Phat Thai
september 29, 2014

This is basically pad thai, but it is much more delicious than any version of that sticky, stinky, gooey dish served in American restaurants. Can you tell I don't like that one but love this one we made at home? There is no comparison.

Cooking this up in a wok is a loud, sizzling affair that requires opening the kitchen window and readying a newspaper to wave in case the smoke alarm goes off. According to Andy Ricker each serving must be made individually, which gives me great hope for the future. When our kids are older, I'll set out the ingredients so that each of us can stir-fry our own bowl, as we arrive home from swimming, soccer, work or whatever it is keeping us away from family dinner.

On p. 212 of Andy Ricker's Pok Pok. I used bacon fat (Ricker recommends pork fat and my husband saves it) and vinegar soaked chilies (or Phrik Naam Som) made from some of the many peppers my kids picked last weekend at the 18 Reasons Barn Dance. I left out the dried shrimp, used brown sugar in place of palm sugar and tamarind concentrate instead of pulp. It was still delicious!