Food History: Pad Thai

[@elmic91]

So you're telling me that the Thai restaurant that inexplicably popped up in 2005 in my completely irrelevant American suburb was all part of a Thai government plot to feed me delicious noodles?

[@stevejackson9952]

No that's just a culinary trend. What he's trying to tell you is that the Hot Pockets are actually stolen from the British Pasty.

[@sanfran5607]

Hey , Pad Thai as Cambodian (Khmer) food 🇰🇭 since 4 years ago kzbin.info/www/bejne/faTLcn9rZ8aFhbc

[@stevenpeek8842]

Just wanted something to listen to while I walked the dog, and BAM! Now I’m starving!

[@ChibiQilin]

No, it does not fall short by his own "Nationalistic Standards", all those ingredients are "Thai ingredients" even if they aren't native, because they've been used in those regions since ancient times. Tamarind is a prime example, that spread all over Asia many centuries ago. The chili pepper, one of the more modern ones seeing as it's a New World dish, was popular all over Asia even as early as in the 1500's. Peanuts as well in the 17th century. All of the ingredients mentioned would have been common, local ingredients for centuries now by the time Thailand became what it is today. That's equivocating "national ingredient" with "native plant", nobody assumes that just because an ingredient belongs to a country that means it must've been first cultivated there, that's just silly. Likewise it'd be silly to tell a nationalistic Indian chef who's proud of using Indian Ingredients that "actually rice was first domesticated in China".

[@brigand13]

TOTALLY agree with this... It's like saying "pasta isn't REALLY Italian"... It's a pedantic and narrow view of how trade happened throughout the world even before expansion to the Americas. Food concepts travelled and were adapted to local cultures and that is what makes Pad Thai or Spaghetti Bolognese or Coney Island Hot Dogs significant!!

[@PeaceLoveHonor]

Well said.

[@kanedaku]

Too true. My favourite one is bananas. They're tropical fruit, but tropical is not a word that springs to mind when I think of them.

[@outistynnanyt5153]

Omg now I know why I keep seeing "Cool Basil" as a restaurant name so often!!!

[@zzz181085]

Would love to see something about Mongolian food, or the lack thereof on the United States.

[@MentalFloss]

Oo what dishes are you thinking of? The only thing I've heard of is "Mongolian BBQ," but I think I remember reading that it often isn't Mongolian at all.

[@mojosbigsticks]

@@MentalFloss If you've never tried really dark brown aaruul, you don't know nothing!

[@zzz181085]

@@MentalFloss wouldn't be nice just to briefly go over the whole cuisine and highlight a few dishes like Buuz and variations. There are about 10 different countries/nations that claim origins of steamed dumplings, but we all know Mongolians were the first 😁

[@xraymind]

@@MentalFloss Fun fact about the naming Mongolian BBQ, the guy who invented it fled to Taiwan from Beijing after the Chinese Civil War. He wanted to call it Beijing BBQ, but Beijing being the new capital of Communist China(Nanjing was the old capital when KMT in control of China), he decided to call it Mongolian BBQ.

[@joylox]

I find it interesting that a place called Thai Express in Canada is so popular (and actually one of the few places that has vegan and gluten free options), and yet it could have just been called express stir-fry or something, since most of what they have is different stir-fry flavours, as well as some Thai soups. But it is one of my favourite things as a vegetarian, and most places in Canada are able to make it without fish sauce upon request.

[@jaruchaohjanmekha1215]

Please don't call Thai express is Thai food.

[@brigand13]

Georgian food... The country, not the state ;) Seriously, Georgia has a REALLY rich culinary history and according to my research (aka intense googling) may be the birthplace of grape-wine as we know it. Regardless, it is a food culture that deserves MUCH more focus than it's received. ALSO, Salvadoran food. Pupusas are AMAZING!! They are the best bits of tortillas and tamales COMBINED into one dish!! And they are essentially the national dish of El Salvador. SOOOO good. I love mine "con todo" (i.e. with everything)!!!

[@MentalFloss]

Oo I LOVE pupusas, so I'm inclined to take your recommendation of Georgian food (even though I have little idea what is consists of) into strong consideration!

[@franbalcal]

@@MentalFloss find some Khinkali (like dumplings) or Khachapuri (indescribable) right now

[@AliHSyed]

I live near Thai restaurant called Bow Thai. 🎀 And I think that's very cute.

[@OfficialBabygirlEnterprises]

It's been entirely too long since I've seen a mental floss video, like since I was in school still! Glad to see y'all are still going strong :) also, thanks for making me hungry

[@MentalFloss]

Aw, thanks! ....And sorry/you're welcome?

[@zlerner716]

Tom green is still “my host”! Lol this host voice is almost as good!

[@panotch]

You know the dish is made with a purpose when you see the country name in the name of the dish. 3:20 The name 'Kuay Tiew Pad Thai' is actually in Thai language though. 'Kuay Tiew' is a very common loan word from Chinese, meaning rice noodle.

