Spicy Basil Minced Pork with Fried Egg & Rice

On days when the cooking mood kicks in, my hubby will take over a lunch or dinner slot and cook me a yummy meal. Some weeks back, he cooked me a plate of spicy basil minced pork with fried egg over a plate of hot plain rice. It was fantastically yummy! The minced pork was juicy, tender  (and sooo spicy!) and fragrant! Oh and the egg was fried till just right, the way I like it, not too fry yet crispy on the sides of the whites and yolk still runny when pricked.

I thought this gotta be put down in my blog to share with all, and so here it is.  I am gonna request for Hubby to cook me this again!  He's gonna feel real flattered :P

Recipe by Eating Thai Food 
(Slight changes were made to suit our preference)

For the egg

• 1 egg (we used 2 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons of oil for frying

Basil chicken

• 1 chicken breast (or any other cut of boneless chicken, about 200 grams) - we used minced pork instead
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 4 Thai chilies (we used chilli padi)
• 1 tablespoon oil for frying
• 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
• ½ teaspoon light soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 splash of dark soy sauce
• 1 handful of Thai holy basil leaves

(Hubby marinated the minced pork a night before with half tsp sesame, light sauce sauce 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce, a dash of pepper and threw in some basil leaves) - marinating the meat made it tastier but of course you may skip this marinate step if preferred but and just stir fry your meat with the above condiments.)

First, fry the egg

1. Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan on high-medium heat.
2. When the oil is hot and sizzling, drop in the egg. Let it sizzle and bubble up, and at the same time, splash some of the hot oil onto the top of the egg (don't flip the egg, unless you really want to).
3. After the egg looks about right to your cooked likeness (I like mine runny), take it out, drain the excess oil, and put it on a plate for later.

Basil chicken

1. Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces.
2. Rinse and peel the garlic and chilies, and pound them in a mortar and pestle (alternatively you can just mince them with a knife). They don't need to be super fine, you just want to bring out the oils and flavors from the garlic and chilies.
3. Pluck a good sized handful of holy basil leaves off the stems.
4. Now it's time to start cooking. Heat your wok on high heat, and add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.
5. When the oil is hot, add the chilies and garlic. Stir fry them for about 20 seconds or so until they get really fragrant, but don't let them burn or get too dry.
6. Toss in your chicken. Keep stir frying continuously. At this stage you want to continue to stir and cook your chicken until it's just about fully cooked all the way through (depending on the size pieces of chicken and how hot your fire is, it should take about 2 - 3 minutes). If it starts to get dry, add just a tiny splash of water.
7. Add 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce, ½ teaspoon light soy sauce, ½ teaspoon sugar, and finally a splash of dark soy sauce. Keep stir frying for about another 30 seconds.
8. Grab a handful of holy basil, toss it into the pan, fold it into the chicken, and then immediately turn off the heat (if you're using an electric stove, you'll want to remove the pan from the burner). The holy basil really only needs to cook for about 5 seconds, and it will continue to wilt and cook from the existing heat of the chicken. This step is important because if you cook the basil for too long, it loses some of its glorious flavor and gets slightly chewy.