Food History: Enjoy Pad Thai! (Or you're a traitor)

[@milmillionaire]

I found you from the SriRacha clip. Now I am starting OTR Marathon. You did good job on researching some history, I as a Thai people don't even know before.

[@OTRontheroad]

Thank you!! This Pad Thai one was one of the first ones we ever filmed- still a fun video but I'd like to think you'll really enjoy some of our newer stuff for sure. Thanks for finding us.

[@jks54642]

Same here. Just followed from the Sri Racha sauce clip. Wow, lots of good stuff in this channel.

[@Mallisterr]

same after watched Sri Racha episode i keep watching others stuff in this channel. such a high quality contents

[@afterburns5142]

same here 😅

[@pearjamatumpleng4511]

I’m Thai and i would say a lot of Thai food are like fusion food from all culture that started to be generalized in the country to everyone here

[@jasonkurtrix357]

Brainwashed, Phibun brain rot

[@mithikx]

I see it like the hamburger in the US. The hamburger as we know it is around 130 years old, not that old and it's associated with the US a lot. The hamburger is also considered German in origin. The national dish of England is chicken tikka masala, a dish heavily inspired by Indian food. Some may consider Panda Express Chinese food but a lot of Chinese people would consider it American at this point due to the degree of deviations that has occurred, not unlike the situation with Taco Bell.

[@PsychoT.]

as a Thai people, I have no idea about other Thai but for me, I love Pad Thai and always order it when I go to restaurant both cheap and expensive restaurant.

[@Shichman]

As someone who loves Food, Thailand and History, this is definitely my new favorite channel, thanks so much for these!!!!

[@OTRontheroad]

Thanks so much. Really kind words

[@reddskii]

Original Phad Thai ingredient use Thai tamarind sauce. Thai tamarind is only best flavor. It’s taste and body is unique ❤🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭

[@emptyemptiness8372]

No tamarind no pad Thai. Simple. No tamarind it's just fried noodle.

[@peacharika67]

Hi OTR team, This is another great video of you. Well done! 😊 A lot of good informative comments which make the Pad Thai dish even more fascinating me and the other. I always make Pad Thai sauce from homegrown ripe tamarind myself in oversea, but rather enjoy this dish from local Pad Thai shops when I visit Thailand than I cook it myself because the noodles are completely different, so I quite agree with the lady (khun Kate) said that “good pad Thai depends on the noodle”. Also, myself, truly believe that good pad Thai sauce is a hero of this dish. Apart from those common condiments like chilli flakes, ground roasted peanuts, chives, raw bean sprouts, I highly recommend shredded unripe sour mango and a slice of banana blossom. They are both perfect for Pad thai.😊 Thanks for sharing many amazing Thai dishes to the world. Very much appreciated for your hard work. 👍 Have a wonderful time in Thailand.

[@MyChaiyos]

Pad Thai is Thai food with chinese noodle. In the introduction period this food some people call this dish "Kuay Tiew Pad Thai" (Kuay Tiew = chinese noodle) but now thai people adopt to "Pad Thai" that local and foreigner understand.

[@timmakuk]

I believe the ancestor of Pad Thai is Hokkien (Fujianese). Try going to a Hokkienese fast food/noodle place and try the dry stir-fried beef rice noodles (Cantonese call it 'gohn chow ngau yook ho fun'). The ingredients are almost the same but they substitute dark soy sauce and dark vinegar for fish sauce and tamarind/lime. There are no peanuts in the Hokkien version, but the taste profile is so similar. The Chinese immigrants in Thailand are mostly from Chaozhou which is in-between Fujian and Guangdong. When I am in Thailand, I am amazed that many Chinese Thai descendants are able to say a few words in Cantonese.

[@ozilan7284]

Does this dish also use pickled radish, tofu and dried shrimp?

[@chadchan1316]

Teochew. Koay Teow is Teochew. Original name of Pad Thai is Pad Thai Koay Teow. Many Teochew immigrants in Thailand

[@humongousballs]

With dark soy sauce instead of tamarind it sounds a lot like the chinese dish is more similar to “Pad see ew” in thailand

[@whizkid00000]

​@@ozilan7284 you just named all Chinese ingredients there buddy

[@ozilan7284]

@@whizkid00000 exactly, that's what I was curious about haha. Even though dried shrimp are also used in non Chinese cooking

[@SomeRandomIndvl]

I have been catching up watching your channel. Compliments to your contents. I am happy that Pad Thai is known world wide and enjoyed by all. For me it's a national pride, I guess. If it is a gateway to other Thai dishes, it's a good representative dish as any.

[@OTRontheroad]

Glad you found our channel and hope you’re enjoying it! Thanks for the message.

[@sanfran5607]

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

[@charnchon]

PAD THAI is a well known Thai dish for foreigners. However it isn’t a Thailand national dish. PAD KRAPRAO is all Thai’s favorite. So it should be a Thai national dish. 😊

[@OTRontheroad]

make sure you subscribe- our Pad Krapao video will be online next week!

[@CirericDGrey]

gaeng keel wan too!

