffy stuff you just boiled up; you need day-old, fridge cold rice (about 500g or 3 cups ). Seriously, if you use warm rice, you’ll end up with mush.

For protein, I'm suggesting prawns here, about 6 oz (170g) , but feel free to use chicken if that's what you have in the fridge. For the eggs, two large ones are plenty.

When you’re buying your sauces, try and get decent fish sauce; the cheap stuff can taste a bit harsh. You need about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the good stuff.

If you’re watching the pennies, the only real swap you can make without ruining the flavour profile is using standard granulated sugar instead of palm sugar, but use just 1 teaspoon of sugar, as it dissolves quicker and is sweeter.

Flavour Architecture

The flavour here is built on balance, that classic salty sweet-sour hit. The Thai Fried Rice Ingredients are simple, but their quality matters. Fish sauce brings the salty umami backbone.

White pepper is crucial; use about 1/2 teaspoon —it’s sharper than black pepper and very traditional in Thai Style Fried Rice .

For aromatics, we’re using plenty of garlic ( 3 cloves ) and shallots. If you’re out of shallots, you can use a regular small red onion, but the shallot is milder and sweeter.

If you want to ramp up the funk factor the true umami boost add an extra splash of light soy sauce, or, if you're feeling adventurous, a tiny splash of fermented soybean paste (though that drifts away from pure Khao Pad territory and closer to other Types of Thai Fried Rice ).

Equipment & Mise en Place

If you’ve got a Wok , use it. If you don't, grab the biggest, heaviest frying pan you own. You need maximum surface area to keep the heat high. Crucially, get everything chopped and measured before you turn on the stove.

Once that wok is hot, you have maybe 8 minutes before it’s done. Have your sauce mixed, your garlic minced, and your veggies ready to go in sequence. My top pro tip?

Keep the cold rice in a bowl you can easily scoop from you’ll be tossing like a lunatic, and you don't want to be faffing about searching for things mid-fry! This preparation is the key to achieving that fantastic Wok Hei Fried Rice .

Right then, settle in, put the kettle on, and let’s talk about Khao Pad —authentic Thai Fried Rice. Forget those stodgy, takeaway versions you might have encountered; the real deal is bright, fragrant, and cooked with a fierce, high heat that gives it that gorgeous smoky 'wok hei'.

This recipe is my go-to for a stunning weeknight dinner that feels like a holiday on a plate. Achieving that perfect texture is half the battle, so listen up!

Before You Cook

The absolute secret weapon for any good Thai Style Fried Rice is preparation. Honestly, if you muck this up, the whole dish suffers. My old mate, who spent summers working street stalls near Bangkok, always hammered one point home: "No stopping, no scraping the sides, just high heat and speed!" So, before that wok even thinks about getting hot, everything needs to be lined up.

Rivals often boast about their prep times, but the crucial bit is the rice. You must use cold, day-old Jasmine rice. If you try to use freshly cooked rice, you’ll end up with a gloopy mess trust me, I learned that the hard way once when I was rushing.

Also, mix your sauce now; that wee bowl of fish sauce, sugar, and soy needs to be ready to splash in.

Guided Cooking Sequence: Hitting That Wok Hei Fried Rice

This process takes about eight minutes, flat. Don’t blink!

1. Get your wok screaming hot. I mean, really smoking hot. Add about a tablespoon of oil and wait until it shimmers it should look like it’s vibrating. Now, quickly cook your prawns (or chicken). Once they’re pink and just cooked through, get them out . Don't let them sit and get rubbery; they'll finish cooking later.
2. Next up, the eggs. Add a bit more oil, pour in the eggs, and scramble them fast. You want lovely little fluffy bits, not one big omelette. Push them to the side.
3. Chuck in your minced garlic and shallots. This is your flavour base. You’ll smell that incredible aroma in about fifteen seconds that’s your cue! If it smells burnt, start over, mate; the heat was too low or you hesitated. Stir fry any harder veg like broccoli stalks for a minute.
4. Time for the Khao Pad Recipe core: the rice. Turn the heat down just a touch we don’t want it to burn immediately, just toast nicely. Toss that cold rice until every grain is separate and sizzling.
5. Now, the flavour bomb. Push the rice aside. Pour your pre-mixed sauce into that hot, clear spot in the centre. Let it bubble hard for just three seconds, then fold everything together fast, ensuring every grain of rice gets coated in that beautiful colour.
6. Bring the cooked protein back in, toss it all together for sixty seconds, and bam! Turn off the heat immediately. A squeeze of lime over the top at the end is essential for that signature bright taste that makes this Authentic Thai Fried Rice truly sing.

