Units Scale

1 egg per person, this recipe serves 2 very generously
6 tablespoons peanut or grapeseed oil - you want an oil with a very high smoke point
1 pound coarsely ground pork - or use ground chicken breast if you prefer
1 handful Thai Holy Basil (preferred) or 1 handful regular basil with 1/2 teaspoon ground star anise if it is unavailable
6 garlic cloves
2 green hot birds-eye chilies (if you like, add more if you're a chili-head)
2 red hot birds-eye chilies (if you like, add more if you're a chili-head)
1/2 yellow pepper, cut into small dice
1/2 orange bell pepper, cut into small dice
2 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp top-quality fish sauce
A few squirts of Maggi seasoning
1 Tbsp palm sugar or use light brown sugar if unavailable
1/4 cup chicken stock, low-salt or preferably homemade

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If you have a mortar, pound together the garlic and chilies until you get a coarse paste or pulse them into a coarse paste in the food processor.
In a skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the paste to it and fry until fragrant.
Add the meat to the skillet and break it up with the spatula into small pieces.
Add the remaining ingredients (except the basil leaves and chicken broth), correcting seasoning as needed.
Once the meat is cooked through, add the chicken broth as needed. The cooking process is quite quick and you should have the whole thing finished in around 5 to 7 minutes.
Before taking the skillet off the heat, add the basil leaves (plus the ground star anise if using regular basil) to the mixture and give it a couple of stirs. You only want to wilt the basil with the residual heat that is still in the pan otherwise you can kiss the wonderful fragrance of the fresh basil leaves goodbye.
In a second small skillet, heat the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil over high heat and fry the egg(s) over easy- you want a runny yolk, ideally – but cook it as you prefer.
Serve over rice with the crispy fried egg on top. The runny yolk will mix into the sauce and add richness and additional flavor.