[@TheThailightZone]

agree

[@Bird-Come-See-WoW]

+1

[@laisee]

Singapore/Malaysia style Kwai Tiao also great.. but the thai version is just so special!! Great video!

[@jeremyooi1996]

the right combination of four flavours ranging from savoury, sour, sweet & spicy.. 👍🏼

[@JustMMPS]

I’m Thai and also a big fan of Singaporean and Malaysian Kwai Tiao!

[@WigiPiper]

Ah, man, didin't even finish the video before I was craving pad thai.... I love the dish and learning the history made it even better.

[@theauroralightyr]

You nailed it. Great content!🎉 May be one day teachers in Thailand find your useful documentary to teach student in Thailand.

[@icy2527]

informative and good narration, keep up the good work .

[@Jajaja-rj1nr]

Thank you for the video. As a Thai, pad thai is one of my favorite dishes. I am gladly to call it "national dish". So I have seen a lots of comment said that it is not, I think it just their opinion. Don't mind them. Keep up you are doing a great job. Thank you for sharing our food to people.

[@Chris-ut6eq]

Love OTR videos, I'm not looking for ultimate answers, but you ask interesting questions! In this case is it Thai? Chinese? other? Ultimately, I don't care, but knowing some of the history puts the question within a context and if you need to feed a society to keep people alive, if rice noodles help increase quality of life and Thai flavorings to those noodles keep people wanting more, it's a VERY good dish!

[@tvo6453]

I have lived in Thailand for 7 years now and i rarely eat Pad Thai and do not see Thais eat it that much either…so i was trying to figure out how it became Thailand´s national dish. Great video and very informative! Though now, after watching the video, im now craving Pad Thai, which i have not eaten for over 4 months.

[@kamolhengkiatisak1527]

Singha beer in brown bottle was introduced/produced into Thailand about 100 years ago using German recipe by King Rama VI court official Pirompakdi family ancestor. It was highly appreciated by both Thai and expat drinkers. Even though other local brand was introduced one after another but could not shake Singha's dominance and died away until Thai Beverages, the largest and most dominant liquor producer (mostly rum and white spirit) in Thailand, decided to partner with Carlberg to produce the Carlberg brand locally to compete with Singha. It also resulted in a failure to challenge Singha. Both sides gradually drifted apart and Carlberg was eventually no longer produced locally. Before the final breakup, Thai Beverages introduced Chang (Elephant) beer in green bottle, which was much cheaper to gain market share from Singha. It was successful in a few years after heavy promotion and discounted price, and became No.1 seller. This was the reason that Carlberg decided to quit the Thai market as it seemed its Thai partner did not care to promote Carlberg anymore after Chang beer was successfully introduced. Singha did not give in and introduced Leo in brown bottle at the same price of Chang and it instantly became a success as well. Now, Chang and Leo are neck and neck, dominating local Thai beer market. Owners of Chang/rum/white spirit and Singha/Leo are Thai billionaires. Note: Alcohol sale is banned on religious holidays and the evening prior to general election day and the election day itself. On a regular day, alcohol sale is available from 11.00-14.00 and 17.00-24.00 at 7-11 and mini/super stores, Lotus or Big C. However, this is Thailand and you can always buy your favorite beer/liquor at your small convenient store in your village at all hours (if the store opens). Some shops stay open until 2 am on Friday and Saturday in some villages. Don't know why the police ignore those small shops selling alcohol at all hours. BTW, Chang/Leo in 350 ml can costs 35-36 baht at neighboring village store but 39 baht at 7-11.

[@OTRontheroad]

This is such an interesting story and I've really, really wanted to cover the Chang/Singha history- but Thailand has VERY intense laws on anything that even resembles promotion of alcohol and I don't want to take that risk unless I'm absolutely certain it would be permitted (or if I no longer actually reside in Thailand). Just last week somebody with a beer-related FB page was arrested for this. It's still worth covering but I need to make sure I walk that tightrope carefully. Also as a side note- Tsing Tao (China's primary national beer brand) was also created by German brewers, who set up a brewery in Qingdao in 1904 before it was later nationalized by the government

[@Janovial]

​@@OTRontheroad Beer is a western invention.

[@OTRontheroad]

@@Janovial that's partially true- obviously today's brewing techniques are all western, but the first archeological evidence of beer is actually from China 9000 years ago- modern-day Henan. My very good friend Master Gao (the godfather of Chinese craft brewing) actually made a recreation of it after a long project for a TV documentary. Epic stuff.

[@TheSamuiman]

Many don't know that Elephant Beer is a Carlsberg brand of a strong brew and still available in Europe, my guess goes that "Carlsberg" was considered not to be "Thai" but foreign so it was rebranded into "Chang" and heavily promoted - one may guess the "fight" behind he curtains - in the land of "Muay Thai"! Kloster is another brand of a well brewed beer, never ever really made it outside of Bangkok/Chonburi, this may tell us something about market dominance in Thailand, but what makes me really wonder is that Singha Brand is not only available in Germany but also drunk....in the land of a 1000 breweries and as many different types of beers! 🤪

[@ChawkDee]

Chang was also much stronger when it first came out, 8.4% alcohol I think.

