Maybe I Should Open Up a Thai Restaurant

I love Thai food. 

The contrast of flavors…sweet basil, hot chilies, tart citrus, cool and creamy coconut…sends me over the moon! I am a sucker for good Pad Thai, am a fool in love with Crying Tiger and sneak bites of Bee’s Pad Ka Prow when he’s not looking (and by sneak bites, I mean eat half his plate). 

I've eaten the best of the best of it on my trip to Thailand (which I will document in a later post) and often eat out at local Thai restaurants, which are delicious. Intimated by the preparation of the cuisine, I have NEVER made any Thai dish. I just didn’t want to try to make it and then it be disgusting and a letdown. <LAME. Never let fear stop you from doing anything. Well, besides bungee-jumping. Let fear stop you from that. Oh, and trying to hand-feed a lion. Probably a bad idea. Good to be afraid of.

Look at me! I’m rambling.

Ok, so being the incredible fiancé that I am, I decided to make Bee’s favorite Thai dish to show him I love him (and to convince him to buy me a Garmin running watch for my birthday)..what? I did a search, couldn’t find many recipes, so I just went with this one and kind of winged it.

Holy mackerel! (why do people say that? Is a fish really holy?) It tasted JUST LIKE what we order in the restaurants! I kept dancing around the kitchen saying, “OMG! OMG! It smells like a Thai restaurant in here! It tastes exactly like the restaurant kind! I might cry! What a glorious day this is!”

My family wasn’t amused. I think they were still upset about my personal concert I had in the shower minutes earlier. Let’s just say no one yelled, “Encore!” Get over it, people. My shower, my songs.

There I go again rambling.

I put the basil in at the last minute to ever-so-slightly wilt (heaven) and we plated it up.

Sweet, spicy love in a bowl.

Results? OHHH YEAHHH BABY! AMAZING! So spicy, so flavorful, so freakin’ good! Served with some brown rice and peanut noodles with bean sprouts…get out of townnn! (Father of the Bride anyone??)

So good that I had the leftovers for lunch today. 

Only to be washed down by liquid gold. Nectar of the angels. Legal crack. Call it what you will. It’s awesome.

Make this now. Like yesterday kind of now. 

Pad Ka Prow

Ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai chilies (aka Birds Eye Chilies) *this is SPICY. Do 1 tbs. or less to cut down on heat.
1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced into thin pieces (about 1" x 1/4")
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup black soy sauce
1/4 cup Golden Mountain sauce (found at most Asian markets and some grocery stores)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves (I use normal basil)

This is how we do it:

Heat oil in wok over high heat. When oil begins to smoke, add garlic, onion and Thai chilies. Stir fry until golden, no more than a minute.

Add chicken, fish sauce, black soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce and palm sugar. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then add red and yellow bell peppers. Continue stir frying until chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are soft.

Turn off heat, add basil and stir until just wilted. Serve immediately.