Had lunch at my favorite "American-Thai" restaurant yesterday. I got
what they list as Pot Krappao Nua, which was heavenly. Googling for a
recipe turned up a whole lot of scolding for misspelling, and
unsuccessful alternates. I *did* eventually find "Spicy Basil Chicken"
listed as Gkai Pad Gkaprow, which seems like more or less what I was
after (except beef instead of chicken, of course). A good bit of the
very generous portion went into a take-home package. My car was
fragrant with delicious vapors. A look at the 'Spicy Basil Chicken'
recipe shows that a generous amount of garlic may be responsible for a
lot of that fragrance.

Q1: recipe? Spelling?

Q2: Do people regularly eating a garlic-rich cuisine not find the
after-breath offensive? Are there any special secrets to not blowing
down acquaintences when you say, "Hhhi"? I don't think chewing parsley
is going to make me socially acceptable for about 3 days.

On 11 Dec 2003 20:22:22 GMT, wrote:

Frogleg wrote:

Had lunch at my favorite "American-Thai" restaurant yesterday. I got
what they list as Pot Krappao Nua, which was heavenly. Googling for a
recipe turned up a whole lot of scolding for misspelling, and
unsuccessful alternates. I *did* eventually find "Spicy Basil Chicken"
listed as Gkai Pad Gkaprow[]

Q1: recipe? Spelling?

Sounds like you may be describing Spicy Stir-fried Beef with Garlic and
Mint or Basil(Nua Gra Pao):

recipe snipped but saved

Let me know if this is what you're talking about and if you make it, give
me a critique and any mods you made.

This sounds very close. It *was* a smaller leafed and somewhat twiggy
basil, not the soft Italian kind, and slightly sweet. I mean the sauce
was. I'll give it a shot.

Q2: Do people regularly eating a garlic-rich cuisine not find the
after-breath offensive? Are there any special secrets to not blowing
down acquaintences when you say, "Hhhi"? I don't think chewing parsley
is going to make me socially acceptable for about 3 days.

I advise against socializing with people that don't eat garlic. Their
breath smells strange. g

Sigh. Garlic is a mean trick on humans. So good to eat; so, um,
pungent to experience 2nd hand. Sidebar: I once detected a "bad
breath" smell in my kitchen. After several days of sniffing and
cleaning out the 'fridge, I tracked it to an elderly garlic bulb in a
cupboard. I thought it interesting that the odor wasn't at all
'garlic', but 'after garlic.' Life is full of ironies. You may quote
me. :-)

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 21:17:48 GMT, Frogleg wrote:

Sounds like you may be describing Spicy Stir-fried Beef with Garlic and
Mint or Basil(Nua Gra Pao):

recipe snipped but saved

Let me know if this is what you're talking about and if you make it, give
me a critique and any mods you made.

This sounds very close. It *was* a smaller leafed and somewhat twiggy
basil, not the soft Italian kind, and slightly sweet. I mean the sauce
was. I'll give it a shot.

Thai basil is quite unlike Italian basil, which is he kind found in
most "American" supermarkets. A mix of cilantro, Ita;ian basil and
mint doesn;t match Thai basil but seems to add the same tones of
fragrance.

Thai basil is quite unlike Italian basil, which is he kind found in
most "American" supermarkets. A mix of cilantro, Ita;ian basil and
mint doesn;t match Thai basil but seems to add the same tones of
fragrance.

Isn't Thai basil "sacred basil"? I would not say it is "quite unlike" store
bought Italian but is tinged purple and, as provided with Vietnamese pho, it
is much crisper and in better condition.


--
James V. Silverton
Potomac, Maryland, USA

"James Silverton" wrote in message
...

Thai basil is quite unlike Italian basil, which is he kind found in
most "American" supermarkets. A mix of cilantro, Ita;ian basil and
mint doesn;t match Thai basil but seems to add the same tones of
fragrance.

Isn't Thai basil "sacred basil"?


Well, it has certainly been called that by some, but it sounds too much like
"holy basil," which is different. I call Thai basil (horapha), "red basil."
I call "holy basil" (kaprao), "holy basil." Holy basil is hard to find in
the States, though some stores out west have it all the time.


I would not say it is "quite unlike" store
bought Italian but is tinged purple and, as provided with Vietnamese pho,
it
is much crisper and in better condition.


I think it's quite unlike Italian basil (which I call "green basil")
When I make Thai curries and have no red basil available, I don't think it
tastes right at all. I have substituted green basil, but it doesn't quite
do it.

Peter

"Peter Dy" wrote in message
om...

"James Silverton" wrote in message
...

Thai basil is quite unlike Italian basil, which is he kind found in
most "American" supermarkets. A mix of cilantro, Ita;ian basil and
mint doesn;t match Thai basil but seems to add the same tones of
fragrance.

Isn't Thai basil "sacred basil"?

I am coming to respect Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, a lot. The article
on basil seems to have most of the answers, tho' disagreement is always
possible (g).

See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_(plant)