Welcome to Bangkok—An Experiment IN Pad Thai
Have you ever received a meeting invite from a colleague entitled “Welcome to Bangkok”?
No? Must be an IN Food thing.
Ok, or maybe it’s a Caroline thing. Hey, I’m Caroline, Content Strategist & Copywriter in residence here at IN Food Marketing & Design. I never pass up the chance to take a title from utilitarian to intriguing—lucky for my colleagues, that philosophy is all-inclusive. Even meeting invites aren’t spared…which explains why everyone at IN Food found an invitation to “Bangkok” in their inboxes this winter. As part of our IN Food Soup Day tradition (originally a sharing of soups that’s become a sharing of whatever dish you’d like to whip up in large quantities) I brought a wok pan to work and set about making Pad Thai.
Our office of food marketing professionals is passionate about creating experiences around food. We do it for our clients, and we do it for each other! Last year I spent some time in Thailand and had the opportunity to learn to make authentic Pad Thai—deliciously satisfying but slightly lighter than the syrupy noodles often served here in the States—and my desk mates convinced me there would be no better way to share these new skills than on my “soup day.”
Of course, I’ve never tried to make batches of Pad Thai on any sort of scale, but as with most challenges here in our office, it wasn’t so much of question of “if” but rather of “how.”
Throw Down IN the Kitchen:
First thing’s first, I gathered ingredients—many were sourced from United Noodles, Minnesota’s largest Asian grocery store.
Next came the prep.
Garlic, tofu and green onions.
(Among other things.)
The wok was fired up.
Tamarind, oyster sauce and fish sauce were added.
Finally, soaked rice noodles, bean sprouts and green onions joined the mix.
Topped with cashews rather than the traditional peanuts (an explanation for which you can find here), lime wedges and plenty of red pepper flakes, the finished product was styled and shot by Alyssa and Ciara—because who are we kidding? None of us can resist getting a drool-worthy beauty shot!
In the end this was just one of many delicious dishes our team has enjoyed over the course of a frigid Minnesota winter. But preparing it for my colleagues reminded me exactly what’s so fascinating about working with and thinking about food all day: the unique way that it brings people together. My Pad Thai was served with a pair of chopsticks and eaten with a side of laughter at our conference table. Food is never just “food” for our team of passionate marketers and creatives—talking about it, sharing it and savoring it never seems to get old.