Thai Basil Fried Rice

ByLyuba Brooke Updated

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Thai Basil Fried Rice is one of the best fried rice recipes out there, all thanks to the fresh Thai basil, Thai chili pepper, and the mouthwatering sauce. Fish sauce, oyster sauce, honey, and chili paste create a deeply flavorful sauce that's savory, little sweet, and a little spicy!
5 from 3 votes
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scooping out some fried rice with a fork from a deep bowl

I can’t lie… This is my family’s absolute favorite fried rice. There are SO many delicious fried rice recipes out there but Thai Basil Fried Rice is in a league of its own. It has so much amazing flavor with a hint of heat that takes it to a whole new level of delicious.

Featured in this recipe are bold, unique ingredients that make this fried rice different from any other you’ve tried. You’ll love the Thai chili peppers and fresh Thai basil! So much extra flavor to enjoy.

The sauce for this fried rice recipe is so delicious and goes very well with Thai basil. Fish sauce, oyster sauce, honey, Thai roasted red chili paste, and just a pinch of white pepper and salt mix together to create a deliciously complex sauce. It’s sweet, savory, and just a little spicy – it really is all encompassing when it comes to varying flavors!

ingredients to make Thai basil fried rice on board

Ingredient Tips and Substitutions

Asian Ingredients Tip: most fresh Asian ingredients, like Thai basil and Thai chilis, you can easily find in an Asian market (Asian store). Non-perishable ingredients, such as sauces, paste, and dried Thai chilis, are more widely available at many grocery stores or even on Amazon.

Rice – If you have any leftover cooked white rice, this is the BEST way to use it! You can also cook Jasmine or basmati rice and cool it quickly.

Thai Basil – This is NOT the same herb as Italian basil, so use Thai basil or holy basil. It has a distinctive anise flavor that’s very important to this dish. (If you’re absolutely out of luck finding either, use regular basil but note the flavor will not be the same.) And don’t worry about getting a whole bunch because you can also make Thai basil chicken, green curry paste, Thai green curry chicken, and many more recipes.

Protein – You can use chicken as your protein of choice or swap it for shrimp, pork, or tofu. If you wish to leave it meatless, you can certainly do so and serve this fried rice as a side dish.

collage of 8 images of cooking chicken, veggies, and rice for Thai basil fried rice.

How To Make Thai Basil Fried Rice

  • Sauté diced chicken with some oil in a wok until just about done.
  • Move it to the sides, and sauté onions and peppers until softened.
  • Move again and sauté garlic and Thai chili pepper for a few minutes.
  • Move everything one last time and cook the eggs in the center.
  • Mix everything together.
  • Mix in cold rice, then sauce, and finally, stir in the basil.
  • Cook for just a few moments until wilted.
closeup of basil fried rice in a deep bowl with fork

Variations and Add-Ons

To make this dish vegetarian: you can use tofu as your protein of choice and leave out the eggs. You will also need to substitute the oyster sauce for a vegetarian oyster sauce and substitute fish sauce with soy sauce (omit extra salt). The flavor of the sauce will be quite different, but that is the way to make this dish vegetarian.

To use other protein: You can definitely use other protein if you don’t want to use chicken. You can use chicken, shrimp, beef, or tofu and prep it the same way and suggested in the recipe. Cook it first per recipe as well, just note that shrimp will take you less time to cook so once shrimp is cooked, take it out and set aside. If using tofu, cut it into about 1/2 inch pieces and sear them on all sides for a few minutes.

Gluten Free: To make this fried rice gluten free, you will need to use gluten free oyster sauce. The rest of the ingredients should already be gluten free, but make sure to read the packaging to confirm.

closer top view of Thai basil fried rice in a grey bowl

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scooping out some fried rice with a fork from a deep bowl

Thai Basil Fried Rice Recipe (Khao Pad Bai Kraprow)

Thai Basil Fried Rice is one of the best fried rice recipes out there, all thanks to the fresh Thai basil, Thai chili pepper, and the mouthwatering sauce. Fish sauce, oyster sauce, honey, and chili paste create a deeply flavorful sauce that's savory, little sweet, and a little spicy!
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Thai
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 481kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

  • 4 cups day-old/ cold cooked jasmine or another long grain rice
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion
  • 1 small bell pepper
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1-2 Thai chili peppers depends how spicy you want it
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup fresh Thai basil

Sauce:

  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce use gluten free if needed
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 tsp Thai roasted red chili paste
  • 1/8-1/4 tsp white pepper
  • pinch salt to taste

Instructions

  • Prepare your ingredients first because this is a fast recipe and you'll want to have all ingredients ready on hand. So dice chicken into small pieces, dice onion and pepper, mince garlic, seed and mince Thai chili pepper.
    Crack eggs into a separate bowl and add a sprinkle of salt. Separately, whisk together ingredients for the sauce.
  • Preheat a large wok or a large non-stick cooking pan with tall sides over medium-high heat. Add oil and sauté chicken with a little bit of salt until almost done.
  • Move chicken to the side and add diced onion and bell pepper. Sauté until softened and start mixing it in with the chicken.
  • Move everything to the side and add in minced garlic and Thai chili pepper (add a little oil in needed). Sauté until garlic is fragrant and mix it in with chicken and veggies.
  • Move everything aside once again, ad a little bit of oil if needed, and add the eggs. Let the eggs start to cook and you stir them slowly. Once eggs are mostly done, mix it in with veggies and chicken.
  • Add in cold rice and break it up in the pan. Give the sauce another whisk and start pouring it over the rice as you mix it. Mix the rice well, until sauce, veggies, and chicken are evenly spread out.
  • Stir in basil and let it cook just a few more seconds until basil is wilted. Take off heat and serve right away!

Notes

No leftover rice? Chill freshly cooked rice fast as a plan B: The main reason to use cold rice from the day before it because it has dried out some of the moisture, so the grain is more separate. What I do if I don’t have any and forgot to make some the day before, is cook the rice first and as soon as it is done, I take it out of the pot and spread it in a thin layer on a rimmed baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Pop it into the refrigerator while you gather or prepare the rest of the ingredients. Really, it only needs about 20 minutes to cool down when it’s spread in a thin layer.
Storing leftover: store your leftover basil fried rice in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. It should be good for 3-4 days. 
Reheating: as you know cooked rice soaks up all liquid and then dried out when stored. So you can use microwave or stove-top to reheat it, you will just need to add more moisture. Add a splash of chicken broth when reheating the fried rice. 

Nutrition

Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 190mg | Sodium: 1442mg | Potassium: 534mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1410IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles or tag #willcookforsmiles!

Want More Fried Rice Recipes to Try?

Shrimp Fried Rice

Chicken Fried Rice

Thai Fried Rice (aka Khao Pad)

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

Cauliflower Fried Rice

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All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try.

5 from 3 votes

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5 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    THE BEST THAI FRIED RICE!!!!!

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much! I’m thrilled to hear you enjoyed it! Thai fried rice is one of my favorites too, and I’m so glad it hit the spot for you. 😊

      Reply

  2. 5 stars
    The BEST Thai rice I have ever made!!! My husband and daughter loved it!!

    Reply

    1. Wow! Thank you! I am so glad they loved it!

      Reply

  3. 5 stars
    This really is the best recipe! I loved it!

    Reply

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