[@tonyw1w1w14]

I think in about 2010 Pad Thai became the most popular dish in Australia, there are Thai restaurants in every suburb, it outsells all other dishes including meat pies.

[@kawintanomsat4097]

YOU DID A GREAT VIDEOOOOOSSSSS ...I watched some of your videos and I can say that your research and information you telling are totally correctly, and so many Thai don't even knows it! BIG Thanks for you!!!

[@TheSamuiman]

Love it with Tamarind Sauce the whole dish wrapped in an egg omelette, some prepare the omelette like a kind of web..love it!

[@glomontero6011]

Its my favorite. Thank s for the info

[@JustinDOehlke]

I've tried many new things, and I can't recall when I tried them for the first time. But, I do remember my first pad Thai.

[@mr.cookie7308]

I love history, and I love food. But what I love even more is FOOD HISTORY. And you definately deliver my good man! Great quality content...my new favorate channel.

[@OTRontheroad]

Thank you!

[@mrsb6611]

I am in my 50s and have been eating and enjoying padthai since I can remember. It was and still is one of my favorite dishes!

[@ledokun8240]

I freaking adore Pad Thai Nana! That's my go-to Pad Thai, man! It's hella cheap, tastes insanely good, and way better than those overrated ones!

[@OTRontheroad]

Got turned onto that place by a guy we met in little India who insisted that we follow him all the way there just so he could make sure we knew about it. Amazing.

[@miguelaznar]

Please share the address. Google Maps doesn’t recognize it. Thanks

[@Dana-ie2bh]

I don't have the links, but I've read several accounts that say a Thai King had a servant cook in the palace hat made a noodle dish that he liked, and he had her make the dish for the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister liked it so much that he asked the King if the government could make it the Thai national dish. And the Thai King said yes. But the King said the dish would have to be modified so that the average Thai could easily access available ingredients in local markets. So the government took about a year coming up with a recipe that tasted good and had easily available ingredients and was highly nutritious then they marketed it to the people as the national dish. From what I recollect, this occurred quite a while before WW2.

[@OTRontheroad]

There's definitely no record of Pad Thai before the WWII era, but that story sounds pretty interesting; would like to look into it. This was one of the first videos we ever filmed- I'll definitely revisit the subject at some point. Maybe the most interesting lead I've found is an original version of Sukhothai Noodles from an old family-run Sukhothai restaurant that serves their dish pretty much EXACTLY like pad thai- tamarind, peanuts, pickled radish- except with different noodles. That would be an interesting thing to also explore.

[@ChawkDee]

@@OTRontheroad it was the early 1930s that PT was invented

[@ankhpom9296]

Love hearing the history of Thai food!

[@TeddyBear-zj4qg]

Pad Thai is the national dish of Thailand for farangs. National dish of Thailand for Thai people is either Pad kaprao or Som Tam.

[@OTRontheroad]

That’s...wrong. Pad Thai was declared by the Thai government to be the national dish. It’s not an arbitrary term, it’s an official designation.

[@TeddyBear-zj4qg]

@@OTRontheroad Officially may be you are right and may be it was popular some years ago. I have been to 65 plus provinces in Thailand out of 77. Man (😛) I can say that it is not popular among Thais anymore. Yes they eat, but so many other more popular dishes now. To me to be the national dish of Thailand it has to be the most popular (among Thais) and not because a Govt says it has to be. I am not a culinary expert like you, but have eaten at those 65 plus provinces. BTW your channel is very good (was watching Gary's and saw you (👍) and I started to watch from the 1st. Good channel.

[@OTRontheroad]

Totally agree and that's the whole point of this video- it's insane that it's the "official" national dish when it IS pretty much only a farang dish these days. And thanks for the comment!@@TeddyBear-zj4qg

[@its_clean]

If there's any one single lesson your videos have taught so eloquently, it's that many dishes claimed to be "traditional" were created with outside influences or imposed artificially. And likewise, simply because a dish has artificial influences does not make it "bad" or inauthentic. If anything, your objectivity has helped to strip the subjective value judgments from the history of objects, and helped me better understand that everything is influenced by something, and virtually nothing has a simple linear history.

[@edztasy0808]

Thai Pad See Ew, which means “stir-fried soy sauce noodles”, is closer to Malaysia/Singapore Char Kway Teow. All traced back to Southern China's Hokkien and Teochew cuisine.

[@CHRISTIANSDAYSHK]

Congrats channel it’s blooming !!!

[@DIIIZT]

This is an excellent documentary.

[@sakornphelan6533]

Noodle is from jan taurine. In the old day, as I remember playing. I have to duck down under bamboo line. Where the rice noodle it hung dry in the sun. Southwest Thailand near Burma. You can see Tamirain tree everywhere. All dry shrimp lay there to dryer . As a kid we have to jump over the dry shrimp Matt. Why tofu? Real pad thai don't have tofu. At the time gone by. They add tofu to stretching the dish. Someday you will visit Jantaburi, it very old town. Where the best shrimp paste sale. Thank for the hard work you do. It special.

