Honoring the Thai herb and dish 'Gapao'

Today, and June 8th annually, is Gapao Day ガパオの日 in Japan. Gapao is a flavor-packed herb, known as Thai Holy Basil in English, that is central to one of Thailand's most beloved meals, Graprao Gai aka Pad krapao. Both the herb and the dish are known as Gapao in Japan. The dish is also sometimes called Gapao Rice.

A Tokyo-based Thai restaurant group, Gapao Shokudo, who helped popularize the dish in Japan, created the "Gapao Day" anniversary. They chose June 8th for the anniversary as it is also the anniversary of the founding of Gapao Shokudo, the restaurant chain that operates authentic Thai eateries in Aoyama and Ebisu. They created the anniversary to further raise awareness of gapao.

Gapao Rice is a vibrant stir-fry of minced chicken or pork cooked quickly with gapao leaves and seasoned with fish or oyster sauce. It is served over rice with a fried egg on top. The herb itself, Thai holy basil, is known in Japanese as kamimebōki. It is a fragrant plant native to tropical Asia and widely cultivated around the world today.