The Most Sublime Thai

Since moving to Chicago, Bry and I have been immered into Thai cuisine. It may be because there are literally 10 Thai restaurants on a 4-block radius that deliver. I've become a fan of pad see ewe : a sweet/salty broccoli & wide rice noodle stir-fry, that I have decided works best with beef. Of course, there's my favorite, tom yum soup, a hot and sour aromatherapy that is usually garnished with cilantro. I'm very particular about my tom yum. Some places add those horrid tomato slices, that only soak up the blistering hot liquid and explode like a molten gushers' candy in your mouth, ruining the rest of your meal. There's also the infamous broccoli florets floating in your soup, giving off a skunky overcooked broccoli stench that f's with the aromas. I like to stick with tradition when it comes to these things. On the coldest week of the year, this past January when the pipes froze and we had no way to take a hot shower, Bry and I treated ourselves to a big bowl of Tom Yum soup to warm the senses. Our restaurant of choice was Opart Thai House in Lincoln Square. I tried a new dish, called Mu Pad Prik King, which is a dry curry dish, which means that it doesn't have the addition of coconut milk, and is closer really a stir-fry. It's an entanglement of al dente green beans, pork or other meat, julienned ginger, and a curry paste commonly made of galangal, ginger, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, shrimp paste, garlic, shallot, and chiles with a few variations. Now, it is possible to buy those cans of curry paste, lord knows I've tried em. But, the only real way to enjoy Thai is to start fresh...galangal root, ginger, garlic, you know, the good stuff. Otherwise, you'll end up with a meal that tastes canned...salty, preserved. Yuck. Recently I came across this handy dandy 'Sumeet', a wet/dry spice grinder that can act as a mortar & pestle. I've yet to try one of these out, but it sounds enticing for the home, perhaps. Need to do more research. Might be a bastard cousin of the eggwave.