Pad Thai is the one Thai dish that everyone knows. A simple stir-fried noodle dish that can be found on every street corner that is loved by Thais and tourists alike. Even this food philistine likes it, with a few minor amendments, but that's the beauty of Thai food. It's infinitely customisable!
Pad Thai gained prominence when rice was in short supply after the second world war when noodle production and its use was ramped up to meet the needs of a hungry nation.
Into the noodles is stirred tofu, shrimps, tamarind paste, garlic, fish sauce, palm sugar, peanuts and of course, chillis. A handful of bean sprouts are thrown in to finish it off. Sometimes different meats are stirred in and it's traditionally served on a banana leaf and garnished with a bit of banana tree. Not sure which bit as I don't eat that part. Then of course there is a side table where you can make your own adjustments with extra chilli, sugar, salt and peanuts. Squeeze on the fresh lime to taste!
The customising station!
Although its become a bit of a cliche amongst tourists, especially the backpacking fraternity, it is still genuinely sold to and eaten by locals and around me I have a choice of about six Pad Thai shops in a very small area to choose from. This is where we ate last night and currently my favourite.
Personally I dump the shrimps and tofu and throw in extra bean shoots, chilli and peanuts to suit my unrefined palate! I could actually eat this every day and a snip at 35 baht ( £0.80, $1.00). Delicious. Or arroy mak as I would say if I could speak Thai!
Boring PS: Like HP sauce? One of the main ingredients is Tamarind paste.