Thai basil tofu (pad kra pao)
Crumbled tofu fried until golden and chewy, then tossed with garlic, chilies, green beans and a fistful of basil in a salty-sweet sauce, the Bangkok street dinner in half an hour.
- 40 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $3.65 a serving
- 740 calories
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 package extra-firm tofu, drained
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 2 tbsp gluten-free tamari
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 serrano peppers, thinly sliced
- 1½ cups green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup fresh basil, leaves
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ cups water
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 740 calories, 34 g protein, 92 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $3.65 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No extra-firm tofu? Firm tofu works.
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No green beans? Frozen green beans work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice and bring it in a small with the water and salt over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, and cook on low for 15 minutes. Take it off the heat and leave the lid on.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Meanwhile, the tofu dry and it with your fingers into small, uneven pieces.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Stir the tamari and brown sugar in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until and chewy at the edges, about 10 minutes.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Give it the full time. Pale tofu tastes like nothing, and golden tofu tastes like the pan.Food safety: Tofu is safe to eat straight from the package; cooking is only for texture and flavor.
Push the tofu to the side, add the garlic and chilies, and stir them in the clear spot for 30 seconds, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium-high heat
Dolly’s tip: Serranos are hot. Use one, or scrape out the seeds, if you’re shy about heat.Add the green beans and 3 minutes, until bright green and .
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Tender-crisp. Tender-crisp means vegetables cooked until just tender but still with a little snap. They keep their bright color and crunch instead of going soft and dull.
How you’ll know: A fork goes in with slight resistance, and the color is bright, not olive or gray.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min
Pour in the sauce and about 1 minute, until the tofu is and the pan is almost dry.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Glaze. A glaze is a thin, glossy coating, often sweet, brushed or spooned over food near the end. It adds shine and flavor, and because it has sugar, it can burn quickly.
How you’ll know: The food looks shiny and evenly coated, sticky at the edges but not blackened.
Medium-high heatTimer: 1 min
Turn off the heat, add the basil and until it just .
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Dolly’s tip: Regular basil works fine here if you can’t find Thai basil.Spoon over the rice and serve with lime wedges.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Air fryer tofu
45 min
Air fryer orange tofu
45 min
Air fryer salt and pepper tofu
45 min
Miso glazed tofu with bok choy
45 min
High-protein dinners ›Vegetarian dinners ›What to make with rice and tofu ›What to make with rice and serrano peppers ›