In Thailand, Pad Kra Pao must be made with holy basil only, as the name suggests—“kra pao” means holy basil. If Thai basil is used, the dish is called Horapha. These two herbs have distinctly different aromas, and Thai people can easily tell them apart, so they are never interchangeable. If a menu says Pad Kra Pao, no other type of basil may be used. Likewise, if it says Horapha, then only Thai basil must be used. Otherwise, customers have the right to reject the dish because it does not match what they ordered.

Pailin from Hot Thai Kitchen says that Italian basil is actually closer in taste to holy basil, and it sounds like you agree based on the initial taste descriptions of the raw basils.

Holy Basil = กะเพรา
Thai Basil = โหระพา

As a Thai living in the US, I often use Thai basil instead of holy basil. It’s not the same, but close enough to eat.

อยู่อเมริกาใช้โหระพา (Thai Basil) ทำกับข้าวแทนกะเพราบ่อยมาก ไม่เหมือนแต่พอแหลกล่าย

First, You need to understand that this is not a matter of Thai Sweet Basil vs. Thai Holy Basil. The answer is already in the name itself. The word "Kra Pao" in Thai means Thai Holy Basil. If you cook with Thai sweet basil, that dish would have called Pad Horapa instead. Both are delicious. But the aroma of the two basil varieties are totally different.

Thumbs up for giving a shout out to OTR Food and History.

As a Thai person, thank you for this very informative video! I'm not here to judge which one tastes better, because both are delicious in their own way.

I've noticed many channels use Thai basil (Horapha) for this dish. I just want to add a cultural perspective: if a stir-fry is made with Thai basil, we would call it "Pad Horapha" (Stir-fried Thai Basil). It's a delicious dish, and we have many others that feature it, like "Moo Sab Pad Horapha" (Stir-fried Minced Pork with Thai Basil) or "Makuea Yao Pad Horapha" (Stir-fried Eggplant with Thai Basil).

Therefore, for a dish to be called "Pad Kapow," it must be made with Holy Basil (Kapow). The name "Pad Kapow Moo" literally means Stir-fry + Holy Basil + Pork.

Calling a dish made with Thai basil "Pad Kapow" is quite misleading from a Thai point of view. I can guarantee that if you ordered Pad Kapow in Thailand and were served a dish with Thai basil instead, it would definitely be a problem!

ผมเป็นคนไทยนะ ผมอาจจะไม่แม่นภาษาอังกฤษ แต่ผมจะใช้ AI แปล คือผมขอบคุณคลิป ที่อธิบาย ให้ทุกคนฟัง แต่ ผมไม่ได้มาตัดสินว่าอะไรอร่อยกว่ากันนะ  ที่ผมเห็น หลายช่องใช้ ใบโหระพา ถ้าใช้ใบโหระพามาผัด ควรจะเรียกว่า ผัดโหระพา ไม่ได้ว่ามันจะไม่อร่อยนะ ผม ผมก็กินผัดหลายอย่างที่ใส่โหระพา เช่น โหระพาหมูสับ หรือมะเขือยาวผัดโหระพา เป็นต้น ดังนั้น ถ้าจะเป็น ผัดกะเพรา ก็ต้องใช้ใบกะเพรา ผัดกะเพราหมู ก็หมายถึง การผัด+ใบกระเพรา+หมู  แต่คนที่ใช้ ใบโหระพา แล้วบอกว่า ผัดกะเพรา นี้ ผมว่า มันไม่ดี เลย ถ้าในประเทศไทย คุณสั่งผัดกะเพราแล้วได้ผัดโหระพาแทน รับรองว่าไม่ใช่เรื่องดีแน่นอน

I’m a Thai foodie living Thailand and I can tell you right now that probably 99.9% of Thai people can definitely tell the difference whether or not it’s Thai holy basil or Thai basil.
The Thai holy basil sale here has probably 3 more varieties.  The  red one (more pungent) , the “white” one (it’s actually green but people call it white🤷🏻)  and  there are also the wild one and commercial one.  
The wild one are smaller leaves and much more pungent.
The commercial one has big leaves but less pungent.
I can spot the difference right away if the dish doesn’t use holy basil.  
The Thai basil (horapa) on the other hand is used in a similar dish; If you add shredded fingerroot and fresh green pepper the the dish is called Pad Kee Mao or sometime Pad cha if you add kafir lime leaves and a lot more quantity of the fingerroot and herbs.

