I wanted a fried rice recipe that really celebrates the flavours of chilies - not just their heat. This fried rice features not one, not two, but three different types of chilies, combined with the fragrance of Thai basil to tie it all together! And no, it doesn't make this dish overwhelmingly spicy, and you can indeed customize the heat level while still preserving all the delicious chili flavour. It's not something I created out of thin air, but a traditional Thai dish (with a couple of tweaks from me)!
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Chili #1 - Thai Chili Paste (nam prik pao)
In Thai, this dish is called kao pad nam prik pao, translated simply as Thai chili paste fried rice. So our chili #1 is Thai chili paste or nam prik pao, also known as chili jam. It's the sweet and savoury umami-loaded ingredient that is used in many Thai dishes including the world famous tom yum goong. Though this is an ingredient most people buy, you can make your own homemade chili paste relatively easily.
Chili #2 - Roasted Chili Flakes (prik pon)
While Thai chili paste is delicious, it's very mild, so most of the heat in this dish is going to come from our second chili: roasted chili flakes. This is where you get to customize the heat level so add as much or as little as you like.
You can buy red pepper flakes, and then toast them in a dry pan over low heat, stirring constantly, until the get a little smokey. Or do it the Thai way by starting with whole dried spicy chilies, such as chile de arbol, and toasting them until charred spots form on the surface before grinding them into flakes. Check out this short Instagram video of me making this. It's a staple condiment in any Thai home, and is what we use as an all-purpose heat booster for any dish.
Chili #3 - Fresh Chilies (prik sod)
Both chilies 1 and 2 are dried, so a little freshness is needed. The third chili is any kind of fresh chilies you like, and you can go a little milder here given that the heat is already coming from chili #2 (or go hot if you like the burn!). These will serve as refreshing pops of fruitiness (if using red chilies) or grassiness (if using green) that I think is important here.
Jalapenos, fresnos, serranos are great spicy options, and the seeds and pith can be removed for less heat. If you don't want any more heat, anaheim or bell pepper will work beautifully. In Thailand we often use the mild spur chilies or prik chee fa for this purpose.
Ingredients You'll Need
Here are all the ingredients you'll need. The chicken can be substituted with any other protein you like. Tofu works beautifully in this recipe.
- Chicken, or another protein
- Thai basil
- Roasted chili flakes
- Diced onion
- Eggs
- Fish sauce
- Thai chili paste
- Fresh chilies
- Garlic
- Cooked jasmine rice
Step-By-Step:
Here's a bird's eye view of the process, but be sure to check out the full video tutorial in the recipe card below to ensure success!
- Marinate the chicken with soy sauce, sugar and water.
- If the rice is hot, spread it out so that it can dry out a bit and it will separate more easily in the wok.
- Sear the chicken until browned, then cook it through, and remove from the wok.
- Scramble the eggs, and remove from the wok.
- Saute garlic and roasted chili flakes in oil until the chili flakes smell a bit smokey.
- Add the rice and toss briefly.
- Add the chili paste and fish sauce and toss briefly.
- Add onions and then toss until there are no more rice clumps.
- Add chicken and eggs back in and toss.
- Add fresh chilies.
- Add Thai basil and toss just until wilted.
- Serve with cucumber slices and add a squeeze of lime before eating!
3 Pro Tips for the Perfect Fried Rice with No Clumps!
Making fried rice is easy in theory, but many people run into issues of mushy rice, clumpy rice, or rice that tastes like "mixed rice" rather than fried rice with that nice toasted flavour. As a chef who has worked in restaurants that churn out fried rice, here are some tips to help you with these issues.
Your rice needs to start out DRY...but you don't need day-old rice.
We're adding wet things, i.e. the sauce, meat, veggies, so if the rice starts out already too moist, you risk clumpy or mushy rice. This is not a problem with commercial stoves with very high heat that dry out the sauce quickly. But at home we generally have weaker stoves, and we tend to crowd the pan cuz we're feeding a family of 4. So what to do?
If you have cold, old rice in the fridge, great. That will help because the rice dries and loses stickiness when chilled, so they separate better in the pan. But if you don't have leftover rice, it is NOT a problem at all. Here are somethings you can do.
- If you're making fresh rice, add a little less water. For jasmine rice, use a 1 to 1 ratio of rice to water, instead of the usual 1 to 1.25.
- If you already have hot rice made, spread the rice out onto a plate while you prep so that more steam can escape and it can cool and dry. If you have extra time once it's cooled to room temp, you can stick it in the fridge to cool it further.
Allow your rice to "sit and sear"
After the rice has mixed thoroughly with the sauce, don't rush it. Let it sit and sear for 10-15 seconds at a time, depending on the heat of your stove, so that the rice can toast and brown. This is where the flavour develops. Remember this is fried rice, not "mixed rice". See how I do this in the video at minute 06:45.
