In Los Angeles Cult Recipes, Victor Garnier Astorino, founder of the Blend chain of burger bars in Paris, has compiled 100 recipes from restaurants, farmers’ markets and other places that seek to capture the unconventional spirit of LA.

Like this stir-fry, from the family-run Thai Dishes restaurant in Santa Monica, many of the recipes reflect the city’s multi-cultural make-up.

“What an honour it was that Henry opened the doors of his kitchen to me and I could finally find out how to achieve this complex flavour,” Astorino says.

Recipe and image from Los Angeles Cult Recipes, by Victor Garnier Astorino, published by Murdoch Books.

“At the bottom of my apartment in Santa Monica, I crossed the threshold of this Thai restaurant, family- run since 1986, countless times. This is the dish I miss most when I am in France, it is the taste of Los Angeles for me.”

Los Angeles Cult Recipes is also illustrated with Astorino’s own cityscape photos, all taken on an analogue camera.

Chicken Pad See Ew

Serves 1

Ingredients

100g wide flat rice noodles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 garlic clove
125g skinless chicken breast fillets, cut into pieces
1 egg
½ teaspoon rice vinegar
½ teaspoon soy sauce
1½ tablespoons sugar
1 handful Chinese broccoli (gai larn)
½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
½ teaspoon oyster sauce
½ teaspoon fish sauce
1 pinch white pepper

Method

Cook the noodles as directed on the packet.

Pour the oil into a very hot frying pan. Add the chopped garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.

Add the chicken and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, until browned.

Add the cooked rice noodles and mix well. Add the egg and stir vigorously for about 2 minutes to coat all of the mixture.

Add the rice vinegar, regular soy sauce and sugar, continuing to stir vigorously for about 2 minutes.

Add the Chinese broccoli, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce and fish sauce and stir-fry for 1 minute. Finish with white pepper, and mix.