I really think you're missing something subtle that your data is showing you. Italian basil has been adapted to an Italian climate, it achieves its peak, intended flavor in that climate. Legit holy basil will grow outside of the tropics, but not well. It won't ever get the same intensity or complexity of flavor that it gets in its native clime. I lived in SEA for many years and when I moved there I brought A TON of seeds. Some of the grew others didn't, but the Italian basil just did not grow well until it somehow crossed with Thai basil that was next to it and formed some kind of hybrid. When I moved back, I brought a ton of seeds with me again and some of them grew her, but nothing that grew here grew at anything close to the same pace and the things that did tasted very different, muted, they never reached maturity. If you try Florida durian or mangosteens you'll have the same experience. They technically grow here but just not in an optimal way.

I've heard holy basil (kaprao) called "hot" basil and Thai basil (horapa) called "sweet" basil. That matches up pretty well with the tasting study.

One thing I love about Ethan is he doesn’t skimp when going in for a bite. He devours it with zero shame. 😂

Holy basil stir-fry and Thai basil stir-fry are entirely separate dishes in Thai cuisine. The two plants have a different denomination, as they are used in completely different dishes. Most Thai people would immediately recognize the distinction and would not consider them comparable, as they are used in different recipes.

There are 2 different dishes, and we have both. If you use Holy Basil, we call it Pad Ka Prao. If you use Thai basil, we call it Pad Horapha, which is less famous than Pad Ka Prao. There are different tastes, and you can order both in general street food a la cart in Thailand.

Kaprao is my favorite dish! As a Thai person, I can tell you that it's a genuine local dish you can find almost anywhere. Everyone has their own unique recipe and technique. For example, I use three types of chili.

​The most prized type of holy basil in Thailand is red holy basil, which can be difficult to find. We often grow it at home. If we can't find holy basil, we sometimes use Thai basil, but the flavor profile is different. Thai basil is commonly used in curries like red or green curry. For stir-fries, we often pair it with seafoods.

​Try stir-frying Thai basil with clams, using the same ingredients you would for kaprao. You can add Thai sweet chili paste (Nam prik pao) to make it extra savory and tasty. You can also make this dish with pork belly; it's a common Thai dish called moo pad nam prik pao. Another stir-fry that uses Thai basil is stir-fried long eggplant with minced pork and salted fish.

Thai basil is also great for stir-fries; it's just not called pad kaprao. They are two different dishes with their own unique and delicious flavors.

I'm Thai and when I went to Thai restaurants in the US while I was studying there, it was extremely hard for me to find actual legit pad krapao.

I watched and read dozens of Pad Khaprao recipes. Pro tip: add white pepper & a pinch of ground cloves 🤝🏽

Fun fact - Thai basil and Thai holy basil should not be grow together/near each other because it can mess with their aroma which is their whole favor profile of these herbs. There are a lot of variety of these herbs (basil/holy basil) throughout Thailand which I personally do not know how to tell the difference between those leaves.😅

Using Thai basil, we call it Pad Horapa.
It's another dish I grow up eating.

For Thais we know it's a different dish, with the name it can't be replaced because we eat both Thai basil dish and Holy basil  dish in our daily life.😊

Thai holy basil smells so good. I found some at a farmers market yesterday. Making pad kra pao tonight.

Even Thai basil still have three variant white Thai basil  (their one in this clip) , Red Thai Basil (have red edge) Wild Thai basil  (smaller and stronger aroma compared to to white Thai basil)

Holy basil is also very good when steeped into tea. It has a mint-like cooling effect but it's not as sharp in flavor. It's also very easy to grow holy basil in Southwest U.S. climates