Photo of the Pad Krapow Gai, taken by Andrew Fabian.

Forget pad thai, red and green and panang curry, ginger pork and fried spring rolls. Disremember also drunken noodles and Thai fried rice. These dishes are safe choices for an average night out to a Thai restaurant, but safety has ever been the refuge of the boring. Let’s talk about a dish consumed daily in Thailand that does not get enough credit outside of the country—pad krapow gai.

The name translates literally into fried holy basil chicken, and though the name seems honest enough, it does not include an unexpected ingredient (more on that later). At Spice Station, which owes its meteoric rise in the Rosemary District to its shockingly inexpensive lunch menu, diners will find it listed as Bangkok basil chicken. As the menu states, the dish is “famous in the streets of Bangkok,” a statement whose subtext accurately implies that it can be made quickly. It begins with ground chicken sautéed with bell peppers, onions and holy basil leaves in a light garlic-chili sauce. Holy basil, unlike Thai basil or ordinary sweet basil, has a more robust and bolder flavor, with hints of cinnamon and cloves. When combined with the garlic-chili sauce, itself tasty if a bit familiar, the flavor profile pops into something deliciously different, with almost a medicinal essence. And, the unexpected ingredient that tops it off? A fried egg. When the yolk breaks, it drains through the ground chicken and binds it together to give some heft to what would otherwise be a light, simple meal. 

From 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, the dish will only run guests $9 and includes a choice of salad or soup. Holy krapow!

Photo of the Pad Krapow Gai, taken by Andrew Fabian.

Spice Station, 1438 Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota, 941-343-2894.