Noodle is your Lunch · History of Pad Thai

Pad Thai is synonymous with Thai cuisine (along with Tom Yum soup, Som Tam green papaya salad). So, it may surprise some people that Pad Thai is not an old dish in Thailand and its current status as the Thai culinary icon is a recent phenomenon. And, even Thais couldn't agree how that came about 🤔

Pad Thai is a form of rice noodles. Chinese traders and migrants brought rice noodles to Thailand during the time of the Ayutthaya kingdom which ruled Siam from 1350 to 1767. (Thailand was known then as Siam.)

Today, Chinese make up 15% of Thailand's population, half of whom are Teochew Chinese (from south China's Guangdong province).

Teochew Chinese fried kway teow

Rice noodle is called "粿条 kway teow" in the Teochew Chinese language. In old Siam, kway teow was used in various soupy, saucy, and stir fried rice noodle dishes. Modern day Pad Thai did not exist yet.

In 1932, an army officer Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram (Phibun for short) launched a military coup to abolish the absolute monarchy of old Siam. Trained in France, Phibun was determined to transform Siam into a modern country modelled after the West.

As the prime minister, Phibun launched the "Thai Cultural Revolution" and declared twelve Cultural Mandates (decrees) aimed at uniting and modernising the country. One decree changed the country's name from Siam to Thailand. Another decree changed the national anthem. There were also decrees on what constituted good manners and what to wear in public (Western style hats were made compulsory). Betel nut chewing was banned.

The part about Pad Thai was a bit hazy. It was said (and this is widely repeated) that one of Phibun's decrees declared Pad Thai, the Thai national dish. But, there was actually no such decree.

Nevertheless, Phibun did encourage Thais to eat more rice noodles. Phibun's government launched a "Noodle is your Lunch" campaign. But, it was more for economic than nationalistic or cultural reasons. During the Second World War, Thailand was facing an economic crisis and running low on foreign exchange.

Rice was Thailand's main export and foreign exchange earner. Floods and shortages were limiting Thailand's rice exports. In order to increase the availability of good quality rice for export, Phibun's governments encouraged Thais to eat more rice noodles in place of rice.

Rice noodles can be made with lower grade and broken rice, thus saving better quality rice for export. Rice noodles can be dried and stored for longer periods, thus helping tide over periods of droughts, floods and rice shortages. That is why dry rice noodles known as sen Chan is used for Pad Thai instead of fresh rice noodles (which Chinese use for kway teow dishes).

As part of the campaign to encourage Thais to eat more rice noodles, Phibun's government printed and distributed a simple stir fried rice noodle recipe. The government even handed out pushcart stalls to encourage street hawkers to sell stir fried rice noodles.

The rehydrated dry rice noodles (sen Chan) is stir fried in oil with garlic, onion, preserved radish, bean sprouts, dried tofu, small dried shrimp, duck egg, fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind juice. Optional pounded dried chillies are added as desired. The dish tastes savoury, sweet-sour, spicy.

The stir fried noodles are served dressed with crushed peanuts, coriander, banana blossom, and pickled vegetables at the side.

Everything required to make the dish is easily available in Thailand - nothing needed to be imported. To set the dish apart from Teochew Chinese stir fried kway teow, no pork and no lard is used in the government prescribed recipe.

According to Phibun's son, the recipe was based on the rice noodle dish which their housekeeper cooked for the family. Phibun, who was of Chinese descent, liked that rendition of stir fried rice noodle.

The dish was known then as Kway Teow Pad Thai or literally "rice noodle stir fried Thai style". Somewhere along the line, this was abbreviated to just "Pad Thai" which remains to this day.

The recipe was well received by the Thai public.

Today, Pad Thai is sold from pushcart stalls all over Thailand as well as in restaurants around the world. Many Thais judge a restaurant by how well they cook their Pad Thai.

Today, there are also many variations and many Pad Thai recipes - a long way from the austere Phibun-era version. Modern day renditions use more meat like chicken, beef, prawn, squid, and even pork.

Pad Thai has become part of Thai identity, whether or not Phibun decreed it as Thailand's national dish.

Pad Thai travelled with Thais wherever they go around world. Needless to say, it is available in Thai food stalls and restaurants in Singapore.

Tips from Andy Yang, Michelin-Star chef and founder of Rhong Tiam restaurants on how to cook a good Pad Thai 👈 click

Where do you go for your Pad Thai fix?

I haven't found a favourite Pad Thai in Singapore yet and am still looking.

       

                     

             

             

               

               

             

           

           

           

                         

           

             

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            A post shared by Tony Boey Johor Kaki (@johorkaki)          

       

     

           

Written by Tony Boey on 11 Aug 2021

Reference:

Finding Pad Thai

Image of dry rice noodle courtesy of pxfuel. Image of pad Thai courtesy of flickr. Image of Ayutthaya courtesy of Wikipedia. Image of Phibun courtesy of Wikipedia. Image of pad Thai courtesy of pxfuel. Image of pad Thai courtesy of pxfuel. Image of pad Thai courtesy of pxfuel.