Pad Thai is a special dish to me because it not only reminds me of my childhood when I first went out on a trip to Thailand with my family, but also reminds me of the memory when I first learnt the dish when travelling the country.  

It is a no brainer that Pad Thai is one of the well-known dishes that represent Thailand and its Thai food culture. It is known that the name of the dish means, Thai style stir-fried noodles. In other words, “pad” means fried, and “Thai”, means in Thai style. Pad Thai is a popular Thai dish, which includes rice noodles stir-fried with lots of vegetables, tofu, egg, shrimp, fish sauce, and lime. Depending on the preference of the consumer, peanuts are frequently added to give some crunchiness to the dish.   

Tracing back to the history of when Pad Thai was created, this will go back to when the second world war was happening. During this period, it is known that Thailand suffered a serious shortage of rice due to not only “military action, and the war itself, but also the occurrence of floods” (Thai PBS). For this reason, the Prime Minister of Thailand who was called, Phibun, was thought to have suggested the people to have rice noodle, which was originally borrowed from the Chinese. He seems to have made this suggestion not only because many food materials were too expensive for purchase at the time, but also because noodles were very easy to get. They were not only economically cheap, but were also able to feed many people for its plentifulness, and easy to save up money due to their long self life. Although Pad Thai is known as a traditional food in Thailand, it seems to be that its origin was from China. For this, before Pad Thai got its name, it was originally called ‘Gway Teow Pad Thai’. In other words, ’Gway Teow’ is the Chinese word for rice noodles, and ‘Pad Thai’ means ‘in Thai style’.

It is known that Pad Thai gradually gained its popularity after World War Two as it was an inexpensive, nutritious, and easy dish to create since it only required stir-frying lots of vegetables, tofu, egg, rice noodles, and fish sauce with lime and peanuts on the side for preference.

Thai food culture, including Pad Thai, seems to have become popular and known when “Thailand [became] really important for US foreign policy objectives. Mark Padoongpatt, who is an assistant professor in Asian and Asian American studies, states that “Thai food started [to become] popular in the late ’60s, with Americans thinking [Thailand is] and exotic country, [and] they are [America’s] allies” (Bangkok Post, Chia). However, today in America, they are enjoyed by many Americans and have a special style where “tomato ketchup, yielding reddish noodles coated with a thick gooey sauce” are “used to add flavour and colour” (Thai food& Travel blog, Kasma Loha-unchit).

Although Pad Thai may have been a dish made during when Thailand was under a difficult situation with rice shortage, the history where Thai people were suggested to eat rice noodles to keep themselves economically safe and to save the rice resource in Thailand during the second world war changed my view of the dish. More specifically, as food has the power to remind people of past history, being able to enjoy the taste of Pad Thai today seems special as people can not only enjoy Thai food culture, but also enjoy the beauty of this part of history. 

Works Cited: Chia, Jasmine. “ Americans Just 'Larb' Thai Food .” Bangkok Post , 15 Oct. 2017, https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1342727/americans-just-larb-thai-food. Deluxe, Rice Bowl. “A Brief History on Pad Thai.” Rice Bowl Deluxe , n.d., https://ricebowldeluxe.com/ten-delicious-asian-soup-recipes-and-more/. Loha-unchit, Kasma. “Pad Thai Origin & Variations.” Pad Thai Origin & Variations, 26 Nov. 2009, http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/blog/posts/pad-thai.html. “The History of Pad Thai: How the Amazing Dish Came to Be.” Thai Ginger, 12 Oct. 2020, https://thaiginger.com/the-history-of-pad-thai-how-the-amazing-dish-came-to-be/. “The History of Pad Thai.” Asian Inspirations, n.d., https://asianinspirations.com.au/food-knowledge/the-history-of-pad-thai/. “The Origins of Pad Thai.” Thai PBS World , 26 Mar. 2019, https://www.thaipbsworld.com/the-origins-of-pad-thai/. Image Citations: Chongchitnant, Pailin. “Pad Thai Sauce Recipe - Make Pad Thai in 5 Mins!” Hot Thai Kitchen, 30 Oct. 2021, https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/5-min-pad-thai/. “Zaap Thai Street Food.” Zaap Thai Street Food, Nottingham , https://www.godine.co.uk/zaap-thai-nottingham.