While we were in Seattle, Jeff had a Thai dish that had him “mmming” and “yumming” the whole time. It was this dish of pork, flavored with Thai basil, garlic, and ginger, and served with a fried egg.

Thaiku basil pork with egg

It looked like something that I could recreate at home, so I logged it in my memory to try out sometime.

I got together a pound of ground pork, Thai basil, scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili-garlic sauce, and 2 eggs for my attempt at recreating that memorable flavor.

ingredients for pork with thai basil

I chopped up the scallions, garlic, and grated some ginger and set it aside.

Scallions, ginger, and garlic

I browned the pork in a pan without oil, there’s enough fat in the pork to keep it from sticking. When the fat had rendered out and the pork was browned, I drained it in a metal sieve then returned it to the pan to add the aromatic ingredients…

Adding aromatics to pork

As soon as those were smelling fragrant, I added the sauces and made sure to mix the spicy stuff in well…

Adding sauces to pork

Then I added the chopped basil and let it wilt completely.

Adding thai basil to pork

And here’s my finished version!

Pork with thai basil and a fried egg

Complete with a fried egg just like the original.

This was awesome. Certainly a more meat-heavy dish than we typically have for dinner, but it was a nice indulgence. I think the pork would taste amazing in crisp lettuce cups, maybe I’ll try it that way next time.

Pork with Thai basil and fried egg

Pork with the aromatic flavors of Thai basil, garlic, ginger, and scallion. Served with a fried egg over rice.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 bunch Thai basil
  • 2 large cloves of garlic (minced)
  • a 1 inch piece of ginger (grated)
  • 2 scallions (sliced)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp. fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. chili garlic sauce

Cooking Directions

  1. Brown pork in a pan without oil.
  2. When pork is cooked through, drain off fat and return to pan.
  3. Add scallions, ginger, and garlic.
  4. Add sauces and mix in.
  5. Add chopped Thai basil and allow to wilt.
  6. Fry eggs sunny-side-up in a separate pan.
  7. Serve pork over rice with a fried egg and garnish with toasted sesame seeds if desired.

Have you ever made something at home that you’ve tried in a restaurant?