Pad Thai, also called phat thai, is a tasty and popular stir-fried rice noodle dish made with ingredients like soaked dried rice noodles, eggs, tofu, shrimp, garlic, tamarind pulp, fish sauce, shallots and palm sugar, and sometimes vegetables like bean sprouts, pickled radishes or turnips, and meat like chicken or crab.
While it has the word “Thai” in its name, this iconic dish didn’t actually originate in Thailand. It is thought that these noodles came from either Vietnam or China and were introduced into Thailand in the 1940s or 1950s during the time that Plaek Phibunsongkram was the prime minister of the country, in an effort to Westernize and modernize his country of Thailand.
The full name of the Pad Thai is actually kway teow pad Thai, which shows the Chinese origin since “kway teow” means rice noodles in Chinese. So, the full name plainly means ‘Thai-style stir-fried noodles.’ Usually, if a food has a name like that with its country’s name, it means it didn’t come from that place originally. This also shows Pad Thai is not native to Thailand. Even so, it has since been linked to Thailand and will forever be one of the foods that both foreigners and natives love to eat.
Very Nutritious, Inexpensive Dish
Even though the preparation of this dish is similar to that of what came from China, the flavors and spices in Pad Thai are pure Thailand and it started being very popular in the timeframe during World War II. Since then, it has become one of the country’s national dishes. It is fast, nutritious, and beloved by nationals and foreigners alike who come to Thailand.
In fact, part of the reason for its popularity is that it is inexpensive, filling and considered as a perfect nutritious meal. It is sold all over Thailand and made with many different ingredients of vegetables, meats, other proteins, spices and more and sold in everything from street markets to fancy restaurants in one form or another. It can be made vegetarian too by leaving out the proteins or meats, so the choices are almost endless.
It is thought to have both helped to modernize the country, as well as provide an inexpensive and nutritious dish during a trying timeframe in the world and could be considered Thailand’s first example of fast food for the public. Pad Thai combines the four cornerstones of Thai food: hot, sweet, sour, and salty. It is so versatile that just about everyone can find a form of Pad Thai to love, which is another reason it is so popular.
All in all, Pad Thai may be an “adopted” food into the Thai culture, but since then they have made it their own and it is forever associated with Thailand and its people. So, if you want some Pad Thai, come to Thailand to experience the true flavors of this iconic and tasty dish consisting of rice noodles fried with all kinds of veggies, meats, proteins and spices.
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