Happy poets who write found poetry go pawing through popular culture like sculptors on trash heaps. They hold and wave aloft usable artifacts and fragments: jingles and ad copy, menus and broadcasts — all objet trouvés, the literary equivalents of Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans and Duchamp’s bicycle.
By entering a found text as a poem, the poet doubles its context. The original meaning remains intact, but now it swings between two poles. The poet adds, or at any rate increases, the element of delight. This is an urban, youthful, ironic, cruising kind of poetry. It serves up whole texts, or interrupted fragments of texts. – Annie Dillard
Kris Yenbamroong’s Pad Thai
Four ounces dried rice stick noodles
two tablespoons sugar
two tablespoons fish sauce
two tablespoons distilled white vinegar
three tablespoons vegetable oil
One egg
One cup bean sprouts
A quarter-pound brined chicken thighs,
or extra-firm tofu,
or large peeled shrimp, whatever.
Two green onions,
cut on an angle into 2-inch slices
two tablespoons roasted peanuts
one teaspoon roasted chili powder,
or to taste Lime wedges
For the chili powder:
Two cups dried Thai bird’s eye, pulla,
or árbol chiles, stemmed.
In a dry wok,
roast the chiles over medium-low heat,
stirring occasionally,
until they turn a deep, dark crimson
(almost brown) and give off a sweet
and earthy smell
(not burnt).
The process shouldn’t take
oh, I don’t know, what the hell,
more than ten minutes,
but it pays to be vigilant
in making sure
the chiles toast evenly
and slowly.
Remove the chiles from the heat
and let them rest
until cool enough to handle.
Transfer to a food processor,
blender, or spice grinder
and grind
until the mixture is slightly finer than
the crushed red pepper you’d find
at a pizza shop.
Be careful not to breathe
in any chile dust
when you remove the lid.
Store in a sealed container
in a cool, dry place
for up to three months.
To make the Pad Thai:
Soak the noodles
in warm water for 30 minutes,
until pliable enough
to bend around
a finger.
If you’re not
using them immediately,
you can drain the noodles
and keep them
in the fridge
until ready to use.
In a small bowl,
stir together
the sugar, fish sauce, and vinegar
to make a sauce.
Heat an empty wok
over high heat
until it begins to smoke,
then swirl
in the oil.
Once the oil is shimmering,
add the chicken or tofu
and stir-fry
until the meat turns opaque
but isn’t fully cooked,
which should take
about a minute.
Less time for shrimp;
they will cook a little more quickly.
Add the noodles and sauce,
then continue to stir-fry,
constantly stirring
until the noodles absorb the sauce,
about another minute.
Use your spatula to push
aside the noodles
and leave them there,
making an empty space
in the center of the wok.
Crack the egg
into the empty space
and let it cook
until the edges start
to set, 15-20 seconds.
Use the edge of your
spatula to break up
and rough scramble
the egg,
then toss it back
in with the noodles
while the egg is still soft.
Once the egg looks
mostly cooked,
remove from the heat
and throw in the bean
sprouts and green onions,
tossing thoroughly to combine.
Transfer to a plate
and garnish
with the peanuts,
chili powder,
and a lime wedge.
Enjoy.
Sorry about the bird’s eyes
missing.
I just couldn’t do it.
Excerpted from Night + Market:
Delicious Thai Food to Facilitate Drinking
and Fun-Having
Amongst Friends