I could eat pad Thai for breakfast lunch and dinner. It's not because I was born in Thailand. My Thai mother passed away when I was eight. I also don't remember any names for anything my mother made. She was a Thai cook and just made what I remember as delicious food.

When I became an adult I was taken to a Thai restaurant in Toronto where I rediscovered the flavors that I hadn't experienced in a long time.

I looked up the recipes and attempted some basic Thai dishes. Thai restaurants were far and few between in my town in those days, so you had to go to Toronto.

Now Thai food has become very popular. People used to ask"What do you want to eat tonight? Italian or Chinese?" They now include Thai, Indian, Greek, Lebanese and more.

I didn't have the proper ingredients when I made this. The stores here in Acapulco may have one thing in one, and one thing in another. I just went to one place and didn't get certain things like sesame oil and rice wine vinegar because it costs more than I'm willing to pay. In Canada these items are more popular, therefore less expensive.

For the sauce I used soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, ginger, chili, raisins to add sweetness which would have come from the rice wine vinegar and added sugar, but this works perfectly. Usually tamarind paste is added but I used tomato paste, and that in combination with the raisins was a perfect substitute. I also added a spoon full of peanut butter and coconut milk.

I sauteed onion and oyster mushrooms in coconut oil, than I added the sauce, that was pureed in a blender. When that was hot I added pre soaked rice vermicelli (I can't find the thicker noodles that are typically used). Then I added towards the end, jicama, chayote and carrots which I spiralized. Typically Pad Thai has shredded cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts. Because I'm in Mexico I am using items that are easy to get, and they certainly worked perfectly.

I sprinkled the dish with sesame seeds. Typically crushed peanuts and chopped green onions are used to garnish but I didn't get any. It was delicious anyway.

Thanks for joining me

@carolynstahl