Pad Thai is the most typical Thai dish. Pad Thai is an ancient dish and nowadays it is the most popular dish in Thailand. You can find it at the most expensive restaurant in Bangkok or in a street stall in a neighborhood.
But what is Pad Thai? Most Thai food dishes combine 4 ingredients: meat (or tofu), vegetables, condiments and the particular ingredient for that dish. The Pad Thai is quite sophisticated whose basic ingredient is rice noodles of different thicknesses mixed with a variety of vegetables, and you can add eggs, chicken, tofu or prawns, or all of them together! But the distinctive touch is the condiments like chili, chopped peanuts and always a spicy touch. For Thai cooks, the beauty of the dish presentation is a must. Anything that is Thai is beautiful.
A Pad Thai dish can cost around 30 baht (almost a dollar) in a street cart and about 60 baht (almost two dollars) in the most touristy areas. In the restaurants you will be charged more, but from my experience, the Pad Thai sold in food carts is the best.
Lali and I went to a cooking course in Bangkok, called Thai Silom Cooking School, where we learned how to make Pad Thai with a local chef. First we went through the neighborhood market, bought chicken, vegetables, eggs and some ingredients.
Later, we went to the School and we cooked it ourselves. We prepared this dish, and entrée, a salad and even dessert. It was delicious and you get to share this experience with people from around the world.
If you miss this delicious dish or want to travel to Thailand through your taste buds, prepare Pad Thai. Not a simple dish, but worth a try. In the cooking course, half of the ingredients were already half-prepared, which made the process much easier.
Search the internet for the recipe you like most, and if not, go to the best Thai restaurant in your city (which is not always the most expensive) and sit down and enjoy a bit of Thailand.
