 Street stall pad thai fromChiang Mai in northern Thailand | |
| Alternative names | Phad thai, Phat thai |
|---|---|
| Type | Rice noodle dish |
| Course | Main |
| Place of origin | Thailand |
| Associatedcuisine | Thai |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | |
Pad thai (/ˌpɑːdˈtaɪ/ or/ˌpædˈtaɪ/;Thai:ผัดไทย,RTGS: phat thai,ISO:p̄hạd thịy,pronounced[pʰàt̚tʰāj]ⓘ) is astir-friedrice noodle dish commonly served as astreet food inThailand as part ofThai cuisine.[1][2] It is typically made with rice noodles, shrimp, peanuts, scrambled egg, sugar and bean sprouts. The ingredients are fried in awok.[3]
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Pad Thai was originally called "kuai tiao pad Thai" but this was later shortened to simply Pad Thai.[5][6]Kuai tiao (ก๋วยเตี๋ยว) is a Thai borrowing of theTeochew wordguê2 diao5 (粿條), a type of thick Chineserice noodle also known asshahe fen. The wordkuai tiao has cognates in several other Southeast Asian countries where Chinese immigrants settled; withkuyteav inCambodia,hủ tiếu in Vietnam, andkway teow in Malaysia and Singapore being analogues.[7]
Although stir-fried rice noodles were introduced to Thailand fromChina centuries ago, the dishpad Thai was invented in the mid-20th century.[8] The commonly held explanation of Pad Thai's provenance is that duringWorld War II, Thailand suffered a rice shortage due to the war and floods. To reduce domestic rice consumption, theThai government under Prime MinisterPlaek Phibunsongkhram promoted consumption of noodles instead.[9] His government promoted rice noodles and helped to establish themodern identity of Thailand.[2] As a result, a new noodle calledsen chan pad Thai (named afterChanthaburi Province) was created. Pad Thai has since become one ofThailand'snational dishes.[10][11]
American author Mark Padoongpatt[12] stated that pad Thai "was actually created in the 1930s in Thailand. The dish was created because Thailand was focused on nation-building.[2] So this dish was created using rice noodles and it was called Pad Thai as a way to galvanizenationalism."[13]
Another explanation by Thai-American food writerKasma Loha-unchit suggests that pad Thai was invented by theThai Chinese immigrants, because "for a dish to be so named in its own country clearly suggests an origin that isn't Thai".[14] Noodle cookery in most Southeast Asian countries was introduced by the wave of immigrants from southern China settling in the region the past century. Loha-unchit states that theethnic Chinese of Thailand were aware that "Central Thai people were very fond of the combination of hot, sour, sweet and salty flavors, they added these to their stir-fried noodle dishes and gave it a fusion name, much like Western chefs today are naming their dishes Thai this or Thai that on their East-West menus."[15]
At least as early as 2001, the Thai government used pad Thai as a form of "soft power",[16] creating "the Global Thai Restaurant Company, Ltd., in an effort to establish at least 3,000 Thai restaurants worldwide."[17] The plan included numerous government agencies and resulted in nearly tripling the number of Thai restaurants globally in seventeen years.[17]
Pad Thai is listed at number five on a list of "World's 50 most delicious foods" readers' poll compiled byCNN Go in 2011.[18]
Pad Thai is made withrice noodles, which arestir fried witheggs and chopped firmtofu, flavored withtamarind juice,fish sauce,dried shrimp,garlic,shallots, and sometimes redchili pepper andpalm sugar, and served withlime wedges and often crushed roastedpeanuts.[19][20] It may contain other vegetables likebean sprouts,garlic chives, preservedradish, and rawbanana flowers. It may also contain freshshrimp,crab,squid, or other fish or meat.[19][20]
Many of the ingredients are provided on the side ascondiments, such as red chili pepper, lime wedges, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, garlic chives, and other miscellaneous fresh vegetables.[21]Vegetarian versions may substitutesoy sauce for the fish sauce and omit the shrimp entirely.
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