[@madelineleclair6208]

How does this channel not have more subscribers? I'm binging it and it's so good!

[@pipatpattara3319]

as thai , i never thought that i would understand my country dish more, and it s being told by the guy from other country. GREAT VIDEO though !!!

[@haucowby8957]

a true pad thai lover must watch video!

[@happyfreeky]

There’s something so rib-stickingly good about pad Thai noodles regardless of the protein used. It’s like the textural equivalent of umami

[@TeacherJo75]

Awesome video, thanks for sharing. My constructive comment,please put the Google maps link for these restaurants you visit. They look amazing 👏 😍

[@Concherto365]

Phad kra pow is Thailands national dish!

[@aswinmode]

Tomyam

[@phoebeampm4794]

@@aswinmode Tomyam is another Thailand's national dish. 😊

[@nathrm]

Wrong. The correct dish are instant noodle. 😂😂😂😂

[@jonwayneandthepain]

Totally.

[@emptyemptiness8372]

Mama noodles are the national dish

[@bobmatin7107]

Noodle soup Is the best Thai dish for the western palate. My go to lunch several times a week. Bobby in mahasarakham

[@OTRontheroad]

Cheers Bobby. Check out our video on the poem from King Rama II if you have time- our first time finding the food of Maha Sarakham. Fascinating place

[@sleekslack]

"We're only half through the story, but the food's getting cold." I like that one XD

[@zyberjunker]

Pad Thai was a peasant food as I remember growing up. Noodle dish that does not has meat. Farang loves any food that's sweet.

[@OTRontheroad]

Actually- you ask most chefs and they’ll tell you they make it sweeter for Thai customers than for foreigners.

[@nt4409]

@@OTRontheroad i used to work as a line cook at many thai restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn trust me the US version is sweeter and we didnt make it sweeter for a thai as the sauce was already mixed as u know. The og pad thai back in the day were dried and almost tasteless. The dish was rarely be seen with meat in it.

[@zyberjunker]

@@OTRontheroad I am in Seattle and went to these Yelp 5 stars Thai restaurants. Most of the food was so sweet, compared to food in Thailand. Seem the more sugar they put in, the more stars they get. If you notice, people that give out 5 stars, mostly are Caucasians. They are so nice with the mentality of if you show up, you are automatically rewarded in some way. Asians, you have to bring it, earned it, blood, sweat, and tears. Those Michelin awards are sure a good sign to go by. Yep, I remember. The big old thing of pad Thai was 10 bath feed two.

[@chaiyasitdhi]

@@OTRontheroad I agree with you that Thai people( from the central region and especially in Bangkok) eat very sweet.

[@charlielowes8495]

As a Thai born and bred. I eat pad thai like once every 6-12 months… never in my mind and never definitely not my first choice to eat. Was shocked to learn that its our national dish though 😅😅😅

[@TableTennis-Man]

its popular because as a Stall owners its easy low cost and fast to cook..and as a foreigners tourists its easy to order the dish and wont go wrong because theres no soup version or you want ingredients this or that...just say Pad Thai

[@heythave]

Where exactly is Pad Thai Na Na located? I would love to try it when I am in Bangkok in the future.

[@OTRontheroad]

ผัดไทยนานา [phone] goo.gl/maps/s4LMn5k5kMiJjxMh9 Enjoy!

[@dondobbs9302]

There is another Pad, Pad Khorat from that province, it seems to be more about the Tamarind . + within Phimi, which is in Khorat, there is Pad Phimi. (At least I had some there.)

[@JohnSmith-ky8um]

Why this well informed vid like this is so low view!? 😢

[@misubi]

I’m in Chiang Mai now and was actually surprised by how many local Thais I have seen eating pad thai. It gets a bad rep but Thais enjoy it too!

[@903lew]

My family is from rural Petchabun and the first time I had Pad Thai was as an adult. When I was a kid it was mainly a big city thing, still today I don’t think I could find it in my village but most probably in the big town down the road. While I prefer ghoi thew soup (big noodles) a good Pad Thai will always do the trick.

[@michaelsamuel9917]

That Thai General was a great forward thinking man I like his style...

[@allancristophe6810]

pad thai simple to prepare..appeals to almost everyones tastes because we can adjust seasonings and ingredients to ones preference.. its like ramen in Japan.. chow mien in china...or burger in US.... i agree thh name pad thai is " catchy" to non thai speaking people easy to remember.... i am a Filipino / chinese of fujian ancestry and i see a lot of familiar cooking style and ingredients in pad thai..the peanut .the stir fry ..bean sprouts prawn orv chicken and chives..(minus) the tamarind and lime

[@martyhandley4456]

Adam and team...this is fantastic....great flow, but the head on that host.......lol. It’s great stuff

[@keithbkessler]

Good work! 🔥🍜

[@mastropm6785]

No, GREAT work! 🔥 🍜

[@ottopaul5344]

One reason that Marshall Prak want to create Pad Thai is that he want to create a dish fight against fight Chinese noodle because there was still a conflict between Thai & Chinese at the time

[@MrMeasurement]

We do not call the prime minister as Pibool , we actually call him Supreme General Por or Jom Phol Por.

