Pad thai

Pad Thai,phat Thai, orphad Thai(/ˌpɑːdˈtaɪ/or/ˌpædˈtaɪ/;Thai:ผัดไทย,RTGS:phat thai,ISO:p̄hạd thịy,pronounced[pʰàt̚tʰāj], 'Thai stir fry'), is astir-friedrice noodledish commonly served as astreet foodinThailandas part ofthe country's cuisine.As Thailand'snational dish, it is typically made with rice noodles, shrimp, peanuts, scrambled egg, sugar and bean sprouts. The ingredients are fried in awok.
Pad Thai was originally called "Kuai Tiao Pad Thai" but this was later shortened to simply Pad Thai.Kuai tiao(ก๋วยเตี๋ยว) is a Thai borrowing of theTeochewwordguêdiao(粿條), a type of thick Chinese rice noodle also known asshahe fen. The wordkuai tiaohas cognates in several other Southeast Asian countries where Chinese immigrants settled; withkuyteavinCambodia,hủ tiếuin Vietnam, andkway teowin Malaysia and Singapore being analogues.
Although stir-friedrice noodleswere introduced to Thailand fromChinacenturies ago, the dishpad Thaiwas invented in the mid-20th century.Author Mark Padoongpattmaintains that pad Thai is "...not this traditional, authentic, going back hundreds of years dish. It was actually created in the 1930s in Thailand. The dish was created because Thailand was focused on nation-building.So this dish was created using rice noodles and it was called Pad Thai as a way to galvanizenationalism."
Another explanation of pad Thai's provenance holds that, duringWorld War II, Thailand suffered a rice shortage due to the war and floods. To reduce domestic rice consumption, the Thai government under Prime MinisterPlaek Phibunsongkhrampromoted consumption of noodles instead.His government promoted rice noodles and helped toestablish the identity of Thailand.As a result, a new noodle calledsen chan pad Thai(named afterChanthaburi Province) was created. Pad Thai has since become one ofThailand'snational dishes.
Thai-American food writerKasma Loha-unchitdisputes the claim of a native Thai origin and suggests that pad Thai was actually invented by theChinese immigrantsthemselves, because "for a dish to be so named in its own country clearly suggests an origin that isn't Thai".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 Thailandwere 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."
At least as early as 2001, the Thai government used pad Thai as a form of "soft power,"creating "the Global Thai Restaurant Company, Ltd., in an effort to establish at least 3,000 Thai restaurants worldwide."The plan included numerous government agencies and resulted in nearly tripling the number of Thai restaurants globally in seventeen years.
Pad Thai is listed at number five on a list of "World's 50 most delicious foods" readers' poll compiled byCNN Goin 2011.
Pad Thai is made withrice noodles, which arestir friedwitheggsand chopped firmtofu, flavored withtamarind juice,fish sauce,dried shrimp,garlic,shallots, and sometimes redchili pepperandpalm sugar, and served withlimewedges and often crushed roastedpeanuts.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.
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.Vegetarian versionsmay substitutesoy saucefor the fish sauce and omit the shrimp entirely.