Pad kra pao with a lace-edged fried egg
Ground pork, shallots and a fistful of chiles, glazed in soy, fish sauce and oyster sauce, then buried in a whole bunch of basil.
At a Glance
Story
Kra pao is holy basil, the peppery, clove-scented cousin of the sweet basil in an Italian kitchen, and it gives the dish its name. Away from a Thai grocer it is hard to find, so this uses ordinary sweet basil, which is softer and sweeter. If you find holy basil, use the same amount and feel very pleased with yourself.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 3 medium shallotsthinly sliced
- 5 red Thai chilesfinely chopped (Fresnos for less heat)
- 4 garlic clovesfinely chopped
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 large bunch basilleaves picked
- steamed jasmine ricefor serving
Method
Twenty minutes, and most of it is the rice. Mix the sauce and chop everything before the pan goes on, darling, because once the pork is in, the pan waits for nobody's knife work.
- Stir the soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce and sugar with 3 tbsp water. Set it by the stove.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Crack in the eggs and cook, tilting the pan and spooning hot oil over the whites, until the whites are set, the edges are brown and crisp and the yolks still run, 2 to 3 minutes. In Thailand this is khai dao, star egg, for the frilled edges you get when it fries in a generous pool of oil instead of a polite smear. Lift them onto a plate with a slotted spoon.
- Back over medium-high, cook the shallots until just soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chiles and garlic and stir for about 1 minute.
- Add the pork and cook, breaking it up, until it starts to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the sauce and keep stirring and breaking up the meat until the liquid has gone, about 5 minutes.
- Off the heat, stir in the basil and let it collapse. Spoon over rice and crown each bowl with an egg.
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