This is why I don't read recipes.

The other night I wanted to make pad pak ruam mit, which is a very simple Thai mixed vegetable stir fry. I kind of knew how to make it, you know, because I knew the flavors and could use common sense, but whenever I order it in a restaurant, the vegetables are always sitting in a really yummy broth, and everyone fights over the broth because it's so yummy and they want to smother their rice in it.

What was the broth? I needed to know, so I googled the recipe, and I found that it was indeed as simple as it sounded, but that after adding the chopped vegetables you should also add some stock and let the vegetables half steam half sautée. Stock! It was stock. Easy peasy. (The other ingredients are garlic fried until golden brown, then the stock and vegetables, then fish sauce and oyster sauce. I also added soy sauce.)

Anyway, I was reading along in this recipe and everything made sense until I got to step 6.

"Add sesame oil to make a colorful shadows."

I pride myself on being able to decipher all types of English, but I couldn't even begin to understand what that is supposed to mean. Everything else in the recipe was succinct and nicely phrased (except for a reference to streamed rice, but really, who hasn't made that mistake before?) but "a colorful shadows?" From sesame oil?

I have no idea.