Always use marinated protein
You've got delicious fried rice, but it's being interrupted by pieces of bland, dry boneless skinless chicken breast...a common a way to spoil an otherwise perfect dish! So if using chicken, pork, beef, or even tofu, always marinate to give them flavour so they don't take away from the rice.
Shrimp isn't usually an issue though because they are more flavourful to start, so you don't need to marinade them.
A simple soy sauce or fish sauce marinade is fine, but I like to add a little sugar to help with browning (and flavour) and a little bit of water which will get absorbed into the meat like a brine and make it extra juicy. The water also gives us a bigger buffer in case we accidentally overcook the meat, which is easy to do!
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, nothing. The flavour of Thai chili paste is so unique and complex, that nothing you use can even approximate its flavour. If you can't find it in stores, it's not hard to make Thai chili paste at home. It takes a bit of time, but it keeps forever!
Unfortunately chili paste contains dried shrimp, so there's no way to make this dish vegan, but you make your own using my recipe and substitute the dried shrimp with some chopped rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms.
Thai basil is added for freshness and fragrance. Regular Italian basil will work fine here, but you can't find any, chopped cilantro and/or green onions can also work in a pinch.
Before you start, be sure to watch the video tutorial to ensure success! I always include little tips and tricks not mentioned in the blog post. The video is in the recipe card below, but you can also watch it on YouTube!
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3-Chili Fried Rice with Thai Basil
Equipment
- A wok or a 12-inch skillet
Ingredients
Marinated chicken
- 8 oz chicken breast, boneless skinless, bite-size pieces about 1 cm thick
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
Fried Rice
- 1 ½ tablespoon Thai chili paste , plus about 1 teaspoon of the oil, if desired
- 2-3 teaspoon fish sauce
- 3 tablespoon neutral oil, or as needed
- 2 eggs
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ - 1 teaspoon roasted chili flakes, see note 1
- 12.5 oz cooked jasmine rice
- ½ cup diced onion
- 3 tablespoon sliced fresh chilies, see note 2
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves
- Lime wedges for serving
- Cucumber slices for serving
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Notes
- You can buy store bought chili flakes and toast them over low heat in a dry skillet until they darken in colour and smell a bit smoky. I make my own from whole dried chilies which I toast in a dry skillet over medium high heat until they are charred and smoky, then grind in a coffee grinder.
- Use any fresh chilies whose heat you can handle, given the two other chilies you've added. Jalapenos or fresnos are great, and you can remove the seeds a pith to reduce the heat. Bell pepper also works really well if you don't want to add any more heat.
FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video to ensure success. If you enjoy them, consider subscribing to the YouTube Channel to not miss an episode. Thank you!
Subscribe to my YouTube ChannelInstructions
- Combine the chicken with all marinade ingredients and mix well. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes, stirring halfway through, and until most of the water has been absorbed into the chicken and is no longer pooling.8 oz chicken breast, 2 teaspoon soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon water
- Mix the chili paste with 2 teaspoon of fish sauce to loosen it up and allow it to mix more easily into the fried rice.1 ½ tablespoon Thai chili paste, 2-3 teaspoon fish sauce
- Sear the chicken: Heat a wok or a large nonstick skillet over high heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Once the oil is very hot, add the chicken and spread it out into one layer. Allow the chicken to sear until the underside is browned, then toss and keep cooking until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from the pan, leaving the oil behind.3 tablespoon neutral oil
- Scramble the eggs: In the same pan, add a little more oil if needed (if using a nonstick pan you may not need any oil at all) and heat at medium high until it's hot and ready to go. Add the eggs and scramble them, keeping the yolks and whites slightly marbled. Once the eggs are done, remove from the pan. At this point if the pan has some bits of eggs stuck on it you can wipe or scrape them off, but there's no need to clean the pan.(PS. The egg is cooked separately and added back in in order to keep its colour vibrant. Otherwise it will get coated in the chili paste and everything looks the same colour.)2 eggs
- Fry the rice: Add about a tablespoon of oil to the wok and heat it over medium heat. Add the garlic and dried chilies and saute until the chilies start to smell a bit smokey, about 1 minute.4 cloves garlic, ½ - 1 teaspoon roasted chili flakes
- Add the rice and toss with the garlic briefly, then turn the heat up to high. Add the onion and the sauce and toss until the rice grains are separated and evenly coated in the sauce. If there are clumps, use your spatula to push them down to break them apart.12.5 oz cooked jasmine rice, ½ cup diced onion
- Add the eggs and the chicken back in along with any collected chicken juices in the bowl. (*If for some reason your rice is looking too moist and it doesn't look like it can handle more liquid without getting mushy, hold back on the chicken juices.)
- Turn off the heat then taste and add more fish sauce if needed. Add the fresh chilies and Thai basil and toss just until the basil is wilted.3 tablespoon sliced fresh chilies, 1 cup Thai basil leaves
- Serve with lime wedge and fresh cucumber slices, be sure to squeeze the lime over the rice before eating!Lime wedges for serving, Cucumber slices for serving
Misa says
YUM! This tastes even better than the Thai fried rice at the restaurants in my area.
