A punchy, fragrant Thai classic: ground pork stir-fried over very high heat with garlic, chili, salty-sweet sauces, and holy basil. Served over jasmine rice with a crispy fried egg, it is simple, intense, and deeply comforting.
Ingredients
- 320 g jasmine rice
- 480 ml water
- 600 g ground pork
- 2 bunches fresh Thai holy basil
- 6 cloves garlic
- 4 pieces fresh red bird's eye chilies
- 120 ml neutral oil
- 4 pieces eggs
- 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Thai dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp light cane sugar
Method
- Rinse the jasmine rice until the water is less cloudy, then cook it covered with the water until completely absorbed; let it rest off the heat, grains plump and fragrant.
- Pick the holy basil leaves, keeping them whole, then pound or roughly chop the garlic with the chilies until you have a rough, highly aromatic paste.
- Mix the fish sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar in a bowl; the sauce should smell salty, fermented, and slightly sweet.
- Heat a generous layer of oil in a small pan, then fry the eggs one by one until the edges bubble, brown slightly, and become crispy, with the yolk still soft.
- Pour a little frying oil into a wok or large, very hot skillet, add the garlic-chili paste, and stir until it tickles the nose without burning.
- Add the ground pork and mash it against the pan while stirring briskly, until it loses its raw look, browns in spots, and smells like seared meat.
- Pour in the prepared sauce and stir-fry over high heat until it coats the meat and becomes glossy, without letting the bottom fill with liquid.
- Turn off the heat, add the holy basil, and toss everything just enough for the leaves to wilt and release their peppery fragrance; serve immediately over the hot rice with the fried egg on top.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 950 kcal
- Protein
- 40.39 g
- Carbohydrate
- 67.73 g
- Fat
- 56.65 g
- Fibre
- 1.58 g
- Calcium
- 5.19 mg
- Iron
- 0.25 mg
- Magnesium
- 6.77 mg
