One of the first blogs I ever came upon was Chez Pim and the post that popped up was all about Pad Thai. Who was this Pim? How did she make such a beautiful Pad Thai? I made a mental note to make this recipe one day, as it was one of Lenny’s favorite dishes. I continued reading about this girl Pim. I loved her culinary adventures that were delicious in one breathe and wrapped around somewhere exotic in the next – a girl after my own heart. You see we are a bit alike, I love to eat, cook, drink and travel. One just has to utter the words, TRIP, TRAVEL, and SUITCASE with a sprinkle of good food promised and I am there.
We had the chance to finally meet Pim at the Pebble Beach Food and Wine event last year. She was adorable, taking us under her wing and showing us around the event; she was exactly as we thought she would be in person ….. sweet! Over the course of a couple glasses of bubbly, we got to know more about her as well as the “book” she was working on; we even got a sneak peak. It was lovely – full of Pim charm and enticing foodie wisdom. We could not wait to get our hands on a couple copies! Her book came out in the summer but we did not get a chance to get a copy until she was up in the city speaking at Omnivore Books. Not only were we able to attend the event but she agreed to let us capture it so that we could share her foodie adventures with you – I will not tell you about it, you must watch it!
I have loved reading the book, it is warm, personal and full of interesting tidbits about her life as a “foodie”. As well she includes many fantastic recipes. What I like about her advice is that she is not preaching to you about how to become a foodie, rather she is sharing her experiences through her sweet opinionated self and you can take it or leave it. She will take you on an adventure with every chapter that will leave you salivating for more!
Back to Pad Thai, as I mentioned it is one of Lenny’s favorite dishes. I, on the other hand, have always been one to take it or leave it. I just have never found a place in the city that makes it like they do in Thailand. When I first came across her post, I had a very good feeling it would be good! So, I invited a couple friends (who have been to Thailand and also love Pad Thai) over and then I grabbed “The Foodie Handbook” turned to page 66 and headed to Clement Street to get ready for our Pad Thai party. Her recipe is simple. The hardest part was finding the translator in the markets – *smile*. It is such a great dish to make with friends … pour a few glasses or Reisling and let the fun begin. We all agreed it was the best Pad Thai we have eaten outside of Thailand; slightly salty, a little sour and sweet all tossed together with a “bite” of heat to warm it up. Add noodles, seafood and crunchy bean sprouts and Chinese chives to balance it all out! In all honesty, this was the first time I actually wanted more Pad Thai …. the next day!
Kristina@FormerChef
Wednesday 3rd of March 2010
My favorite Pad Thai experience has to be any time I've been in Bangkok (one of my favorite cities), sitting on a tiny plastic stool on the sidewalk, eating freshly made Pad Thai served up by a street vendor for less than a dollar.
I also liked the story of driving to Hua Hin. I've been known to do similar trips "all about the food."
Allison
Sunday 28th of February 2010
I love Pim! She is the cutest ever. My fave story is the one of her making her friends stop at all the roadside stands - because I would have done that too!
My favorite Pad Thai moment occurred in college - our study group's favorite Thai restaurant in Pomona, Ca had the best pad thai along with other unusual yummies. Late-night study sessions fueled by pad thai, thai iced tea...so good!
Julianna Yu
Sunday 28th of February 2010
I really enjoyed watching Pim in this video. Pim shared her child memory of how her family would always make various stops along the road to pick up their street snacks and then again requested it when she was in her friend's parents car. It made me realize, a lot of my favourite memories of people are usually around food.
I love Pad Thai and it was one of the first dishes I attemped to make since I couldn't stand the "ketchup" versions that were in the restaurants I went to. Only a couple got the sour taste that I craved just right. My favourite Pad Thai memory was attempting it in the kitchen with my boyfriend. It was one of the first dishes we made together.
Derek
Sunday 28th of February 2010
I loved PIm's story about the day-long drive from Bangkok to Hua Hin, especially when she insisted to her friend's family that they just HAD to stop for those grilled cococnut cakes!! I'm so glad I"m not alone here, as I regularly go out of my way for tasty treats and will even plan meetings and trips around food!!! Something is clearly out of balance... = )
And my favourite Pad Thai memory has got to be last year. Having made it a few times in my well-seasoned wok, I decided I was becoming something of an expert at flipping and stir-frying my pile of noodles and sauce and prawn. Perhaps I had had a bit too much wine before we got round to cooking the main for that evening, or maybe was just feeling slightly cocky in front of my date, whom I was desperately trying to impress... Needless to say, I got very excited - perhaps a bit too excited - towards the end of cooking the second plate, and was just getting ready to serve. I incidentally did a big flip of the entire contents of the wok and much of it came flying off and landed straight on flame. Trying to be quick to save dinner, I attempted to get my spatula underneath the pile but accidentally flipped a prawn and sent it flying. As luck would have it, it hit my date bang on the nose, giving him a minor burn in the process. I was horrified obviously, and was so embarassed! He was certainly not impressed, though I'm not sure why... I would have been delighted to have been hit in the face by a flying prawn. Especially a well-cooked one.
Needless to say I have tamed down my wok flipping antics for the time being, as it clearly hasn't done my love life any favours!!
Greg
Saturday 27th of February 2010
OK, here goes: I don't know if this is one of HER favorite childhood memories, but she did mention that her parents claim she loved to alternate between reading and eating. My favorite Pad Thai memory is the first time I had it at Thai Laundry (not it's real name, so called because it's a Thai restaurant / laundromat in one of Portland's quirkier neighborhoods).