[@chaiyasitdhi]

ยุคร่วมสมัย​ คนเรียก​ จอมพล​ ป.​ ว่า​ "หลวงพิบูล" ครับ​ (ก่อนยุครัฐนิยม)​

[@emptyemptiness8372]

Some of us call him a Hitler fan scumbag fascist.

[@Awestorm]

As a Thai native, I found Pad Thai not my favorite but rather Pad Kra Prao.

[@mb9948]

Very interesting - well done!

[@nongwithawat]

Phiboon promoted Padthai and named it to distinguish from other Chinese stir fried noodles in Thailand

[@poom323]

Is pad tai really Thai, even I'm Thai myself still don't really know, from what I know is its exist in Bangkok way longer before P. Phibun become prime minister, and the vendors of this isn't just only Chinese, there are Lao ethnic that sell this in Bangkok long time ago as well. There is some record that some Chinese even pointed out they sell it before them, and this dish didn't name pad tai at that time (and pad thai for sure), and P. Phibun pad tai is different from pad thai we eat nowaday. Maybe it's a pretty old Chinese dish that came to Siam before chinese migration in 19th-20th century.

[@OTRontheroad]

I had a really crazy eureka moment when I was investigating Sukhothai noodles recently for a possible future video. By now they've more-or-less evolved to basic kwai teow- but if you find a restaurant that serves old-school Sukhothai noodles- they're....pad thai. Like, exactly the same, but with different noodles. The same tamarind/palm sugar/preserved radish/peanut combination. It's wild to taste it- it's like- oh, this makes sense. Pad Thai wasn't a new "invention"- it's just a way to use rice noodles with a flavor profile that already existed here. I really want to chase this angle down further.

[@Janovial]

The stir-frying technique itself came from China obviously and spread to surrounding nations via the diasporas so it's not surprising. Cultural pollination. Everybody came up with their own unique version. A result of spontaneous globalisation. Happens everywhere.

[@andrewdunbar828]

There are many original local languages from Southeastern China, but the one you're talking about here Hokkien, aka Hoklo, Min-Nan, and probably some other names.

[@dirtgreylbcprominentrvskvl2338]

what is not thai but even thais love them is stir fried chicken with cashew nut. this is the most tourist dish that is absolutely delicious.

[@OTRontheroad]

I agree- I am not ashamed to say I love it

[@Kong_chailand_Bangkok]

Wow missing Thailand 🇹🇭🫶🎉

[@redback462]

"Vlogging Legend"

[@dietwald]

Regardless, it's delicious, easy to make, and filling.

[@TheThailightZone]

I read recently Thailand has the largest population of Chinese heritage outside of China (except HK, Macau, Taiwan). Some Nations have high % of population Chinese, but Thailand has most in numbers.

[@panicrev555]

It seems as many different places that serve it are the number of variations of pad thai. After being repeatedly disappointed by inferior interpretations I struck out to find a recipe I could get excited about. I found Jet Tila's version shown on the Pop Sugar channel to be exactly what I was looking for. The woman in this video says it's all about the noodles but I say the most critical part of the dish is the sauce.

[@thangfahsavung9120]

Phibun inventing and promoting Pad Thai is a mandela effect.

[@OTRontheroad]

Right, he promoted noodles and then as pad Thai caught on, he seems to have claimed credit after the fact and did then declare it to be the national dish. Fantastic use of Mandela Effect by the way- I actually tried to work that term into one of our scripts but it ended up a total word salad

[@giobanaz]

Go get PAD KRA PRAO! that’s the real - every day dish Thai meal that Thais eat. Pad Thai is authentic Thai dish created by Marshall Plaek. this is one of the most well known dish from Thailand (like Tom Yum Kung) but we got too many popular dish that you may know but by far from local thai the Pad Kraprao is like big Mac that we eat almost everyday

[@MegaSuperwind]

ผัดไทย อาจจะนำผัดสไตล์จีนมาประยุกต์ แต่การใช้เส้นผัดนั้น มีมานาน อย่างโคราช ที่ใช้เส้นผัดเรียกว่าหมี่โคราช

[@TheThailightZone]

Pad Thai is the equivalent of Elephant print pants. Synonymous with tourists, but I also wear them occasionally. 😀

[@gandumzero3580]

You can find Pad Thai in anywhere of Thailand not only Khaosan road that food came to Khaosan road because tourlist love it . Yes a Noodle came from China but we create our own ingredient and find the best thing that fit with it. same same with Hongkong fried rice .Rice just an ingredient.

[@mastropm6785]

Great job keep it up!

