In the spirit of this week's Free Food-a-Thon competition among the Campus Progress interns, (by the way, your support for me would be greatly appreciated) I figured that I would dedicate this week's post to food. More specifically, I'll tell you where to purchase and how to cook Thai food on a budget. Yay Thai. And yay food.

Based on the huge number of Thai restaurants that have flooded the area in the past few years, it is obvious that Thai is trendy and extremely popular.  Understandably so--I love spicy food, basil, and pretending to be trendy.  (Only slightly kidding about the latter.)  My favorite restaurant in DC has been Thaiphoon, which I've been frequenting every time I am in DC for the past four years. 

However, an intern whose is only over $3/hour can't always finance such a food fetish.  So what's the next best thing? Making the yummy delectables for you and your buds on a Saturday night before an epic night in Adams-Morgan. =)

Pad Kee Mow (a.k.a. Drunken Noodles) is my favorite Thai dish, and I will share my personal recipe for it.  So follow me as I take you on a journey from the grocery store to the dinner table (or that crappy coffee table in your dorm).

 Trust my recipe.  I'm Asian.

Thai Market is a cheap and relatively well-stocked Asian grocery store that is only a five-minute walk away from the Silver Spring Metro Stop.  From there, you should pick up:

-a bag of bean sprouts
-garlic
-an onion
-a bag of frozen red chilis
-a pound of chicken breast (or beef, pork, shrimp, etc.--whatever you like in your noodles)
-a package "fat noodles"
-a bottle oyster sauce
-a bottle of Thai seasoning sauce
-a bag of basil

If you need help finding these ingredients, the people who work there are incredibly nice and helpful.  And you know what's great about this place?  All of these things together will only cost you around $20, and it's enough to feed 4-5 people.  If you happen to get hungry while shopping, there is a cafe attached to the store, where you can get Pad Thai for a little over $6.  What a deal.

Okay, so you've made your trip back home.  Give the bean sprouts and basil a good rinse and set them to the side.  Chances are, the fat noodles that you bought are frozen, so take it out of its plastic wrap and defrost it in your microwave (for me, this took about 10-15 minutes).  While your noddles are defrosting, whip out your chopping board and mince three cloves of garlic and three chilis, slice up your onions, and cut your chicken (or beef or pork or shrimp) into 1"-thick strips. 

Take out a wok (or a large frying pan) and pour enough oil to cover the surface (usually about a 1/4 of a cup).  I prefer to use peanut oil for its flavor, but whatever you have lying around will work.  Once it gets hot, throw in the garlic and chilis and let it infuse the oil for about 30 seconds.  Then, add the onions while constantly stir-frying your concoction.  After another minute or so, add the chicken and cook until the surface is not pink anymore.  Then it's time to throw in the noodles.  Peel them out of the package individually, making sure that you're constantly mixing up your concoction with your spatula so that nothing sticks or gets burned. 

Stir in about 3/4 cup of oyster sauce with 2 tablespoons of the Thai seasoning (give and take, according to your personal flavor preferences).  Make sure the sauce is evenly coated throughout your food.  Finally, add the bean sprouts and basil.  When they are evenly distributed in your stir fry (which should be after 20 seconds), turn off the stove and serve to your friends!  I like to have Thai iced tea with my Thai meal.  But if you want to pregame for your night out, alcohol works as well.

 So, viola!  This is how to be trendy with your friends on a budget.  You can even play that cheesy techno music they sometimes have in the background at the trendy Thai restaurants.  The only problem is, I can't help you with the decor or ambiance, if you're living in a crappy apartment.  Oh well, you can't have everything.

I hope you can try out my recipe, and I hope that you will cheer me on as I partake on Free-Food-a-Thon later on this week.  Look for my blog post about that on Friday. ;-)

P.S. Speaking of food, Gifford's ice cream place on 11th & E NW has $3 sundaes on Mondays (originally priced at $6+).  I had one with another intern today and they are quite fabulous, with whipped cream, hot fudge, nuts, and a cherry on top.  Mmm.  Just make sure you take a run afterwards.  Srsly.