This variation on the flavors of pad Thai consists of roasted peanuts, garlic, jalapeno, and anchovies toasted in butter. Once the vegetables and anchovies softened and became aromatic, we removed the pan from the heat and pureed everything into a coarse paste. To lighten the paste, we added tapioca maltodextrin in equal parts by volume (a practice that works well with tapioca maltodextrin because it is so light and difficult to weigh). The puree became light and fluffy. We topped several spoonfuls of it with a variety of basils and their blooms, and chocolate mint leaves. Certainly, this is not an exact replica of pad Thai; rather, it is our extrapolation for a light-as-air interpretation of the flavors that make pad Thai special to us.
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