"Thailand's most internationally recognised dish requires a small wok and violent flame — one portion at a time. The tamarind is what gives it depth. Ketchup versions are wrong."
About Pad Thai
Thailand's most internationally recognisable dish — rice noodles stir-fried in a screaming wok with dried shrimp, tofu, egg, bean sprouts and spring onion in a sauce of tamarind pulp, fish sauce and palm sugar; finished tableside with a squeeze of lime, ground peanuts, dried chilli flakes and a sliver of banana blossom; the best versions are cooked in the smallest woks over the most violent flames in Bangkok.
Pad Thai — a staple of Thailand's cuisine
Rice noodles stir-fried in a screaming wok with dried shrimp, tofu, egg, bean sprouts and spring onion in a sauce of tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar. The best versions use the smallest woks over the most violent flames — one portion at a time, never a batch. Finished tableside with lime, peanuts, dried chilli and bean sprouts.
Tamarind pulp gives pad Thai its characteristic sweet-sour depth. Ketchup substitutions exist in tourist restaurants — they produce a different and inferior dish.
What to Expect
At a Bangkok street stall the pad Thai cooks in under three minutes — the wok never has time to cool between portions. The noodles char slightly at the edges. The egg is folded in at the end.
Why Try It
Pad Thai is the dish that most people eat first in Thailand and that takes the longest to eat really well — the wok heat and the tamarind balance together are harder to achieve than they appear.
Insider Tips
Thip Samai on Mahachai Road in Bangkok is the most famous address.
The lime is squeezed over at the table immediately before eating.
The condiment tray (prik nam pla, sugar, chilli) is used to adjust after the first bite, not before.
