Thai Basil Chickpeas

Don't forget that fried egg.

Skip to Recipe

When a weeknight dinner cooks quickly, uses mostly pantry ingredients, and makes great leftovers, it’s basically recipe gold, and these Thai basil chickpeas are my latest find. Fried chickpeas and blistered green beans are tossed in a savory spicy glaze and finished with tons of fresh basil for a dinner that will quickly earn a new spot in my weekly rotation. Oh . . . and did I mention you get to top it all with a beautiful fried egg?

These chickpeas are based on a classic Thai street food, Thai basil chicken (or Gai Pad Krapow). As always when I’m developing a recipe for a dish from another culture, I did a lot of research so I could be as respectfully true to it as possible. I read articles and recipes from trusted sources, and I watched Jet Tila make it on repeat. That said, in an effort to make it weeknight-friendly to home cooks in the Western world, this recipe makes a few key adjustments:

Dark soy sauce plus sugar. Many versions of this recipe use sweet soy sauce in addition to light (standard) soy sauce. However, since most people don’t have sweet soy in their pantry, I compromised by calling for dark soy sauce and sugar. Dark soy sauce is a slightly richer, sweeter, thicker version of soy sauce that I’ve used in other recipes before, so my thinking is that if you’re going to get an extra variety of soy sauce, this is the more practical one to have. Dark soy sauce and sugar is a common substitute for sweet soy in this recipe, so I felt confident using it.

Basil! This was the biggest conundrum. Pad krapow was originally made with Thai holy basil, but since that ingredient is impossible to find in the states, most modern recipes call for regular Thai basil, an aromatic herb with a slight licorice taste. I have used this basil before in restaurants, but it’s also almost impossible for home cooks to find unless they live close to a Chinatown. Many specialty Asian stores don’t even carry it, and I even had trouble finding it so I could develop the recipe. For this reason, I decided to offer home cooks the alt of Italian basil for this recipe. It doesn’t pack nearly the same fragrance and flavor punch as Thai basil, but, as Jet Tila (who is, incidentally, the Thai culinary ambassador to the US) stated, “it’s better than not making this dish at all.”

These chickpeas make great leftovers—I especially like them for a quick work lunch. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Enjoy!

---

Thai Basil Chickpeas

(Serves 4)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

5 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

2 (14.5-oz) cans chickpeas, drained and patted dry

Kosher salt

8 oz. thin green beans, trimmed and cut into 1” pieces (about 2 cups)

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 Thai chilies, finely chopped

½ cup water

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

4 teaspoons dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon MSG (optional)

¼ teaspoon white pepper

1 cup Thai basil leaves or 1 ½ cup Italian basil leaves

Freshly cooked Jasmine rice, for serving

Fried eggs, for serving (optional)

Equipment: medium bowl, whisk, large deep pan, slotted spoon, clean bowl

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together water, oyster sauce, both soy sauces, granulated sugar, and MSG, if using. Set aside.

2. In a large, deep pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add half of the chickpeas and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden and crisp all over, 5-6 minutes. Season lightly with kosher salt, then using a slotted spoon, transfer chickpeas to a clean bowl.

3. Repeat with 2 more tablespoons oil and the remaining chickpeas. Set all the chickpeas aside.

4. Add the remaining tablespoon oil to the pan and increase the heat to medium high. Add the green beans and cook until bright green and blistered, 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and thai chilies and continue to cook until fragrant and the garlic is lightly browned, about 1 minute more.

5. Return the chickpeas in the pan. Whisk the reserved sauce to reincorporate, then add to the pan, toss to evenly coat, and bring to a boil.

6. Cook until sauce has reduced by half, about 1 minute, then stir in white pepper. Fold in basil and cook until wilted and sauce is almost completely absorbed, about 1 minute more.

7. Serve immediately over rice.

Originally posted July 8, 2026.