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1
Set the wok over the highest possible heat, add the oil, and bring it to the point of smoking so the surface reaches maximum temperature before anything enters it — a wok at insufficient heat will steam the meat grey rather than char it. Wait until the first wisps of smoke rise from the oil before proceeding.
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2
Add the garlic and chillies together and fry for exactly 10 seconds, no more, because at this heat they pass through raw sharpness and open into a sweeter, more complex fragrance very quickly — beyond 10 seconds they burn and turn bitter. The cue that the 10 seconds are correctly spent is an explosive, intensely fragrant aromatic release, slightly sharp, unmistakably allium and chilli: this smell is the opening of a correctly made pad kra pao.
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3
Add the meat immediately, spread it across the wok surface with a spatula, and press it hard against the base — do not toss, do not stir, and leave it undisturbed for 30 seconds so the sustained, aggressive contact with the extremely hot metal drives the Maillard reaction and produces the dark-brown charred flecks that define the finished dish. This is where the dish lives or dies: if the sizzle drops off rapidly the wok has lost temperature and those flecks will not develop, which is also why you cook one portion only, since a second would drop the heat and destroy this stage.
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4
Toss once, then add the oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar directly onto the meat so the high residual heat caramelises the sauces against the protein rather than pooling at the base of the wok. Toss again to coat every surface of the meat, which should be nearly cooked through at this point.
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5
Remove the wok from the heat, or reduce to the lowest flame, then add the full cup of Thai holy basil — which seems excessive and is the correct quantity — and toss once so the leaves wilt in the residual heat of the wok rather than frying to nothing. A burst of clove-aromatic fragrance releases immediately; if the basil turns brown and cooks away entirely the wok was still at full heat, so remove everything from the wok at once the moment the leaves are wilted but still identifiable.
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6
Serve immediately over hot jasmine rice with the fried egg on top, bringing the dish to the table within 2 minutes of leaving the wok so the basil's aromatic character is still present. The finished dish should show visible dark-brown charred flecks throughout the lighter-coloured minced protein, the sauce coating the meat without pooling, and the basil wilted and green; the runny yolk is a component, not a garnish — it breaks over the rice and meat and unifies the preparation.