[@yilinyang7552]

Several hundred years ago the Chinese merchant from Guangdong province bring this food to Thailand and it did not change much until today in Thailand

[@OTRontheroad]

The interesting thing (we saw this in the Talad Phlu video) is that some Chinese food that came to Thailand is now more authentic to historical Chinese food than it is now in China, because in China some of the old dishes have changed, but in Thailand they are preserved the old way. Very interesting stuff

[@yangyilin9409]

@@OTRontheroad Guess also because the language barrier, not much local people in China speak English and also the visa is too difficult to apply. In Thailand most restaurant may provide a menu with English but most Chinese restaurant in China do not

[@OTRontheroad]

@@yangyilin9409 I think it's literally just that most Thai restaurants in old Chinese neighborhoods still serve dishes the way they were when the immigrants arrived. It's definitely not a language barrier- I speak fluent Chinese haha

[@nt4409]

Yes it didnt change much but the one in mainland china got worser. And the widespread of the food from china was from the migrants from mao’s era (my granpa is one of them) not from the merchants from hundred years ago. We as siam wasn’t even that old not to say when we changed to thailand.

[@pichupuche2474]

What do you mean by saying not change? Pad Thai is just a new dish by mixed Chinese and Thai ingredient. This is not Chinese food at all.

[@13Kilns]

I think it's safe to say Pad Thai is Thai's dish. If you think of ramen from Japan you instantly know it's theirs national dish although this 2 dishes originally from Chinese culture.

[@yattaman8881]

🧓🍽️ I am almost 50 years old. More than 20 years ago, most of thai people eat Pad Thai with fork and spoon. The minority used chopsticks 🥢. 10 years ago, the one who used chopsticks 🥢 were increasing almost equally the one whi used fork and spoon 🍴. Now, it turned out that almost everyone eat Pad Thai with chopsticks 🥢😆

[@Mabinogion]

I was told that Piboon asked his Vietnamese chef to create a dish using rice noodles. The chef then cooked a dish that his Vietnamese mother always cooked and Piboon called it Pad Thai. So now we could argue should it be called Pad Gin or Pad Wietnaam...

[@FinaJiri]

We caĺl it 'kue teow Siam' Its different from other kuew teow in Malaysia

[@tildessmoo]

I feel like Pad Thai is a mostly Thai flavor profile made with Chinese techniques (switch the ingredients up a bit, and a pad thai cart looks just like a chow fan cart!). I think that either way it's just a renamed preexisting dish, though, since even the legend of Phibun says it was actually his favorite thing his housekeeper made, and he barely tweaked it if at all to make the version he used to unify the country. I think there's a lot of reasons it's popular with foreigners all mixed together. For many, it's their first taste of Thai food (it certainly was for me, although these days I prefer pad kaprao or massamun curry), it's the most accessible Thai food due to Thai government proselytizing (there's still programs for Thai government assistance for Thai restaurants worldwide, including a pad thai recipe!), it's less spicy than most Thai savory dishes, the flavors are very balanced and adjustable to the individual palate by the condiments, and particularly for westerners the "stuff mixed with saucy noodles" basically copies the basic schema of Italian food in their minds. I know that if I ever get to Thailand, I'll definitely get pad thai at least once, although I'd also be trying everything else I can find. (If I have any room left from pad kaprao and mango sticky rice, anyway.)

[@aourcewell]

Pad Thai is definately Thai food but the noodle is definately Chinese Teochew. In Penang, this noodle is eaten frequented in fried or soup form.

[@kalwongkl]

I call it thai style kway teow. The base is flat rice noodle. You can pimp it all sauces, condiments and vege. It like ho fun

[@NyonyaB]

if you say pad thai is Thai but why we have it in Malaysia Singapore Indonesia too. Pad Thai is Chinese, South Chinese. Its a common basic Fried noodle & since it is common every household can make it. that's why not many places selling it. when locals go out we prefer other food.

[@OTRontheroad]

As a southern Chinese chef trained in the best Chinese kitchens, this comment is completely incorrect. The technique is chinese. The ingredients are Thai. I’m in Bangkok but I had Nasi Lemak for breakfast today. By your logic, that makes it Thai?

[@ririvespertine]

I totally love this insightful video and I am learning so much from your videos! I am thai but i was raised eslewhere and all my foreign friends ALWAYS ALWAYS order phadthai OR pineapple fried rice (which i told them you know it's not a real thai dish right HAHAH)- I never liked phadthai as I love all my other thai dishes but it is what it is- a tourist favorite. Right now, phad krapow is gaining loads of popularity too.

[@aka-bo6ej]

The ingredients, tamarind and palm sugar, make it Thai. It's still Chha Koe Tiau to me though, similar to the situations in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. The flavor profile is Thai, of course. Hawaiian pizza is still pizza, and Kwai Teow Pad Thai is still kway tiaw.

[@leestephenfitzpatrick6373]

Another dish My Suphanburi wife calls "Tourist food" 😂 I only eat it in the UK if either she cooks it, or I cook it myself, never ever eat it out in the UK, generally too wet & too sweet.

[@mickbotcast]

Who would've thought right? P. Phibul are often depicted as irredeemable Dictator, but his action changes a lot of things even something like prevent Chinese migrant to learning Chinese and force the Chinese who arrive at that time to completely assimilate to Thailand (generation later we the descendant are all "Thai" at this point). It like a chain of event that merge deep into Thai history, culture and somehow it works.

[@OTRontheroad]

Right- it's a very complicated topic and nationalism in general tends to be a pretty destructive force- plus there are definitely elements in his era that are very problematic- but you can also very strongly argue that his policies held Thailand together.

