Friday, July 30, 2010

Pad Thai, American

This recipe was adapted from a recipe in the San Francisco Chronicle in which the Thai-American writer uses kethcup in a cultural blasphemy greater than any you will see in my arsenal of bastardized Americanized recipes. I asked my friend who owns a Thai restaurant downtown before I tried this recipe.... is this lady's Thai grandma rolling in her grave? He shook his head yes. It may be good, he said, but it not Thai. I said, well, kethcup WAS invented in Asia.... and I see the train of thought.... tamarind to vinegar to ketchup.... the sugar's already in there.... but this did not matter to him. He explained to me that other Asian cultures has accepted ketchup into their kitchen without hesitation, but that the Thai people were especially proud and stubborn about their food. They pride themselves in cooking the way their mother's mother's mother cooked. Thusly, the Pad Thai battle began. I made the SFC pad thai enough times to perfect, in my mind, the perfect American pad thai. This recipe serves 2 and I have had a hard time doubling it. But go ahead and try if you want.

1 shallot, sliced or one small onion, halved and sliced (this is one recipe that a cheap yellow onion is perfect for)
4 cloves garlic, halved and sliced