1. Start with the Prik Nam Pla. Finely chop the chili peppers – if you prefer it less spicy, you may want to remove (some of) the seeds. Peel the garlic and finely chop it as well. You can also add everything to a mixer. Mix with the fish sauce and lime juice and set aside.

2. For the seasoning sauce, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar. Set aside.

3. For the Pad Kra Pao, peel and roughly chop the shallot (or red onion) and garlic. Roughly chop the chili peppers (remove the seeds if you prefer it less spicy). Grind everything in a mortar and pestle until a paste forms. Alternatively, you can also add everything to a blender. Wash the basil, dry it, and pick off the leaves. Set everything aside. Before you start cooking the meat, you should also cook the rice so everything is ready at the same time.

4. Heat some neutral oil in a wok* or a large frying pan – the wok/frying pan should be quite hot. Add the paste made with onion, garlic, and chili and fry it in the hot oil for about 2-3 minutes (be careful, the oil can splash a bit at the beginning). Next, add the ground meat and spread it evenly in the wok/frying pan. Let the meat sizzle for a moment so it can brown nicely, then break it apart and continue to stir-fry the meat until it is nicely browned all over – this can take about 3-4 minutes. Add the seasoning sauce and mix everything well. Finally, add the basil leaves and fry briefly with the meat. Reduce the heat and keep the meat warm.

5. Heat oil in a second (smaller) frying pan – you can be a bit more generous here with the oil. Fry the eggs sunny-side up. The egg whites should have completely set, with some browning around the edges. Ideally, the egg yolk is still runny.

6. Arrange the cooked rice and meat on two plates and add a fried egg on top. Serve with the Prik Nam Pla as a condiment – everyone can add the sauce to their liking. Or not.