Dish of the Week: Phat Thai’s Crisp Whole Tilapia
They set it down before you very carefully, so that what you see is this:
But here’s what your companion gets an eyeful of:
Right on, Phat Thai! The stripped, chunked flesh is cornmeal-dredged & deep-fried with cubes of sweet potato & strips of red pepper, & the light brush of oil it all leaves on the bottom of the bowl, with minced garlic & Thai chilies…well, let’s just say one wishes it were a few millimeters deeper. (And that one had just the right starchy starch to soak it up—like Hawaiian sweet rolls. No, not rice, not even sticky rice. King’s.) Same goes for the dressing of fish & soy sauce, lime juice & cilantro—said companion & I discussed how we could get away with drinking it all by itself, &/or what spirit it might properly be paired with.
Full review to come.
Interesting. Mark Fischer must think (probably w/ justification) that Denver diners are more adventuresome than those who visit the original Phat Thai in Carbondale. Whole tilapia is not on the menu there — and when I look at your pic of the unadorned fish, the reason is pretty clear. It might be tasty, but it’s pretty ugly, and the bones are intimidating.