{"id":288,"date":"2020-12-23T17:14:07","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T17:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cookingenie.com\/content\/?p=288"},"modified":"2020-12-23T17:14:07","modified_gmt":"2020-12-23T17:14:07","slug":"pad-thai-the-noodle-dish-that-helped-build-a-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.cookingenie.com\/content\/blog\/pad-thai-the-noodle-dish-that-helped-build-a-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Pad Thai: The Noodle Dish that Helped Build a Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many people, pad\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>hai\u2014<\/span>the<\/span>\u00a0delectable<\/span>\u00a0sweet, sour, and spicy<\/span>\u00a0stir fry of rice noodles, tofu, eggs, veggies, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, and an umami-rich sauce<\/span>\u00a0that can be found on\u00a0<\/span>the menu of virtually every<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Thai restaurant in the US<\/span>\u2014is their first taste of Thai cooking<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0it\u2019s interesting to\u00a0<\/span>learn<\/span>\u00a0that th<\/span>e dish that most\u00a0<\/span>Americans\u00a0<\/span>think of<\/span>\u00a0as the quintessential\u00a0<\/span>Thai food<\/span><\/a>\u00a0didn\u2019t even exist<\/span>\u00a0until the\u00a0<\/span>mid-20<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a0century<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In her book\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Materializing Thailand<\/span><\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>nutritional\u00a0<\/span><\/span>anthropologist Penny Van\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Esterik<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>says<\/span><\/span>\u00a0that the dish was\u00a0<\/span><\/span>born out\u00a0<\/span><\/span>of p<\/span><\/span>rime minister\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Plaek<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Phibunsongkhram<\/span><\/span>\u2019s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>campaign\u00a0<\/span><\/span>throughout the 1930s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and 40s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to<\/span><\/span>\u00a0build\u00a0<\/span><\/span>a national identity for Thailand.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Hoping to create a sense of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>pride in\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201cThai-ness\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0by uniting his country through culture,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>changed the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>nation\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><\/span>name from Siam to\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Thailand<\/span><\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span> commissioned<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0a new national anthem,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>banned local languages and dialects from schools, and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>set out to create<\/span><\/span>\u00a0a national dish<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Also Read<\/strong> – Tracing Tacos \u2013 A Journey Through Time<\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Curiously, the\u00a0<\/span>main\u00a0<\/span>ingredient in the dish that\u00a0<\/span>Phibunsongkhram<\/span>\u2014<\/span>who was known as\u00a0<\/span>Phibun<\/span>\u2014<\/span>promoted\u00a0<\/span>isn<\/span>\u2019t even native to Thailand. Stir-fried rice noodles<\/span>\u00a0originated in China and were introduced to the kingdom of Siam by Chinese traders in the 1700s.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>But\u00a0<\/span>promoting a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>stir-fried\u00a0<\/span>noodle<\/span>\u00a0dish<\/span>\u00a0helped solve\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0serious<\/span>\u00a0problem that\u00a0<\/span>Phibun\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0nation was facing:\u00a0<\/span>flooding and war had caused\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>severe\u00a0<\/span>rice shortage<\/span>, and e<\/span>ncouraging people to eat noodles helped preserve the country\u2019s precious rice supply.<\/span>2<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Phibu<\/span>n\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0administration took the basic recipe for stir fried rice noodles and loaded it up with nutritious\u00a0<\/span>bean sprouts, onions, peanuts, eggs<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0meats<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and a tamarind-based sauce,<\/span>\u00a0then encouraged vendors to sell the dish from\u00a0<\/span>street\u00a0<\/span>carts\u00a0<\/span>all over the country<\/span>. It was,\u00a0<\/span>Phibun\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0son later pointed out, the first fast food in Thailand.<\/span>3<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Phibun\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0efforts to make pad Thai<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>part of his country\u2019s heritage succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Today,\u00a0<\/span>it<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>is\u00a0<\/span>a staple of the Thai diet<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Beyond Thailand, it has\u00a0<\/span>become a beloved dish worldwide: In 2011,\u00a0<\/span>pad\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>hai ranked number\u00a0<\/span>5 in<\/span>\u00a0CNN Go<\/span>\u2019s reader poll<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>of\u00a0<\/span>the \u201cW<\/span>orld’s 50\u00a0<\/span>M<\/span>ost\u00a0<\/span>D<\/span>elicious\u00a0<\/span>F<\/span>oods<\/span>.\u201d<\/span>4<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Wondering how this simple noodle dish became\u00a0<\/span>an international culinary superstar<\/span>?\u00a0<\/span>Mark\u00a0<\/span>Padoongpatt<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>a professor of Asian and Asian American studies at\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>University of Nevada Las Vegas<\/span>\u00a0and the author of a history of Thai food, says this, too, was driven by the Thai government<\/span>\u00a0as an act of culinary diplomacy<\/span>: in an effort to stimulate<\/span>\u00a0exports and encourage<\/span>\u00a0tourism,\u00a0<\/span>it\u00a0<\/span>established\u00a0<\/span>the Global Thai Restaurant Company, Ltd.<\/span>\u00a0to train\u00a0<\/span>chefs\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>send\u00a0<\/span>them\u00a0<\/span>around the world to open Thai rest<\/span>a<\/span>urants<\/span>5<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And now,\u00a0<\/span>CookinGenie<\/a>\u00a0brings this beloved classic noodle dish t<\/span>o\u00a0<\/span>your house. We offer three varieties of classic pad Thai\u2014Chicken, Shrimp, and Vegetarian\u2014cooked from scratch with\u00a0<\/span>wholesome, authentic ingredients like rice noodles,\u00a0<\/span>sweet-and-sour\u00a0<\/span>tamarind paste,\u00a0<\/span>spicy\u00a0<\/span>chile-garlic paste, and Thai preserved radish<\/span>. Book your Genie<\/a><\/span>\u00a0to bring a true taste of Thailand to your very own kitchen.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many people, pad\u00a0Thai\u2014the\u00a0delectable\u00a0sweet, sour, and spicy\u00a0stir fry of rice noodles, tofu, eggs, veggies, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, and an umami-rich sauce\u00a0that can be found on\u00a0the menu of virtually every\u00a0Thai restaurant in the US\u2014is their first taste of Thai cooking.\u00a0\u00a0 So,\u00a0it\u2019s interesting to\u00a0learn\u00a0that the dish that most\u00a0Americans\u00a0think of\u00a0as the quintessential\u00a0Thai food\u00a0didn\u2019t even exist\u00a0until the\u00a0mid-20th\u00a0century.\u00a0\u00a0 In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[25,26,27],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-cusine","tag-pad-thai","tag-thai"],"yoast_head":"\nPad Thai: The Noodle Dish that Helped Build a Nation - 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