What's on the Grill #180: Paht Thai
I have a real love for Asian food, especially Thai. I used to make Paht Thai quite a bit, but after a quick peruse of the blog, I realized "quite a bit" meant 3 years ago. Wow!
I have a great Thai cookbook in the form of Nancie McDermott's Quick & Easy Thai
. I have delved into it for years, and have yet to be let down.
Paht Thai is the only recipe where mise en place takes longer than the actual cook. You have to have everything ready to go. There is no, "Oh wait, I didn't smash any garlic I"ll do it now", because if there is, your next exclamation will be, "I screwed up dinner, let's order pizza."
With the wok hot and the ingredients ready, I started. Timing is important here. A minute here, a minute there, the process is in perpetual motion.
Fortunately, I had Bean to help out. He makes a great sous chef, prop, and part time comedian too.
Even though it has apparently been three years since I've made paht thai, it still turned out great. In fact, Bean liked it so much he questioned why we didn't make more. Well Bean, maybe we will, next week.
In the meantime, I suggest picking up Nancie's great book and try something Thai for yourself. Besides a paht thai repeat, I see some chicken with basil in my future too.
I have a great Thai cookbook in the form of Nancie McDermott's Quick & Easy Thai
. I have delved into it for years, and have yet to be let down.Paht Thai is the only recipe where mise en place takes longer than the actual cook. You have to have everything ready to go. There is no, "Oh wait, I didn't smash any garlic I"ll do it now", because if there is, your next exclamation will be, "I screwed up dinner, let's order pizza."
With the wok hot and the ingredients ready, I started. Timing is important here. A minute here, a minute there, the process is in perpetual motion.
Fortunately, I had Bean to help out. He makes a great sous chef, prop, and part time comedian too.
Even though it has apparently been three years since I've made paht thai, it still turned out great. In fact, Bean liked it so much he questioned why we didn't make more. Well Bean, maybe we will, next week.
In the meantime, I suggest picking up Nancie's great book and try something Thai for yourself. Besides a paht thai repeat, I see some chicken with basil in my future too.
Mike Lang