At 11:25 a.m., just before Krua Khun Rose opens for the day, owner Rossukhon “Rose” Kelly runs an oversized spoon around an oversized wok and stands motionless as the clanging of metal on metal fades away.
“I say a prayer, every day, ‘Please make my food the best food that is cooked today,'” she says, smiling as she turns to check the food orders tucked up on a food prep table.
Then the chef pushes down one of two handles and her 125,000 BTU stove roars to life like a car going from 0 to 60 in six seconds. “It’s very powerful,” Kelly says of the stove. “If I’m not careful, I won’t have eyebrows.”
Kelly cooks every order herself, with a staff of four helping with kitchen prep, cleanup and counter service. Her best time on meal prep, she says, is five minutes for pad Thai, a popular rice noodle dish, with a sweet and tangy sauce.
Containers of freshly cut vegetables and cubes of tofu…
