This gapao rice is a delicious Thai inspired stir-fry dish made with ground meat, bell peppers, garlic and fresh basil. It can be made in under 20 minutes, being perfect for a quick lunch or dinner!
This dish always brings back our memories back in Asia. Thailand was so easy to get to from where we lived (Hong Kong) so it was our quick get-away destination for the longest time. Just eating this makes us miss the city full of energy and great food!
Gapao rice is amazingly quick and easy to make. Since you will be using ground meat, it will be unnecessary to spend time chopping up the meat (and clean after the mess). Just prepare the vegetables and you will be good to go!
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Ingredients for this recipe
- Olive oil - Avocado oil, or any neutral tasting oil works.
- Garlic
- Onion
- Ground pork - Do not use sausage meat as they are pre seasoned and salty. Feel free to change it up to chicken, or firm tofu for a vegetarian option.
- Fish sauce
- Lemon or lime juice - Fresh juice would be great but bottled juice works as well.
- Salt and pepper
- Basil leaves - Holy basil is the most fragrant option but any basil is fine.
- Bell pepper - Any color works, but I usually use red for a color pop.
- Cooked rice - Jasmine rice, or any kind of rice.
- Sunny side eggs for topping - Keep that yolk runny and poke with a folk as you dig in.
How to make gapao rice
- Heat up the olive oil in a pan. Cook the garlic and onion until fragrant.
- Add in the pork and cook until fully done.
- Add the bell pepper and fish sauce. Cook for another minute.
- Add in the lemon (or lime) juice and adjust with salt and pepper if necessary. Turn off the heat and add basil leaves. They will cook with the remaining heat.
- Serve over rice. Top with sunny side egg(s).
Tips for making gapao rice
- Make sure your rice is cooked and ready to be served before you start cooking the meat! There is nothing more disappointing than having no rice when the toppings are all ready to be eaten.
- For leftovers, store in an airtight container and eat within 3 days. You may also put in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
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Recipe
Gapao Rice (Pork and Basil Stir- Fry)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or lime juice
- Salt to taste
- Ground pepper to taste
- 1 cup basil leaves packed
- 1 red bell pepper finely chopped
- 3 cups cooked rice jasmine rice, or any kind of rice
Topping:
- 3 sunny side eggs
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in a pan. Cook the garlic and onion together until the onion becomes tender and translucent.
- Add in the pork and cook until fully done.
- Add in the bell pepper and fish sauce. Cook for another minute.
- Add the lemon juice and adjust with salt and pepper if necessary. Turn off the heat and add basil leaves (it'll cook with the remaining heat).
- Serve over rice. Top each serving with a sunny side egg.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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