Gretchen’s notes:
Aey’s stir-fried pork with basil is sweet, salty, and spicy – the perfect meal whether you want to indulge alone or impress guests!
While the prep work may take a few minutes, the cooking itself is incredibly quick. That’s why we recommend having everything measured out in advance like Aey does in individual little bowls. That way, you’ll be able to just dump them in and move onto the next thing instead of scrambling.
This recipe uses medium-high heat by Aey’s standards, but (much to our dismay) it’s typically possible to cook with much hotter temperatures in Southeast Asia than we’re used to elsewhere. If you’re cooking in a home kitchen in the US or Europe (instead of on a really strong gas stove designed for very high heat), cook this on high. You may still need to adjust the cooking times slightly and cook it a little longer than Aey does.
Ingredient Preparation
As I mentioned, it’s important to prep all of your ingredients in advance for this recipe, so nothing burns as you pause mid-recipe to measure or cut.
This means that before you even start cooking, you should:
Finely chop your garlic.
Finely chop your birdseye chilis.
Cut your pork into bite-size pieces.
Measure out your sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sweet soy sauce into small bowls.
Pick individual holy basil leaves off the stem.
Substitutions
Holy basil: substitute Thai basil if you can find it. If not, you can just use the typical basil that you find at the grocery store. Each basil variety will give the finished dish a different flavor, but they’ll all be delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons palm oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped birdseye chili (adjust to taste)
- 2 cups diced pork
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sweet soy sauce
- 1 cup holy basil leaves
To serve:
- sprig of holy basil
- one birdseye chili, cut in half lengthwise
- prepared rice
Instructions:
Heat the palm oil in a large wok over high heat. Add the chopped garlic and chopped chili. Stir, cooking, for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Add the diced pork and cook, stirring once, for about 30 more seconds. Add 1/8 cup water and continue to fry until the pork is cooked through, adding another splash of water if it dries out too much.
Add the sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sweet soy sauce. Cook, stirring, for a minute or so.
Stir in the holy basil leaves, then transfer to a serving plate. Top with a sprig of holy basil and the halved chili, serve with rice, and enjoy!
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