Ingredients Pasta + Noodles Spaghetti Bangkok Mall Pasta 5.0 (1) 1 Review Kris Yenbamroong, the chef at L.A.'s Night + Market and Night + Market Song, calls this "mall pasta" because it reminds him of the spaghetti available in the '90s-era Italian restaurants in Bangkok's shopping plazas—places where you could find spaghetti stir-fried with ketchup on the menu. He says that the holy trinity in this dish is the salty-pungent combination of fried garlic, anchovies and chile that permeates the noodles. He cautions: "Using dry pasta is crucial because a fresh noodle won't hold up to the rigors of the hot wok." Slideshow: More Fast Pastas By Kris Yenbamroong Kris Yenbamroong Restaurant: Night + Market (Read a review) and Night + Market Song Location: West Hollywood, CA Why He's Amazing: Because he created a terrific, innovative pork-centric Thai street food spot adjacent to his parents' well-respected but aging Thai restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. Culinary School: Self-taught Background: Talésai (/sites/default/files/est Hollywood) Quintessential Dish: Pork toro: grilled fatty hog collar with jaew northeastern chile dip Night + Market's Philosophy: "I love my family's restaurant [Talésai] but people come in and do the stereotypical L.A. thing and ask for modifications [to the dishes they order]. Night + Market food is uncompromising, unmessed with." Food Style: "In Thai, it's called aharn glam lao, which roughly translates to 'food to facilitate drinking' or 'booze food.' That's at the heart of what we do. We make food for drunkards." Alternative Career: Yenbamroong studied film at New York University. DIY Ethic: "We make our sausage completely by hand, on the premises. For the first few months, we used a Chinese soup spoon to stuff them because we didn't have a stuffer." A Family Timeline 1982The year Kris Yenbamroong was born, his family opened L.A.'s first ambitious Thai restaurant, Talésai. His grandmother Vilai was the chef. "It was the '80s, and we were 10 doors down from Geffen Records," says Yenbamroong. "The waitresses wore black leather skirts, and Madonna came in with Warren Beatty. Mick Jagger came in, too. My grandma was on the cover of the Los Angeles Times Magazine with Thomas Keller." 2011Fast-forward three decades: Yenbamroong tried updating Talésai by serving unfamiliar Northern Thai dishes, but longtime customers resisted the change. So he decided to open Night + Market, where he could experiment. At his second spot, Night + Market Song, his powerful, spicy dishes include Bangkok Mall Pasta with Thai bird chile and lots of peppercorns. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 1, 2016 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Con Poulos Total Time: 45 mins Yield: 2 Ingredients 4 ounces spaghetti 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil One 2-ounce tin anchovies packed in oil, anchovies finely chopped and oil reserved 2 tablespoons minced garlic plus 2 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic 1 tablespoon minced Thai bird chile with seeds 1/2 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce 1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 2 tablespoons whole pink peppercorns Pinch of ground white pepper 1/4 cup torn basil leaves, plus small whole leaves for garnish Directions In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water. In a wok, heat the olive oil. Add the anchovies, anchovy oil, minced garlic, chile and bell pepper and stir-fry over moderately high heat until the bell pepper is softened, about 3 minutes. Add the pasta, reserved pasta water, oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar and cook, tossing, until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the sliced garlic, pink peppercorns, white pepper and torn basil leaves and toss. Serve topped with whole basil leaves. Suggested Pairing Bright-fruited Gamay. Rate it Print