Grapaow called, Holy Basil, spicy basil, Tulsi, and by other names. This herb is reputed to have medicinal qualities but most of it here know it as the tasty herb that gives Pad Grapaow it's wonderful flavor. There are a few different varities available allover the country, Red holy basil or "Grapaow daeng" is quite pungent with a very strong clove-like taste and aroma it's volor is a deep purplish red. My favorite, You only rarely see it in markets. There is another, more common strain that is totally green with lightly less clove-like flavor yet still quite delicious. Most commonly found is the kind I used tonight, while it is definitely a green plant there is a tinge of red to to it. The flavor as you might guess falls somewhere between the other two.
There's a dozen of these little grapaow bushes in my new back yard. So I figured It was 'bout time to treat the ol' lady to some home cooked thai food, this is not an economical choice. for the price of about 6 or 7 Pad Grapaow-rice plates I was able to whip up a couple decent sized plates for me 'n her.
I used a small Pork tenderloin and this stuff:
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That's a few long beans, a handful of Garlic, ,a handfull (or two) of chillis a small boquet of grapaow shoots plucked from the ground and some hom daeng this small red onions are strong in flavor and rarely seen in the states. Many recipes suggest the use of shallots in their stead. DON'T. Shallots have a light subtle garlic flavor and aroma that will not stand up to this dish. If you can;t find these little jewels opt for a nice big red onion onion chopped med-fine, or just a yellow onion.
Chop up your veggies and set 'em aside:
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Once you got all that done you can start on the meat. This is about a 300 gram tenderloin, use and lean cut of pork and little fat never hurt anybody.
Now Take your pork (You can use beef, chicken some people even go for prawns and squid dont chop up the seafood) lay it out on the chopping block and cut into decent sized chunks, get them all heaped up together and start wailin' on the meat flippin' and choppin till you got what appears to be grpund pork.
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The best way to cook this is dish is with a damn-near red-hot steel wok. What ever you use get it HOT, Damn hot! Sadly My ol electric cooker is weak and frail, and small. Still tastes OK, but the delay between tossing in the meat and veggies and time oer the heat ofter that sort of removes the freshness of the dish. Now with a hot Pan or wok, you're gonna be working fast toss in the meat, garlic and chilies.mix it around a bit and let the heat build back up in the pan if you're suffering, as I am, from a chickenshit pan.
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When it get to this point add in the onions and beans cook just until the beans start to brighten up a bit and add you sauces I added oyster sauce, light soy sauce (thai style) and a big slug of fish sauce:
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Add your grapaow stir it around a bit plate it up and eat!
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