(Picture comparing Pad Ka Prow at Red Basil)
This is a topic every American asks about. This is also a topic that most Thai restaurants lie to the public about. Most Thai restaurants will advertise “authentic Thai food here.” In reality, the food is nothing like that as found in Thailand. For some of these restaurants the food tastes like the cooks have never cooked a real Thai dish in their lives (we will refrain from pointing out specific places), and we are left wondering if they even remember what Thai food even tastes like. Fortunately, most of such places we have found are outside the state of Utah, but there are such places even here in Utah. The reason Red Basil’s food has been consistent in portion and taste for many years now is that we painstakingly portion and measure every big and little thing, from recipes to meats, noodles, and well, everything.
Bell Peppers. The first item to point out is bell peppers. To find bell peppers in Thailand is very rare, and is usually only in places that have many tourists like resorts. Sorry, but authentic Thai food does not really have bell peppers. Then why does Red Basil use bell peppers? The green Thai eggplant is hard to find in the US, so we substitute this with green bell peppers. The conversation does not stop there, though. Why does one of the versions of Pad Kra Pao (This dish can be spelled different in English) have bell peppers? Answer: it is an American version of Pad Kra Pao. However, we do offer traditional Thai Pad Kra Poa, very delicious. You can see the difference of these two options we offer in the provided picture.
Tomatoes in Num Tok. Whenever you visit a Thai restaurant that serves waterfall beef or pork (Num Tok), and the menu says the dish contains tomatoes, then you can be assured that the dish is a big disappointment in tradition, taste, and overall quality, so you can be advised to not waste your time even ordering it there. In addition, and unfortunately, if this is found on the menu, most likely most of the food in that restaurant is a disappointment (We are sure there will be many Thai restaurant menus changing real quick, following this online disclosure, which is a very good thing, because we enjoy trying them all). Num Tok is one of the most delicious foods on the planet, but it has to be made perfect in one way or another, otherwise we reach resentment to even offering it on the menu.
Eggrolls. True, Red Basil does not make their own eggrolls. We used to, but the quality was comparable with outsourcing a professional kitchen. We do have plans to eventually offer a more Thai traditional eggroll when we have the proper staffing to do so.
Carrots in Som Tum. Carrots are interesting, because Som Tum in Thailand by tradition did not have carrots, but Som Tum in the US did. However, the carrots did add an extra delightful flavor (and color). Many Som Tum kitchens in Thailand discovered the carrot movement in the US and have been slowly adopting the practice of using carrots in their Som Tum.
Curries. The majority of curries in Thailand are not infused with coconut milk. You could say that Thailand curries are runny, extremely spicy, and colorful soups. However, while the curries in Thailand are generally delicious, as you consume curries in the US, you may actually agree that this is a winner: curry with coconut milk is indeed a nice delicacy.
Pad Thai. Besides curries, Pad Thai is the other American phenomena that works wonderfully here. If you eat Pad Thai in Thailand, you may think it is very sticky, dry, and bland. Pad Thai everywhere in Thailand (at least as far as we have eaten it) is like this. American-Thai wins the Pad Thai battles. However, to ensure we maintain the top choice for Pad Thai in Utah, we regularly try Pad Thai not only in Utah, but throughout the US and all over the world. We have found a comparable dish of Pad Thai to Red Basil’s Pad Thai, which is found in Key West, Florida. Nonetheless, we must lean on the Red Basil bias, which also has the nicer environment to enjoy your Pad Thai in. The worst Pad Thai dish we have ever had was on the east-coast of Kaua’i, and then the second was a restaurant in Utah (Again, we are refraining from pointing to where). Consider watching our video where we travel to Thailand to compare Thailand's best Pad Thai with Red Basil's Pad Thai.