Bad Thai

I have to admit, I'm not really a person who typically follows a phad.... (wink). That probably sounds a little arrogant; but in the case of what I like to eat my tastebuds rule. I do admit that food fads are a huge boon to cooking because, all of a sudden, what was once a rare ingredient becomes a stock item on the shelves of the local groceria.

However, a few years back when the Thai food fad captured everyone's attention the premier dish that took over was Pad Thai (BTW, here's a really sad observation on the state of Yahoo Message Boards - type "Thai Food Fad" as a phrase into Google and you get an April '03 entry on the bulletin board for Computer Sciences Corporation - what does that say about the investment community).

Not to digress; I have never been a fan of Pad Thai. Sure, when everyone in a group says.. "hey, what about Thai"... and then proceed, as a collective, to order Pad Thai as the community dish, I'm willing to have my share. But it is not high on my list of imaginative Thai dishes - and when you're sitting in some of the premier Thai restaurants in New York, Dallas, Chicago and Toronto - if the best you can come up with is Pad Thai, then I'd suggest letting someone else choose next time.

Which brings me to this weekend. I woke up Saturday morning feeling like Thai food. Actually, to be totally honest - I felt like crap after a late Friday night - but fast forward six hours and I felt like Thai food. And my favorite Thai dish - for all you Pad Thai lovers, is made with rice. It's just as easy to make; it's just as maleable; you don't have to deal with the noodles dribbling down your chin, and it punches flavour with each mouthful.

My yearning for Thai food bridged the weekend (thai rice on Saturday, green Thai chili on Sunday) so my regular dining partner was left listening to Randy Bachman doing a terrific show on girl Motown bands on Saturday night, and suffering through a great playlist of LA Rock on Sunday. Indeed, she puts up with alot...!

Ok - so on to my Thai Rice dish. This is my base recipe that I always modify depending upon my mood - it's easy to do and if you're reading my blog I'm assuming you'll know how.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked rice (start out with 1 cup uncooked and it'll do)
• 1 medium onion
• 1Tbsp red curry paste
• 2 fresh green chilis - seeded and sliced and chopped finely
• 6 large shrimp (shell, de-vein, and cook), then chop into 1 cm pieces (or not!)
• 1 chicken breast (optional) - if using this, I chop it into 12 cm cubes and marinate for an hour or so in 1 Tsp green chili paste and 1 Tbsp soya sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• slice very thinly (julienne) 1 red pepper and 1 chopped green or yellow or orange pepper (depending on preference and budget)
• qtr cup chopped mint (optional)
• qtr cup chopped cilantro (optional)
• 2 tsp fish sauce or soya sauce (if you're willing to compromise)
• zest of 2 limes
• 2 eggs - beaten and cooked; chopped
• zest of 2 limes.

Directions

• Cook rice and let cool;
• add a little oil (perhaps 2 Tbsp) and then add chicken and cook until tender - maybe 3 minutes; remove from wok;
• heat a little oil (perhaps 2 to 3 Tbsp) in a wok and then add red chili paste; stir until well absorbed, then add onions;
• add chicken to past, and stir;
• add julienned red/green or yellow peppers and stir until well blended;
• add rice and stir;
• Independently, in a seperate fry pan, aggressively scamble and cook 2 eggs - slice into strips;
• mix thoroughly and heat;
• add chopped cilantro and coppped mint; stir;
• add chopped green chilis, and stir;
• add 2 tsps fish sauce or soya sauce as desired;
• add in eggs strips;
• Serve.
• sprinkle with chopped green onions and lime zest.

And there you have it. An alternative to those insipid Pad Thai recipes that make the rounds of corporate email.

I serve this with very thinly sliced cucumber, perhaps mixed with bean sprouts, that have been marinating in a dressing of rice wine and ginger and garlic slices with a dash of oil. Sprinkle a little finely chopped mint and say "on to the brothels of Bangkok anyone?"