[@prisadeepamm]

When there is a “ph” in Thai-English it’s pronounced /p/ the h is for aspiration. So not /fibun/ but /pibun/. Same goes for mostly every other Thai word written with Ph, e.g. Phuket. Also pad Thai is actually pronounced “putt” Thai (/putt/ pad meaning to fry)

[@petchys]

Thank youuuu sm, I was actually going to point this out.

[@jadestephan7395]

I recommend covering biltong and other meat preservation techniques like jerky

[@mlau2276]

Love these food history videos! My suggestions are pizza, ice cream, cakes, bbq, holiday foods, milks, and religious foods.

[@MatthewSchooley94]

I'm still hoping to see a food history vid on salt and pepper, unless I've missed it.

[@otakuworldwide]

MENUDO! Let’s goooo

[@clearmenser]

Please do the world's #1 historical food... Pocket Sandwiches! Whether it's a species of empinadas, a breed of pasty, or the internet famous American style hot pockets ( aka Poches chaudes à l'américaine ) nearly every country has their own.

[@argella1300]

I love hearing about food history! Every time it’s an example of the creativity of regular people trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents. And the fact that it went from propaganda tool to drunk food makes me laugh

[@brimstonefondue]

Damn.....it's lunchtime and now all i can think about is Pad Thai.

[@kirksulu]

Pad Thai is just a delicious dish amongst hundreds of other delicious Thai food. It's popular amongst foreigners because it's delicious and the dish name has "Thai" in it so it's easy to recall and easy to remember to associate with the country Thailand. Now foreigners have strong perception that oh it's Thai national food therefore everyone in Thailand eats it. Well, that's not true. Thailand has four regions: Central, North, Northeast, and South, each has its own beloved cuisines. Pad Thai is Central Thailand food. If you ask people from Northeast or South if they eat Pad Thai, they will probably say NO. And they will say it's "tourist food", cos tourists like to order everywhere they go, while the locals eat their own cuisines food.

[@graphosxp]

3:52 mental floss says we can eat twice as much noodles as rice? Thanks I will!

[@pookalobster3]

There is a Thai place called Cool Basil in my hometown....

[@bennypoon1506]

Can you explain how turning rice into rice noodles increased the supply of food? You’re not creating calories out of thin air, right? I can see noodles looking more visually filling but you’d still feel the reduced calories.

[@krischen7470]

Rice is mixed with water, and optionally other starches to create chewy rice noodles. This increases the volume of food (supply). While one can argue that rice with water reduces the calories overall, it can still feed more people.

[@jeanettebaker9604]

Pad Thai is my favorite! 😋

[@mike79patton]

You should do an episode on the history of carne asada.

[@juliac3933]

I love pad thai

[@HeBreaksLate]

Heading into Halloween would be a great time to do the history of candy

[@MentalFloss]

We did hit candy corn last year! kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJjSdWB-htJ-raM Probably not enough time for us to do something broader for 2021 (we have to write, fact-check, film, edit), but I'm jotting it down for 2022!

[@HeBreaksLate]

@@MentalFloss oh boy. Does this mean I should be suggesting Christmas topics or Valentine's Day?

[@MentalFloss]

@@HeBreaksLate Haha it's tricky. We have, on occasion, snuck a vid into the workflow on short notice, but honestly we're mostly looking at early 2022 ideas these days. (Having said that, we do bank good suggestions and get to them eventually-today we're releasing a vid that was suggested a year ago).

[@HeBreaksLate]

@@MentalFloss wow! I wish I was organized enough to be planning that far in advance. That said, I think I'd be cool to do a history of Irish food around St. Patrick's Day (Potato Famine, origin of corn beef and cabbage, green beer, etc.)

[@mojosbigsticks]

I did not know about the restaurants. Sneaky, but delicious.

[@AnyZee]

Pocket that is hot also describes you, Justin 😘

[@freetalkn657]

Curry, please

[@killercaos123]

Was Cilantro not even talked about in this episode?

[@theunspoke815]

Phibun looks like B. D. Wong from Law & Order SVU!!!

[@chanceDdog2009]

I feel like this video came out a long time ago. But ATM of writing comment it had been out for 30 minutes... Weird...

[@nifferka]

Food Theory did a video about the positive political propaganda of Thai food 4 months ago. Different points were brought out, though, and both videos are worth watching. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoDRpqpsq9ODbbs

[@WendigoW25]

Do birthday cakes

[@chanceDdog2009]

Max Miller has one

[@mattyt1961]

@@chanceDdog2009 A lot of people have one on their birthdays...but Happy Birthday Max

[@bekkaanneee]

barely made it 3 minutes in before i ordered my own bowl of pad thai for lunch. sometimes, the universe sends you sign. you just gotta listen to them (and impulse buy lunch)

[@notthatcreativewithnames]

Plaek Phibunsongkhram, or as known colloquially in Thailand as General P as he usually stylised himself as General P Phibunsongkhram, is such a colourful and controversial figure in Thai post-revolution politics (which coincides with the WWII and then the Cold War. His name, Plaek, literally means "weird" (refer to his facial appearance with his ears completely below his eyes). As mentioned in this video, he tried to virtually press a reset button of Thai culture and switch them to align with Western cultures, which did both good and harm. Among the "weird" things this General Weird did are: ordering place names containing the names of other nations in SE Asia to be changed, creating dress codes (for example, women have to wear skirt-like garments and hats while outside), airing propaganda skits on radio reminding people to "follow the leader to keep our nation safe", attempting to revise spellings of Thai words (especially loan words) to be more simplified etc. He also involved in the establishment of several universities at the time, especially in regions faraway from Bangkok. All in all, he is a very "weird" historical figure whom I want to both be grateful to and despise him at the same time.