[@rattapoomkotchapong1674]

People keep giving the generalismo P bad rap, and he deserves much of it, but modern Thaialnd stands on his handiwork. Compulsory education for everyone, health service, family planning, etc etc. For a dollar store Mussolini, he's not too bad.

[@OTRontheroad]

@@rattapoomkotchapong1674 I laughed out loud at the last line.

[@rattapoomkotchapong1674]

By modern standard he's horrible but he shared his era with other strong men who's far worse. I don't want to get all political on a good cooking show but I'd say give the guy the credit where it's due.

[@Janovial]

From the time of the destruction of Ayutthaya, the rebuilding of the nation under king Thaksin to its current modern form, albeit assimilated, the Chinese were heavily involved in all of it.

[@kuxica]

I’m probably the only guy m the world who vomits thinking about eating pad thai. And probably the only guy to enjoy not eating anything Thai while visiting in BKK. Enjoy it all on my behalf. Nonetheless I’m grateful for your food history lessons.

[@Mryodamiles]

2:26 I don't think that is ground peanut. Looks like sweet preserved/pickled radish (huah chai bpoh)

[@OTRontheroad]

It absolutely is, you’re correct.

[@pkrit]

Pad Thai in Maesai , Chiangrai is unique and is the best in Thailand.

[@jeanT75]

Hello, 'so an another little mistake, from The origin of The Pad Thaï, 'as. You Said : we name our noddles or our soup noddles 'by The name of The base of these noodles' meal, here it is rice noodles, then pad Thaï is Not from China (they eat more Egg noodles), but from sou th East with Chinese background, but from Vietnam's fishermen which lived on The khlong (Not in chinatown), but where marechal Phibun Songkhran was lived or used to go, in his childhood, and saw The Chinese or vietnamese's fishermen's meal (Hu Tieu (name of the Rice noodle) as You called it Keo Teow' from china 'background' but There is a difference with Their Chinese ancesters, they don't used soy sauce (China main sauce) but Nuoc Mam (nam Pla) with these noodles. You are right, even thaï people prefer rice at this period (as a lot of glutinous rice for issan People) so of course they used to have spoon and fork, only chop sticks for The Chinese or vietnamese fisherman background (a long tradition of vietnamese fisherman) used to emigrate to Thailand during 18th century and before. So in their Way of cooking, most of them used rice.noodle, so only rice noodle (not egg noodles because they were more expensive) were 'cooked.on The khlong because they were poor, and this was the main reason their Gvt from Phibun Songkhram, start to 'suggest' this meal, cheap.pricing with these original ingredients', nam pla (nuoc mam), little dry shrimps (from fishermen's peche), one egg (to replace The missing meat in this difficult period) young oignon, soy beansprouts, and after tofu (soy fermented paste) The difference with china (soy sauce on place of Nam Pla) Vietnam (lime juice instead of Tamarin sauce) they added tamarin sauce with nam pla, to have this 'recipe' sweet and suour with success, that is a caracteristic of their taste. For more then 12 centuries of same history, china and Vietnam (as.more then the others south asia countries) has the same recipes.of noodles, fried noodles, but we have something they don't use in China, nuoc Mam (nam Pla) and that difference taste in The fried noodle from china's background, and south east asia's meals. We had for long centuries (Not only from The post war period 1948's in Thaïland), so many.fried noodles.meals, so closed to pad Thaï recipe... But there only one sort of fried rice noodle in thaïland... In năm, we had over 12 or more, The man are made with Hu Tieu noodles (Cu Thieu or Keo Teow same name), or pho 'noodles'...

[@nt4409]

Sorry but this garbage, most of the Chinese who then migrated to Thailand were from the south and the word kuay tiew came from their dialect to me more specific i am one of the descendants as well so pls dont make it up. And for you to say they cooked on the klong because they were poor was rdiculous. Most of the food were sold on the klong back then because people back then used boats not cars. Just so you know, china have more than egg noodle, do some research.

[@nt4409]

And hey, most vietnamese migrated to the north eastern part of thailand not central thailand.

[@pstwng1085]

Fisherman communities in Thailand have Chinese background. The biggest seaport town in Samut Sakhon called Tha Chin, which can be translated to Chinese port. I don’t think they are related to Vietnam origin or culture, even though Nam Pla is common to both Thai and Vietnamese cuisines. The most similar dish with Vietnam Pho is Keow Teow Nua or beef noodle, but the soup is totally different. Pad Thai is Thai food with Chinese influences and wok techniques.

[@hienbowden6327]

A lot of stir-fried noodles originate in China, but what makes Pad Thai famous is the fused flavor of Thai's tamarind

[@tarjei99]

Basing Pad Thai on a foreign style means that nobody in Thailand gets bragging rights to the dish. Either you unify the people for or against it.

[@TheLadyinblack1989]

Alternative theory stated that Chinese has been selling "kuy tiew pad" for a long time. It's teochew staple. Just like cha kuy tiew in Malaysia. Tamarine and sugar was added to suit Thai customers. Plaek general later standardize the recipe and made it our national identity. If you ask, is it Thai or not. Yes, it is Thai. Chinese would sell it on street but wouldn't eat it at home😅😅😅 too sweet.

