Vietnamese pad thai will occasionally make use of different vegetables to add some fiber and crunch. Bean sprouts, garlic chives, pickled radishes, turnips, and raw banana flavor are all used for this reason. You may also find some fresh shrimp, crab, squid, chicken, and other animal proteins thrown in over top if you’re really looking to meat it up. There’s a lot of ways to modify traditional pad thai and to make it your own. Family recipes generally pull from different ingredients, such as the ones mentioned in different amounts, to produce a unique pad thai flavor.
Although some will argue the history of pad thai to go back hundreds of years, the dish actually originates from the early twentieth century. By Thailand’s prime minister at the time, pad thai is believed to have been created in the 1930s from Chinese noodles and was meant as a way to provide the country its own national dish. In a sense, it was an attempt at nationalism. Subsequently, with the rice shortages of World War II, pad thai moved further towards using rice noodles. Various events like these from the 1930s onwards only strengthened the popularity of Vietnamese style pad thai and the use of pad thai across Asia.
Today’s pad thai varies a little from what you would have had in the 1930s. At that time, no pork or chicken was used. This is because pork was considered a Chinese meat and chicken wasn’t readily available. Some Vietnamese street vendors still use this non-pork, non-chicken recipe however many restaurants will add on the extra meat to appeal to the North American demographic. In an international poll in 2011, pad thai was listed in the top 5 of world’s most delicious foods.
Are you looking for pad thai in Toronto? Visit TorontoPHO today for a Vietnamese style pad thai you won’t forget. Always tasty, get it on a plate or get it sent out on takeout order. Pad thai’s an iconic Asian cuisine dish. If you want it done right, join other Torontonians and grab a bite tonight!
