Make a salad dressing by combining the palm sugar, water, fish sauce, lime juice and chilli powder together, making sure the palm sugar is completely dissolved. It will taste spicy, sweet, and sour with a salty finish. Set aside.

Make the shrimp floss by pounding the dried shrimp in a stone pestle and mortar until a floss-like texture is achieved. Alternatively, use a spice grinder or blender to achieve a light flossed texture

Bring a small pan of water to the boil and cook the egg to your liking. I prefer an egg with a fudgy yolk, so I boil it for 6 minutes before plunging it in ice water. Once cool enough to handle, peel the egg.

Grill the aubergines over hot coals, or over the highest flame on your home cooker, or under a very hot grill. The skins need to be completely blackened so the flesh inside becomes soft and tender with a smoky flavour. Set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, peel the blackened skins and discard. Roughly chop the aubergine flesh while still warm and arrange on a serving plate.

Combine the sliced red onion, makrut lime leaf, coriander and mint in a mixing bowl with the dressing. Gently toss the salad together and arrange over the aubergine, pouring over any remaining dressing. Halve the soft-boiled egg and arrange over the salad. Finish by generously sprinkling with the shrimp floss.

For the chillies and fish sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix. Let stand for 30 minutes to allow the flavours to meld together.

Combine the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, fish sauce and caster sugar in a small bowl. This will be your seasoning sauce. It should taste savoury and salty with a background sweetness.

Using a pestle and mortar, pound the chillies, garlic and salt together to achieve a coarse paste. This will be your stir-fry paste.

In a wok, heat the vegetable oil until smoking hot. One at a time, crack the eggs into the hot oil and allow to fry until crispy on the bottom and edges. Spoon the hot oil over the eggs to cook the yolk, turning it opaque but keeping it runny. Drain on absorbent paper and keep warm while you cook the stir-fry.

Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, then heat over a medium flame. Add the stir-fry paste and stir vigorously so the paste becomes fragrant, around 30 seconds. Turn the heat to high and add the chopped beef, then continue to stir-fry until the beef is half cooked. Add the green beans and seasoning sauce. Continue to move the ingredients around the wok so that the vegetables are tender but retain a bite, and the beef is cooked to a blushing pink.

Add the stock and allow to simmer briefly. Check the seasoning – it should taste spicy, salty and slightly background sweet from the oyster sauce and sugar. If it tastes too intense, add a splash more stock to the wok. Add the holy basil leaves and toss everything together so the basil wilts. Serve over plates of freshly steamed jasmine rice with the crispy fried eggs and a bowl of chillies and fish sauce on the side.

Make the nahm jim by pounding the chillies, coriander root, garlic and salt with a mortar and pestle to a smooth paste. Add the sea buckthorn juice, lime juice, fish sauce and caster sugar, then mix everything well so the sugar dissolves. Set aside for 5 minutes, allowing the flavours to mellow and marry together.

Shuck the oysters and clean them of any shell fragments. Tip away most of the oyster liquid, then spoon the sea buckthorn sauce over each oyster – about a tablespoon for each. Rest the shells on a bowl of crushed ice and serve immediately.