Thai basil pork with fried egg.

This is pad kaphrao moo, the everyday Thai plate of minced pork, garlic, chilli and holy basil (kaphrao). The SBS recipe it follows uses chicken and says pork can take its place. A sliced onion goes in with the pork, the basil goes in once the heat is off, and a fried egg sits on top. Serve it over steamed rice with slices of cucumber on the side.

Use eggs within their date and keep them refrigerated.

Ingredients

• 250 g minced pork
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 long red chilli, or more to taste
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 20 g holy basil leaves (kaphrao), to finish
• 2 eggs
• 60 ml vegetable oil, for frying the eggs
• Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
• Sliced cucumber, to serve

Method

1. Pound the garlic and chilli in a mortar into a coarse paste.
2. Heat a wok until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl it around.
3. Add the paste and stir-fry for 15 to 20 seconds.
4. Add the pork and break it up. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until no pink is left.
5. Add the onion, the oyster, soy and fish sauces, the sugar and the water. Stir until the pork is cooked through, with an inside temperature of at least 71 degrees Celsius.
6. Take the wok off the heat, toss in the basil, and tip everything onto a plate of rice.
7. Wipe out the wok and heat the 60 ml of oil. Crack in the eggs. Stand back, because they spit.
8. Fry until the edges are golden and the white and yolk are firm. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and lay them on the pork.
9. Add the cucumber slices to the plate.

Tips

• Crack each egg into a small bowl first so it slides into the hot oil in one piece.
• Colour alone does not prove minced pork is done, so check the middle with a food thermometer if you have one.
• Chill leftovers promptly in a shallow container and eat them within two days.