This variation on the flavors of pad Thai consists of roasted peanuts, garlic, jalapeno and anchovies toasted in butter. Once the vegetables and anchovies softened and became aromatic, we removed the pan from the heat and pureed everything into a coarse paste. To lighten the paste we added tapioca maltodextrin in equal parts by volume (a practice which works well with tapioca maltodextrin because it is so light and difficult to weigh). The puree became light and fluffy. We topped several spoonfuls of it with a variety of basils and their blooms and chocolate mint leaves. Certainly this is not an exact replica of pad Thai, rather it is our extrapolation for a light as air interpretation of the flavors that make pad Thai special to us.
Years Past:
