what's the one dish I cook the most in SE Asia?
pondering the practice of pad mama
There are very few types of meals I prepare while traveling, or in this case, continuing to live a surreal extended hiatus in SE Asia.
These dishes can classified into three broad categories: 1) Noodles 2) Stir-Fries and 3) Fruit Plates.
Take a moment, and guess which two are often combined on my plate at the heart of this missive.
The shout-out dish that’s a noodle + stir-fry and the centerpiece of everything I’m tallking about today: Pad Mama, baby.
Let me rewind with a mis-en-place on how I got to this point.
The (somewhat) unique circumstances, of sorts. Hold the TMIs.
Yes, yes, yes, I’m still in SE Asia.
I go out to eat all of the time. To experience the flavors and amazing cuisines. And yes, yes, yes - that means even more noodles and stir-fries. Two of the best foods to eat!!
That said, I still LOVE to cook. I cherish perusing markets and coming home with fresh goodness. Eyes and tote bags wide-open and inspired. On the daily.
And there’s such comfort and purpose, satisfaction and solace, in preparing a nice dinner for oneself. Especially when far away from what was formerly “home” - for however long that past life was.
Realistically / frankly / wildly / respectfully, it’s not exactly as frugal to cook for myself here in Da Nang vs. the USA. Not complaining.
It was a smidge more cost-effective in Thailand, although I will note that I moved around way more, never spending more than two weeks in the same kitchen. Insert so many anecdotes for future dinner parties.
Da Nang - where I’m staying put for a little while nowadays - was the first city I signed on for an entire month with the same refrigerator. I picked up supplies. It felt so, so good. And now that I’m playing at - being - even a bit more settled, I have a little pantry. There’s more than one cooking oil and jarred condiment in rotation. A few spices. I’ve been reunited with [vegetarian] oyster mushroom sauce, chili sauce, and vinegar. I open cabinets!
That’s living. For an avid home cook at heart.
My supplies continue to focus on the essentials. Stuff I’ll use up or carefully carry to the next locale. Coffee, oil, (thin) soy sauce, fiery Thai curry pastes. An extra packet of sugar I hadn’t used & tucked away from a recent coffeeshop.
All along the way, the kitchens were temporary. They served a purpose. They all had their quirks, and unique sets of supplies. Rarely was there more than one burner. Or pan. Ah, I’ll get into that more on the impending missive on how I made the most out of an AirBnB kitchen. It’s coming.
The vegetables, however, were + are perpetually vibrant and inviting. Ditto for the tofu - fresh, fried, fabulous. It’s SE Asia <3.
(Especially coming from years of that loooooong winter lifestyle in Alaska + Yellowstone, where frozen spinach was….a pal.)
Looking back at what I’ve been cooking since leaving North America and even the past month, there’s that one dish I make the most. I’m talking once a week.
Pad Mama! More than mere instant ramen.
It’s a meal I’ve been throwing together going on two decades, because while it’s technically, and definitely, cooking, it’s such a quick ordeal that the first word fits even better. Throwing!
Pad Mama has its origins in Asia, and its basis in so many, well, basics: ramen, any vegetables that look good to me/you/whomever, a bit of aromatics (garlic, chiles, ginger, these days lemongrass, and if you’re not me, onions) and when it comes down to it, what millions all over the planet have long considered a pantry must: soy sauce.
For the uninitiated, or those going ‘Okay, big deal, ramen stir-fry”...sure. Though, there’s more. Pad Mama is a modern-day Thai staple. It’s a fast, favorite meal that has its origins on street corners and quick behind-the-scenes meals in restaurant kitchens of all calbiers.
At its heart, it’s a quick meal anyone with a few ingredients, pan and heat source can throw together.
‘Cause,
PAD = to stir-fry over high heat
and
MAMA = the popular Thai brand of instant noodles
This speedy, flavorful dish joined my own personal repertoire after noticing it being cooked up on the streets during my first, fortunate “adventures” to Thailand. Then, as many an early 00s-back-when-Twitter-was-new foodie Portlander could be seen doing at the time, reading about the dish’s background and just how to make it in Thai restaurateur Andy Ricker’s then-new cookbook, Pok Pok.
(And duh, my copy was borrowed from the Multnomah County Library.)
Pad Mama...Mia.
It’s been a dependable, somewhat one-pot and flavorful friend as I’ve cooked my way into this new life.
Somehow / someway / inevitably, my time in Chiang Mai, Thailand and now in Da Nang, Vietnam has hit six months. HOLY CRAP.
By last count, that’s eight temporary kitchens - and that’s not counting the short number of hotels + guesthouses that had a microwave at the most, the one AirBnb I got the heck out of, and the rustic outdoor kitchen I simply didn’t have the time/energy to use while volunteering in Sangkhla.
Yet, Pad Mama has been consistent while other things were not. It’s when you (hi, me) don’t know what to make - or you know exactly what you have in mind.
The Pad Mama check-list:
Curry paste and/or powder
Instant ramen
Veg, Thai basil, maybe eggplants and/or ‘shrooms
Preferred protein
Thin soy sauce, [veg] oyster sauce, sugar, oil, acid, heat
Pan, something to stir with, aromatics, herbs, bowl, chopstick/fork
I jotted down my “Pad Mama” notes this past week. It’s a calming habit. If you can make out my writing, it includes what you (again, me) need for making it, and the 1-2-3 steps to make it happen.
And for the futhermore record, I even shared a recipe on the ‘scrap back in August of 20-freaking-22 after I ‘threw” this together in a guesthouse kitchen while re-visting Portland. Nostalgia, just for another moment. : )
Well, then.
Are you a friend or foe of instant ramen stir-fries?
References + Relevant Links:
Pok Pok by Andy Ricker with JJ Goode write-up on The Kitchen
requisite ramen stir-fry, the scone archives August 13, 2022
Vice Munchies: Instant Ramen Noodle Stir Fry with Andy Ricker of Pok Pok on YouTube
⏭️ ⏭️ ⏭️ @scone.archive on insta
With that, scoot on over to “@scone” (duh, that’s me) on Substack’s social media-esque ‘Notes’ feed for more on how I’m living & cooking these days <3.
Once upon a time a very long time ago I had some instant ramen noodles (I don't remember the flavour) and got violently ill so... I have never eaten them since then. 🫣
Also these days it is hard for me to find any vegan friendly ones that are not super spicy.
BUT I keep meaning to buy a pack of just the bricks of noodles, not the flavoured ones, so perhaps this shall inspire me to remember to actually do that one day!
You are amazing! Such a lovely post - all the years of relationship with this recipe.