Thai Basil Beef (Pad Kra Pao) with Crispy Fried Egg

Pad Kra Pao is the ultimate Thai street food — a blazing hot wok, fragrant garlic and chilies, glossy savory sauce, and a mountain of fresh basil. It's the kind of recipe that tastes like it took skill but comes together in 20 minutes flat. Top it with a runny fried egg and you've got the best weeknight dinner you'll make all year.

The dish comes together fast: garlic and chilies bloom in hot oil, ground beef browns to a deep caramel, then a glossy sauce of oyster, fish, and soy coats everything. A heap of Thai basil wilts at the very end, and a crispy-edged fried egg on top ties it all together over jasmine rice.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Cook jasmine rice according to package directions. Mince garlic and slice red chilies; set aside.

Step 2: Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until smoking. Add garlic and chilies and stir-fry for 30 seconds until golden and fragrant.

Step 3: Add ground beef, breaking it apart with a spatula. Cook for 4–5 minutes until browned through with no pink remaining.

Step 4: Push the beef to one side of the pan. Add the remaining oil and crack in the eggs. Fry for 1–2 minutes until the whites are set and the edges are golden and lacy.

Step 5: Stir oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar into the beef until everything is glossy and coated. Add Thai basil and toss for 30 seconds until just wilted. Serve over jasmine rice topped with the fried egg.

Serve immediately — Pad Kra Pao is at its best the moment it leaves the wok, while the basil is still bright and the egg yolk is runny. Leftovers (without the egg) keep for 2 days in the fridge; reheat in a hot pan and crack a fresh egg on top.