[@TomeuRamisBou]

I dare you to try covering paella

[@oleauanmakk9000]

Marshal Strange

[@petermelhag]

Is it on purpose that hes using chop sticks to eat the pad thai at the end? I mean since chop sticks arent used in Thailand...

[@alfonsomoreno8421]

hey witches I need help someone is in fandom page they tell me the extraction spell

[@MatthewSchellGaming]

Kimchi

[@jamesmitchell6925]

Someone please tell Thai food places to stop putting baby corn in everything? It’s the ultimate garbage vegetable! Very little nutritional value, hardly any flavor, and weird rubbery texture. It’s not even from that continent! It arrived in the early 1900s.

[@wabisabi7755]

As a Thai, that weird me out. Baby corn?! Are they insane?!

[@killercaos123]

Thai food is the best

[@WifeMamaArtist]

Lunch anyone?

[@DrNothing23]

1:43 Is that Pad Thai with Glass Noodles or Pad Woon Sen?

[@PeaceLoveHonor]

Unclear in how a multitude of proteins gives something the "potential to be a full meal." ?? Nutritionally it's pretty much a full meal with any one of those proteins, isn't it?

[@aquavengance]

Paprika Chicken!

[@zlerner716]

Pad Thai is so good if you told me it WAS cooked in a government lab 🧫 I’d believe it! 🇹🇭

[@KenParkpoom-fb7qh]

The meaning of “KueyTew” is just a plain noodle… PadThai meaning ” fried it in the Thai style” Due to the combination tastes of fish sauce, tamarind sauce, lime, chili, sugar, peanut and etc. Which made it a unique dish and DOES NOT exist in the old China

[@jamesmitchell6925]

First

[@KenParkpoom-fb7qh]

The meaning of “KueyTew” is just a plain noodle… PadThai meaning ” fried it in the Thai style” Due to the combination tastes of fish sauce, tamarind sauce, lime, chili, sugar, peanut and etc. Which made it a unique dish and DOES NOT exist in the old China

[@chanceDdog2009]

Y'all. Why spend 15$ at a Thai restaurant for good pad Thai. When you can spend twice as much and get terrible results at home

[@LethologicaGaming]

lol what? pad thai is easy to make and pretty cheap

[@lynn858]

@@LethologicaGaming If you make it multiple times, or learn to use the same ingredients in other dishes - absolutely it's cheap. But if many of the ingredients are ones you've never used before, and you need to purchase them just for this. Also in some areas you would have to rely on buying these ingredients as "ethnic specialty items" at a higher end shop, as opposed to at an Asian grocery shop where the ingredients are all very moderately priced in terms of money, but for some people it may cost more in terms of their ego - walking into a place where you have no idea how to find anything and only the small print shelf labels are in English. Also the technique of cooking pad thai is fairly different than many western dishes. It's not actually difficult, less so now that you can look up videos and see how it's done, just unfamiliar.

[@lynn858]

LMAO. I can absolutely imagine how that could happen. I call mine: Totally inauthentic noodle dish, inspired by pad thai. If anyone wants to attempt it at home, for less of an investment: I find brown sugar and palm sugar are interchangeable for pad thai. Which removes one single use ingredient. If you're not super into the bean sprouts - which tend to go bad quickly, and inconveniently be more likely to have a risk of salmonella, I've found I like using the white stems of bok-choy give a similar texture, but bok choy I use in a few dishes. I like the green bok choy leaves in my pad thai too. Tamarind paste I put in a bunch of stuff, now that I know it exists. I don't feel it can be substituted or omitted without severely changing the flavor. Same with the lime juice. Even though I "don't like lime juice", and lemon would chemically work just as well, I like the lime flavor with pad thai. IMHO, the stuff in the bottle is fine. You may find that siracha will do the job of the sambal oleck. I use sambal in enough other things, and it lasts forever, but, your call. Just don't use ketchup. Ever. Or if you must, don't call it pad thai. ;)

[@LethologicaGaming]

@@lynn858 The only "specialty ingredient" you would have to look for is probably tamarind paste, even then its not expensive and last a long time so you dont need to use it a lot. The peanuts? cheap and last a long time, same with the rice noodles. The essense of the dish is peanuts, tamarind base pad thai sauce, and rice noodles. Could use whatever veg and meat and it will work. The whole point of the dish is to be cheap xd

[@GrimrDirge]

"Authentic" is a bullshit label. Pad Thai is fucking delicious.

[@Crevtout98]

Beef Bourguignon :-) ?

[@mshroye2]

Hate to break to y’all but nobody goes to Thailand for food or culture.

[@prisadeepamm]

Then you’re doing it wrong lol