Save-It Section

This dish is best eaten straight away, obviously, when that heat is still ripping through it. But if you have leftovers? Pop them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. When reheating, don't microwave the whole lot; it steams the rice.

Instead, splash a tiny bit of water or stock into a frying pan, reheat gently, and stir fry it again for two minutes. This revives some of the texture.

If you accidentally put too much fish sauce in and it tastes like you’re eating the sea? Don’t panic! Fix that by quickly stirring in a small amount of sugar and a good squeeze of fresh lime juice to balance the salinity.

If the sauce has separated (usually happens if the heat drops too low), just stir vigorously off the heat until it emufies again. Remember, cooking is just a series of experiments.

Keep that wok hot, keep your eyes peeled, and you’ll smash out a brilliant Khao Pad Egg Fried Rice every single time.

Taste & Texture Upgrades

Forget watery takeaways, eh? We’re after that ‘sizzle’ here. The secret weapon for a truly brilliant plate of Thai Fried Rice (Khao Pad) is making sure your rice is properly toasted. My personal tip? Never crowd the wok! Cook in smaller batches if you have to.

If you’ve got a proper wok, give it a good blast of heat until it’s smoking hot before you add the oil. That smoky aroma, that’s the wok hei we’re chasing.

For plating, instead of just piling it on, I always serve mine with those mandatory cucumber slices tucked neatly to one side, and a fat wedge of lime practically begging to be squeezed.

When I first started making this, my rice always stuck together a proper bog-standard fried rice, not Khao Pad . The main difference in my Khao Pad Recipe versus a lot of the quick Westernised versions is the sugar element.

They often rely on ketchup or sweet soy, which makes it gloopy. I use just a touch of palm sugar combined with high quality fish sauce. It gives the rice an authentic, slightly caramelised chewiness that lifts the whole dish. It’s about balance, not just saltiness.

Nutrition & Dietary Paths

For a main serving of this glorious Thai Style Fried Rice (using prawns), you’re looking roughly at 600 calories, around 30g of protein, and about 20g of fat. It’s a proper meal, but easily managed.

If you’re watching the salt, use low-sodium soy sauce alongside your fish sauce, but be warned you’ll lose a bit of that deep umami flavour. For a lighter version, swap half the jasmine rice for cauliflower rice, though you’ll sacrifice some texture.

This Khao Pad Egg Fried Rice style is naturally gluten free if you ensure your soy sauce is tamari, but honestly, stick to the classic Thai Fried Rice Ingredients if you can; it’s worth it.

Serving & Pairing Ideas

This dish is so flavour packed, it barely needs a sidekick. That said, a bowl of lightly pickled green papaya salad offers a brilliant, sharp contrast. If you’re making a big batch of this Authentic Thai Fried Rice , store leftovers in an airtight container.

It lasts about three days in the fridge. Reheating is where many people fail! Don't microwave it all soggy; spread it out on a baking tray and blast it under a hot grill for three minutes, or better yet, toss it briefly in a very hot, dry wok for sixty seconds. That quick, hot toss revives the texture brilliantly.

Honestly, mastering How To Make Thai Fried Rice this good will make you feel like a proper kitchen hero. Give this Khao Pad Thai Chicken version a whirl next time you fancy something fast and utterly delicious!

If you're craving more ideas, explore Totally Tasty Refried Beans Homemade Scrumptious , Cranberry Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf Autumn on a Plate and Grandmas Arroz con Leche Creamy Rice Pudding Perfection .