Pad Thai Ghung

Description

Gebratene Nudeln mit Blacktiger-Crevetten, Ei und Erdnüssen

Stir-fried rice noodles with black tiger prawns, eggs and peanuts

Pad thai, or phad thai (/ˌpɑːd ˈtaɪ/ or /ˌpædˈtaɪ/; Thai: ผัดไทย, RTGS: phat thai, ISO: p̄hạdịthy, pronounced [pʰàt tʰāj] , ‘Thai stir fry’), is a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served as a street food and at most restaurants in Thailand as part of the country’s cuisine. It is typically made with rice noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or tofu, peanuts, a scrambled egg, and bean sprouts, among other vegetables. The ingredients are sautéed together in a wok, which creates even heat distribution. Once the dish is completed it is tossed in pad thai sauce, which gives the dish its signature tangy salty flavor with a hint of sweetness.

Though stir fried rice noodles were introduced to Thailand from China centuries ago, the dish pad thai was probably invented in the mid-20th century.

Author Mark Padoongpatt maintains that pad thai is “…not this traditional, authentic, going back hundreds of years dish. It was actually created in the 1930s in Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, who was the prime minister at the time. The dish was created because Thailand was focused on nation building. So he created this dish using Chinese noodles and called it pad Thai as a way to galvanize nationalism.”

Another explanation of pad thai’s provenance holds that, during World War II, Thailand suffered a rice shortage due to the war and floods. To reduce domestic rice consumption, the Thai government under Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram promoted consumption of noodles instead. His government promoted rice noodles and helped to establish the identity of Thailand. As a result, a new noodle called sen chan (named after Chanthaburi Province) was created. Pad thai has since become one of Thailand’s national dishes. Today, some food vendors add pork or chicken (although the original recipe did not contain pork because of the government’s perception that pork was a Chinese meat). Some food vendors still use the original recipe.