After a couple trials I adjusted to slightly less fish sauce (1 and 1/4 teaspoons). So good!
Greg says
First - THANK YOU! As a Foodie that is new to Thai cuisine, I'm so glad I found you! These recipes are so Awesome and soo much better than the restaurant.
Question; what are the 4-5 different 'liquids' the street food vendors all seem to have atop their street stalls? Oils? Broths? And what are they typically?
I was briefly (too brief) in Bangkok last year for a business trip layover and was my first ever exposure to Thailand, Thai food, the smells, the people - absolutely fell in love with the place! Can't wait to go back and spend some time there. Which is why coming across your website was like an oasis in the desert. Lot's of copies out there but your recipes and tips were the only ones to take me back to Bangkok.
PLEASE let me know what those common oils, broths, sauces were that I saw in so many street stalls there. I was mesmerized by their cooking and would love to learn to do as they do.
Thanks again!
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Thank you!! As for the liquids, they may look similar but they're gonna vary depending on what they're selling so not possible for me to answer unfortunately! If you have a specific dish you're thinking of or if you have a photo, I can help further, send it along using the info on the Contact page 🙂
Adriane says
This recipe was so delicious! I made a huge batch and really appreciated the feature where I could change the servings and the ingredient measurements would adjust! The recipe was easy to follow. I was concerned that this might end up too spicy but it really wasn’t. In fact, the next time I make this I will add more spice! But it’s a really lovely flavor as written. I’m just so in love with this dish! Thank you so much for sharing! I’ll definitely be making this again and again.
JC says
Just made this and it was fabulous! Used a nam prik pao that I bought from a local Thai grocery and that alone had a lot of spicy kick, so I omitted the chilis and added bell peppers and de-seeded jalapenos instead for that crunch and color like you said. It was perfect. Thanks for the pre-marinated chicken tip, it really brought the flavor to the fried rice!
Ed says
I kind of disliked this- the Nam Prik Pao really jumps out and gives a distinctive taste. Unlike fish sauce, it doesn't blend into the background - it makes the dish taste taste similar to how the paste tastes straight. Not sure how to describe it- it's like a sweetened fish puree with also some background chili flavors.
I used the only one available in my area- from Maesri which some reviewers on Amazon did say was too sweet. So maybe don't use that one? Also possible this dish just isn't for me.
Pailin Chongchitnant says
I'm sorry you didn't like it, though from the sound of how you described, it doesn't sound like the way it should. It could be the chili paste, as I have never used that brand myself.
Z says
I doubled the recipe for my family of 4. They are SUPER picky yet everyone liked it. I really can’t begin to explain how rare that is. Thank you!
Loved the mix of chili flavors. Took your advice and added red bell peppers instead of the spicy jalapeños and it really brightened the dish while toning down the spice level for my teenagers. I ended up serving the jalapeños as a topping for the adults and it added some welcome spice and crunch.
I completely understood why you coughed and teared up on the video — those chili flakes are strong when sautéing!
I tried to use Red Boat fish sauce to mix in with my Thai chili sauce and for some reason got an overwhelming old gym sock smell before I added it to the rice — maybe I used a subpar fish sauce? I ended up redoing the chili sauce mix with chili sauce, dark soy sauce and Japanese barbecue sauce (all GF as I have celiac) — it had umami, salt, and sweetness and will be my go-to mix to add into the rice in the future.
Thank you for a great, well-balanced recipe that my whole crew liked!
Stephen Chan says
Nam Prik Pao is delicious on its own, making this fried rice an umami bomb! I just used bell pepper as I was not sure if that would be too spicy, but next time I may try something a bit spicier.
Dave says
Question: Does the 12 oz of cooked rice mean 12 oz in volume, i.e., one and a half cups? Or does it mean 12 oz in weight?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Hi Dave, sorry Adam was mistaken. 12oz is in weight, and you can always check this against the metric system in the conversion, if the metric is in grams, then the oz is for weight. Also, I never us oz as volume, usually I will use cups instead.
Davey says
Thank you. I will never trust Adam again! 🙂 This dish is delicious, by the way.
Adam from HTK says
lol! Yes I don't know what I'm talking about apparently 🙂 Cheers! Adam
Davey says
This was absolutely delicious! It's really important to let the rice sit still for a while so it can toast up. Otherwise, it's just warm rice pilaf. That slightly scorched taste is the key. I added about 1/2 cup of green peas (thawed) and a couple of scallions minced up. Will be making many times again.
Teresa says
This was amazing!!! You def can’t leave out the lime juice at the end!
Franzi says
This recipe is phenomenal!!!!! My partner and I had to make it again the next day.
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Thank you!
Benny says
Why Thai Menus don't use salt or chicken powder ?
Tim says
Awesome. This is now a lunchtime favorite, along with Chinese Sausage Fried Rice!
Karan says
You can get mae pranom brand from importfood.com