[@Kwippy]

As a Thai, I am not a big fan of padthai. I find most places make it too sweet and although many Thais like sugar in all kinds of lunch noodles, I'm not one of them. On the few occasions when I order padthai, it would be at S&P, because they don't make it very sweet.

[@schmushschroom3873]

Grand marshal Por (Plaek Phibunsongkram) are known for his "focus" on hammering down Chinese immigrant and his extreamist policy of "swallow and fused" every cultures inside Thailand into a purely Buddhist one (to promote nationalism and tighten unity among our people). Keep in mind this is the time when the Japanese just committed horrendous warcrime agaisnt the people of China (namely Nanking) and Por's policy is to side with said Japanese. So the reason on why he seems to hate Chinese immigrant so much even though he is of Chinese descent, is he fear they would spark a civil war during these war time because of his pro Japanese policy. as Chinese immigrant made up quite a chuck of our population back then. It is the great melting pot era of Thailand. We're surrounded on all side by western powers and a very scary Japanese hell bent of erasing other cultures (see Korean, Singapore, etc history). So because of that, there must not be even a single fraction amogus. There is no "Thai-Malay", "Thai-Khmer", "Thai-Laos", Chinese, northerner, etc. So long as you're living in Thailand and you got something with you be it languages, dishes, culture or whatever that thing is, it's Thai. No matter where it originated from if it is in Thailand then that thing is also a "Thai thing" no segregation, no "other" cultures. He declare "Pad Thai" one of if not the most obvious Chinese inpired dish to be our national dish. Aside from the rice shortage might also be a message toward Chinese immigrant that "You are not Chinese, you are Thai now" or something along those line. So do we Thais thought some of our dishes are not really a Thai dish? The answer is no, Pad Thai is a Thai dish, Masamun is a Thai dish. Myself as a Chinese descent is not a Chinese but a Thai person. Hope this might answer some of your questions. I love this channel, not many foreigners are interested in our history especially our foods history. Seeing you guys perspective on our thing is very refreshing.

[@OTRontheroad]

Glad you mentioned this- it’s a major focus of the video we’re releasing in just a couple days, focused on Isaan food and the process of “Thai-ification” which you largely discuss above. To me- i don’t really care about labels or government declarations; when it comes to food, fact is fact, and true origins and history should not be forgotten.

[@boutiquesmile]

Btw, the Japanese was fought by KMT. Mao later thanked the Japanese for fighting the KMT for him.

[@kriswillems5661]

The story of Pibun is nothing else but a legend. Although his government promoted noodles due to food shortages he never said anything Pad Thai. His niece, who is still alive, confirmed this story is completely false.

[@OTRontheroad]

There's a massive amount of contemporary evidence recording the government's promotion of Pad Thai as well as other dishes. Literally mountains of proof of this. This is one thing that isn't up for debate. It happened.

[@Ethyl_inappropriate]

Couldn't imagine that I, a thai dude (who doesn't really like pad that), would learn about pad that from a foreigner. A great vid nonetheless. Also a question. Have you ever tried the chinese shop right next to Yord pad thai place? That restaurant is among my favs, and I always make a visit when i'm in the area. Highly recommended.

[@OTRontheroad]

Yes! Actually that whole stretch is pretty good. The new place that used to be a street cart (Pad Thai Mae Am) we visited in our AI video...amazing food. There’s the soup shop in the car mechanic garage next door. And maybe my favorite street Isaan in all of Bangkok is on the opposite side almost to the Decathlon

[@mulliot]

Super interesting. Noodle is lunch!

[@travelhenry]

we did not call general por "piboon", we called general por or "chompol por" (piboonsongkram) por standed for plake (his name), i knew this should a bit difficult to understand for the foreigner to call some thai names

[@OTRontheroad]

we talked to a lot of people who would disagree with that about not calling him Phibun

[@จารวีปีระกา]

@@OTRontheroadNative Thai people in general call him Chompol Por. The name "Piboon" is the name that foreigners likes Alliances in WWII as well as some history books written by foreigners calls him, which I guess because Piboonsongkram is too long for foreigners. Thais call him Piboon only when talking to foreigners.

[@kloffel8819]

@@OTRontheroad I'm curious to learn their reason behind that, if possible? I mean, I have grown up calling him Chompol Por, too, and it's kind of interesting to see that there are Thai people somewhere in the country who would call him Piboon/Pibun. I would call him by the full name and title if I'm talking to my international friends who doesn't speak Thai, true, but in my Thai friends, family, and academic circles, I haven't come across anyone who called him Pibun in the native tongue as of yet.

[@ngpcneo]

​@@จารวีปีระกา ถ้าให้การเสริมวิธีเรียกที่ถูกต้องก็ใช่ แต่อย่างลืมวิดิโอนี้ เป้าหมายวิดีโอนี้ คือให้ฝรั่งดูเช่นกัน เพราะงั้นจะใช้คำว่า พิบูล ก็ไม่แปลกหรือผิดอะไร