You can think of pad prik king as a kind of a "dry curry". It's a dish that concentrates the iconic flavours of Thai food into one quick and easy stir-fry. Chicken and crunchy long beans tossed in salty-sweet red curry paste, and served with creamy salted duck egg. It can easily be modified to work with other proteins as well.

A plate of chicken and long bean stir-fry

What is Pad Prik King

Pad prik king is a stir fry of protein with red curry paste and makrut lime leaves (aka kaffir lime leaves). The flavour profile is salty and sweet, and it's usually medium to mild when it comes to heat. It's a dry stir fry, so all of the flavours are concentrated and coating all of the meat and vegetables, delivering an explosion of flavour with every bite. It really is one of my faves!

In Thai, pad means to stir fry, prik means chilies, and king means ginger, which is kind of odd because there is no ginger in this recipe! From what I could find, the most likely story behind this dish name is that it's supposed to be about as spicy as ginger, so not super hot like some other Thai dishes can be.

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you need and important notes about them. For amounts, see the recipe card below.

Chicken breast or thigh, boneless skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces. I always prefer thighs, but in the video I did show you how to use chicken breast because it's important not to cut them too thin to prevent them from drying out too fast.
Fish sauce, you'll need some for marinating chicken and another amount for the stir fry. How much you need for the stir fry will depend on how salty the curry paste is to start, so be sure to add just a teaspoon, then taste and add more as needed.
Cooked salted duck egg, this is optional but it is often added to pad prik king and I think it works so well. The creamy saltiness contrasts the slightly sweet stir fry beautifully. You can buy salted duck eggs at any Chinese supermarket, but be sure to buy COOKED ones, not raw.
Neutral flavored oil
Red curry paste. Store bought is totally fine, but you can also make your own curry paste using my red curry paste recipe. Brands of Thai curry paste vary greatly, so I recommend Maeploy, Aroy-D, or Namjai for best flavours. If using Maesri in little tins or Thai Kitchen, they are much weaker and you will need to double the amount of paste to get the same flavour.
Palm sugar, finely chopped, packed, or sub light brown sugar
Unsalted chicken stock or water
Long beans, also known as string beans of Chinese long beans have a nuttier and firmer crunch than green beans, but if you cannot find them, you can use French green beans instead (the smaller, skinnier ones).
Makrut lime leaves, this is a key ingredient for pad prik king, if you can't find fresh, check the frozen section as frozen ones work just as well!
Jasmine rice, for serving.

How to Make Pad Prik King

Here's a bird's eye view of the steps involved, if it's your first time I highly recommend watching the video tutorial first to ensure success. Detailed steps are in the recipe card below.

Toss the chicken with fish sauce and let marinate while you prep other ingredients.
If using, cut the salted duck eggs right through the shell in half, then use a spoon to scoop the halves out. At this point you can either cut each half into chunks and toss them into the stir-fry, or serve it on the side.
Heat the oil over high heat until very hot and sear half the chicken without stirring until browned, about 1 minute. Once browned, stir the chicken briefly just to cook the surface of the other side, and then remove from the pan. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
With the heat OFF, add a little more oil and add stir in the curry paste until it's loosened, then turn the heat on to medium and cook for about 2 minutes until aromatic. Then stir in the palm sugar, fish sauce, and deglaze with a little chicken stock or water and stir until sugar is dissolved.

process shots for how to make pad prik king steps 5-8

Add the torn makrut lime leaves and let them infuse into the sauce for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. If the sauce looks thick by this point, add a little more stock or water to get it into an pourable consistency.
Add the chicken back in and toss just to coat in the sauce.
Add the long beans and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce is no longer pooling and the curry paste is coating the chicken and the beans. If you want to add the salted duck egg chunks into the stir-fry, toss them in at this point and toss just to mix.
Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Garnish with finely julienned makrut lime leaves and if you didn't mix the duck eggs in, place the eggs on the side. Serve with jasmine rice. and enjoy!

Variations of Pad Prik King in Thailand

In Thailand, the most common version of pad prik king is actually made with deep fried catfish. Thai catfish are sliced into steaks, the bone-in steaks are then deep fried until the outside is crunchy, and then that gets stir fried with the curry paste.

This is typically done in restaurants because prepping and frying the catfish in this manner is pretty involved. For home cooking, we tend to use easier protein options such as chicken and pork (pork belly is very popular). A vegetarian version that use TVP (texturized vegetable protein) or deep fried tofu is also quite common during the vegan festival (chay festival) in Thailand.

Similar Recipes You Might Like

If you love pad prik king, there are a few other dishes you might also enjoy.

Pad ped is also a red curry stir fry, but it is saucier, less sweet, and this version uses coconut milk.
Cauliflower Yellow Curry Stir Fry. Once you get a hang of stir frying with curry paste, try this recipe as your next veggies for the meal!