Thu 31 Jul 2008
Some foods have to be right the first time you try them, or you may never properly appreciate them. I have a friend who hates potatoes. It’s so sad… and I know why. It’s because when she was young her mother fed her mashed potatoes. But not just any mashed potatoes… lumpy mashed potatoes. A true culinary tragedy. And now my friend cannot appreciate any potatoes. Sadly, she will never know the glory of a baked potato baked in olive oil to perfection, and served with bacon bits, sour cream, and a smidgeon of butter.
I recall the first time I ever consumed Pad Thai.
A friend brought me to some now defunct Thai restaurant near Yonge and Eglinton. She insisted that I try this noodle concoction called Pad Thai. One bite in and I could not believe that I had lived to the ripe old age of twenty-six without ever tasting that TASTE! To this day I’m not exactly sure what the ingredient is that gives Pad Thai that particular perfection… coriander, maybe? Just not educated enough in the culinary arts. But it was (and I have never used this word to describe anything ever before) divine.
There’s an establishment where I work that serves something called Pad Thai. Okay. I don’t know what it is, but whatever it is it ain’t Pad Thai. And I pity the people who try it and think, “THAT’S what all the fuss is about?” Like my potato-deprived friend, they may never learn the delight that is true Pad Thai.
If you are prejudiced against Pad Thai and potatoes or any other food, I urge you to cast aside those prejudices and try the foods you don’t like with an open mind. And keep trying until you get the real thing. If you don’t like seafood, for instance (talking to you here, sis) because your salmon has always been overcooked or your mother (sorry mom) inadvertantly fed you those horrible frozen Captain Highliner disgraces, hie thee to a supermarket and pick up some fresh fish for a change. Salmon, Rainbow Trout, or if you’re lucky, some Arctic Char, maybe. Baste it in a nice Teriyaki sauce for half an hour first. Don’t overcook it. And serve it with a nice baked potato and fresh green beans.
Hmmm…. fresh green beans.
Let me know how it turns out.
July 31st, 2008 at 10:58 pm
There is something to be said for trying the “real” version of something if you’ve only ever had a poor substitute before. M. thought he hated peas because he grew up eating the canned version. First time I got him to try fresh peas, it was like eating a completely different food. He’s been happy to eat peas ever since. (I think the same would probably go for any canned vegetable - until you’ve had them garden fresh, you don’t know what you’re missing.)
And Pad Thai… yum… fresh cilantro does make a world of difference.
(thankfully for me, there are meatless versions of pretty much all things Thai)
August 1st, 2008 at 12:21 am
Get thee to ‘Salad King’ just across the street from Ryerson’s South end. Pad Thai worthy of a military Coup d’etat. If you’re kinda-sorta past that student herd thing book a spot upstairs and Lindas and savour the Pad Thai without the gleaming german industrial warehouse full of shouting students.
August 1st, 2008 at 9:29 am
A friend recently made Thai yellow curry for his girlfriend and two daughters. They each took one bite and instantly pushed their plates away. It was their first experience with Thai curry and I don’t think any of them were open to the experience to begin with. Plus, let’s fact it, their mutual behaviour was just downright rude to him.