Rice Meals · Thailand

How Many Calories in Pad Kra Pao?

Also known as ผัดกะเพรา, ข้าวผัดกะเพราไก่ไข่ดาว, Pad Kaprao, Pad Krapow, Thai Basil Chicken Rice, Khao Pad Kra Pao.

Minced chicken or pork stir fried with holy basil, garlic, chili and fish sauce, served over rice with a crispy fried egg on top. The default lunch order in every Thai food court and aharn tam sang shop.

630kcal / 1 plate with rice and fried egg
A plate of pad kra pao gai with rice and a fried egg is about 630 calories, based on the Thai Department of Health table for khao pad kra pao gai kai dao. Without the fried egg the same plate is 478 calories at 265g. The egg fried in the wok oil adds roughly 150.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 plate with rice and fried egg (330g)AmountPer 100g
Calories630 kcal191 kcal
Protein30 g9 g
Carbs68 g21 g
Fat26 g8 g

Where the calories come from

Jasmine rice200g
260 kcal
Minced chicken100g
165 kcal
Fried egg60g
110 kcal
Stir fry oil9g
80 kcal
Fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar15g
20 kcal

The real talk

The chicken and basil part is honest food: 100g of minced chicken is 165 calories and the basil, chili and garlic are nearly zero. The rice is 260 for a normal 200g scoop. What pushes the plate past 600 is the fried egg, which soaks up wok oil until the edges go crispy and lands at 110 to 150 calories on its own, plus the tablespoon of oil the cook used for the stir fry.

Meat choice changes the number more than most people think. Minced chicken keeps it at 630. Swap to minced pork and it climbs to about 680 because Thai minced pork is usually 20 to 25 percent fat. Order kra pao moo krob (crispy pork belly) and you are at 820 or more, since 70g of moo krob is nearly 300 calories by itself.

This was my default 45 baht lunch for a long time and it is a perfectly good one. The trick I settled on: keep the egg, ask for less oil, and do not order the extra rice. A 630 calorie plate with 30g of protein is a full meal. A 900 calorie plate with kao piset (extra rice) and moo krob is two meals.

How the portions compare

478 kcal
Chicken, no egg (265g)
630 kcal
Chicken with fried egg
820 kcal
Pork belly (moo krob) with fried egg

Pad Kra Pao variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Kra pao gai, no egg478 kcalThai Department of Health figure
Kra pao gai kai dao630 kcalThe standard order
Kra pao moo sap kai dao680 kcalMinced pork is fattier
Kra pao moo krob kai dao820 kcalCrispy pork belly version

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in pad kra pao without rice?
The stir fry alone, with chicken, is about 260 calories. Add 110 for the fried egg. Eating it without rice is a legitimate low carb move, though most people then order more meat.
Is pad kra pao good for weight loss?
Yes if it is one plate. 630 calories with 30g of protein is a decent lunch. Order it with chicken, one egg, normal rice, and you fit it into almost any daily target.
Why does the same dish vary so much between shops?
Oil. One shop uses a tablespoon for the stir fry, another uses three, and the fried egg can take 5 to 15g of oil depending on how crispy they make it. That alone is a 150 calorie swing.

Related foods

See all Rice Meals calories, ranked ›

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical street stall or food court serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

Calorie figure based on Thai Department of Health (กรมอนามัย) via health.kapook.com: khao pad kra pao gai kai dao 630 kcal; without egg 265g = 478 kcal. Macros estimated from the ingredients.

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