Pad Thai or Phat Thai (Thai: ผัดไทย [pʰàt tʰāj], "fried Thai style") is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce (Thai: น้ำปลา), tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime, the juice of which can be added along with Thai condiments (crushed peanuts, garlic chives, pickled turnip, cilantro, lime, spicy chili oil, chili powder, vinegar, fish sauce, sugar). It is usually served with scallions and pieces of raw banana flower.
It is listed at number 5 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.[1]
The dish had been known in ancient Siam in various forms for centuries. The variant of noodle was brought to the ancient Thai capital of Ayuthaya by Vietnamese traders. However, it was first made popular as a national dish by Luang Phibunsongkhram when he was prime minister during the 1930s and 1940s, partly as an element of his campaign for Thai nationalism and centralization, and partly for a campaign to reduce rice consumption in Thailand. The Thai economy at this time was heavily dependent on rice exports; Phibunsongkhram hoped to increase the amount available for export by launching a campaign to educate the poor in the production of rice noodles, as well as in the preparation of these noodles with other ingredients to sell in small cafes and from street carts.[2] Nowadays Pad Thai has become a widespread staple food and is one of Thailand's national dishes[3]
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