Khao Pad
Also: Thai fried rice, khao phat
A Thai stir-fried rice dish in which day-old jasmine rice is tossed in a hot wok with egg, aromatics, and fish sauce until separate, smoky, and lightly seasoned.
Identity criteria
- 1Built on cooked jasmine rice, ideally cooled/day-old so grains stay separate
- 2Seasoned primarily with fish sauce rather than soy sauce as the dominant note
- 3Egg is folded in and scrambled into the rice
- 4Stir-fried fast over high heat in a wok for wok hei (smoky char)
- 5Served with lime wedge and often cucumber and prik nam pla on the side
Components
Cooked jasmine rice (preferably day-old)essentialCooled grains fry without clumping
Eggessential
Chicken, pork, shrimp, or craboptionalNames the variant (khao pad gai, kung, etc.)
Garlic, shallotessential
Spring onionessential
Neutral oilessential
Fish sauceessentialThe defining savory backbone
Sugar and white pepperoptional
Lime wedge, cucumber, prik nam pla (chili fish sauce)essentialLime squeezed at the table is integral
Technique
- High-heat wok stir-fry
- Generates wok hei and dries the rice so grains stay distinct
- Egg scrambled into the rice
- Coats grains and adds richness without making the dish wet
Form & serving
- Served
- Plated mounded with lime, cucumber, and chili fish sauce alongside
- Temperature
- hot
- Portion
- single plate as a one-dish meal
- Pairs with
- prik nam pla · fried egg on top · cucumber slices
Character
Flavour
Texture
separate fluffy grains with tender bits of egg and protein
Eaten
An everyday quick meal sold by street vendors and home-cooked from leftover rice across Thailand.
When
year-round
Variations & related
Regional variations
- Khao pad gai · Thailand
With chicken
- Khao pad kung · Thailand
With shrimp
- Khao pad pu · Thailand
With crab meat
- Khao pad American · Thailand
Ketchup-seasoned with hot dog, ham, and fried egg
Related dishes
- ancestor Chinese fried rice
The technical template
- sibling Nasi goreng
Southeast Asian fried-rice cousin
- pairs-with Tom yum
Common accompanying soup
Substitutions
Jasmine rice → Other long-grain riceadmissible
Acceptable but loses the floral aroma
Freshly cooked hot rice → Day-old cooled riceadmissible
Cooled rice is preferred; hot fresh rice goes mushy
Fish sauce → Soy sauce as the main seasoninginadmissible
Turns it into a Chinese-style fried rice, not khao pad
Common mistakes
- Using freshly cooked hot rice, which steams and clumps
- Seasoning with soy sauce instead of fish sauce
- Overcrowding the wok so the rice stews instead of frying
- Omitting the lime and chili fish sauce, which balance the dish at the table
Provenance
A Thai adaptation of Chinese fried rice, naturalized with jasmine rice, fish sauce, and Thai garnishes into an everyday staple.
References
- 1.Thai culinary tradition
- 2.general culinary reference
Confidence: high