March 12

Visiting Thailand was like a dream come true for me. Before you conclude that I loved it because of the night life and party opportunities, let me tell you that's not what fascinated me. I am a far cry from any party animal you might ever know. What fascinated me was their simple yet delicious cuisine steeped in organic flavors, the deep rooted culture which they were absolutely proud of and the beautiful pristine beaches - it was so calm and deep I felt like zen. Krabi stole my heart. I was totally convinced that if someone gave me an opportunity to relocate to Krabi, I would say yes right away!

I cant stop gushing about the Thai cuisine. While it is true that I was introduced to Thai cuisine formally only after I came to Pune around a decade ago. But when I went to Thailand there were so many new preparations I got introduced to. We didn't fine dine there, because the street food looked so appetizing and offered such a vast range of possibilities that it felt justified to blow half of our trip budget on the food alone! And I am not kidding there. We probably were one of those rare tourists who spent less on merchandise from Thailand than on food. Whatever we saw we wanted to try out, that's the benefit of being a non-vegetarian and seafood lover I guess ( of course barring the few weird street foods that we came across. I wont mention them here as I might risk loosing your interest on todays blog!) . I remember the best food we had in Bangkok was under some random flyover. There was a night pop up restaurant area and everything was made fresh before us. We had enjoyed a warm bowl of tom yum and Thai fried rice. The taste and memory of that evening still lingers on. By the end of our trip I felt as if I needed to extend my stay just to be able to taste all the other delicacies that I missed out.

During my trip to Thailand, we had been on a guided city tour where our guide took us to this lovely Thai joint and over our food told us about the wonderful history of Pad Thai. Pad thai, or Phad Thai is a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served as a street food and at most restaurants in Thailand. 

Pad Thai is a dish synonymous with Thailand but still it seems like a dish which has heavy Chinese influence. Pad Thai is locally known as "Gway Teow Pad Thai". Gway Teow is a Chinese word for ‘rice noodles’, which hints at a Chinese lineage. Noodles, stir-fry, and, especially, noodle stir-fries are quintessentially Chinese. In fact, just about every ingredient found in pad Thai isn’t native to the people after whom the dish is named.

If we look at the history of this dish we come to know that during World War II (1930s), due to less production in the rice fields, Thailand suffered a shortage of rice which was compounded by the floods. Thus for preserving the stocks of this precious grain, the Thai government started to promote noodles instead. A campaign was launched to  unite the nation through their culture. The campaign included changing the country’s name, commissioning a new national anthem, and creating a national dish – Pad Thai. They created the dish ‘Pad Thai’ as the national dish, in a bid to protect the rice resources of the country and promote a sense of national unity. Pad Thai was promoted heavily across the country with a campaign slogan "noodle is your lunch". The Public Welfare Department even gave out recipes of the dish to restaurants and even gave free carts to people willing to sell Pad Thai in the streets. Now how fascinating is that! If ever India decided to have such a campaign to have a national dish, I would be a forerunner in the tasting line. No matter which food wins, the food connoisseurs are the real winners.

But pad Thai wasn’t just about unity; it was also about nutrition. The late 1930s were a particularly difficult time economically for the country, and rice noodles, which were both cheap and filling, provided a much-needed antidote. Coupled with regional vegetables, bean sprouts, and inexpensive protein, it was the perfect, nutritious meal.

Traditionally Pad Thai is made from rice noodles, stir-fried with eggs, tofu, tamarind paste, fish sauce, dried shrimps, garlic, palm sugar and red chilli pepper and frequently served with lime wedges, bamboo shoots, spring onions, raw banana flowers, and topped with a sprinkling of peanuts. But then you can always tweak it as per the available ingredients in your area.