Nostalgia from my summer vacation influenced our dinner last night and it brought me back to one of my favorite places, Thailand. Pad Thai was one of the dishes that we enjoyed immensely and I was craving it.

Pad Thai is so versatile, instead of shrimp you can use pork or beef or all of them together. I had some shrimps on the freezer so that made my choice simple. Easy to prepare, therefore make sure all your ingredients are ready prior to start cooking. I also did something a bit different, I crushed the garlic with sea salt and made it into a paste, technique that I have learned this summer. The taste was wonderful, and as you know my cooking does not have too much garlic, so by making a paste, the flavor of the garlic infused itself with the flavors, and the garlic cooked faster. Slicing the carrots very thin accelerate the cooking process.

With the red curry, it is up to you. It is spicy therefore you can control the amount of heat you enjoy by adding less that I did at the beginning, and adding it as you go along while you taste it. I love it because the flavor burst into your mouth while you are eating and with each bite the heat diminishes.

A quick splash of lemon, or lime if that is what you have on hand, at the last minute brings all the flavors together.

I must say, all per all we love it and will have it again and again.