Jasmine rice is the heart of every Thai meal, and the wok-fried noodle is its most famous export.
Noodles came to Thailand with Chinese immigrants, and Thai cooks made them their own with tamarind, fish sauce, chili, lime and basil.
Today noodles are Thailand's favorite quick meal, eaten at any hour from street carts, canal boats and night markets. They come in many widths and forms: sen yai (wide rice noodles), sen lek (thin rice noodles), sen mee (rice vermicelli), woon sen (glass noodles from mung bean) and ba mee (egg noodles).
They are served three ways: stir-fried "dry" in the wok (pad), in broth (nam), or with a thick gravy (rad na). At the table, diners season their own bowl from the condiment caddy.
Thin rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce, egg, tofu, bean sprouts and garlic chives, served with crushed peanuts, chili and lime. The world's most popular Thai dish. At Elephant Ear, from $18 with your choice of protein.
Wide rice noodles wok-fried with chili, garlic and basil: spicy, smoky and bold. Legend says it is named for the late-night cravings it cures. Ours from $19.
Wide noodles charred in the wok with dark sweet soy, egg and Chinese broccoli. Mild, savory and smoky, a Chinese-Thai comfort classic.
Chiang Mai's signature: egg noodles in a coconut curry broth, topped with crispy fried noodles, with pickled mustard greens, shallots and lime on the side.
Small, intense bowls of rich, spiced beef or pork broth, once sold from boats on Bangkok's canals. Locals stack up the empty bowls.
A spiced coconut curry noodle soup from the Malay world, loved in Southern Thailand. On our menu at $18.
Rice is so central to Thai life that the words for "to eat" and "food" both contain khao, rice. Fragrant jasmine rice accompanies curries and stir-fries; sticky rice anchors the meals of the North and Isan; and leftover rice becomes Thailand's great one-plate meals.
Great noodles and fried rice need a blazing wok and quick hands. The high heat chars the edges of noodles, caramelizes sauce and gives the faint smokiness Thai and Chinese cooks prize, the taste of a Bangkok street stall at midnight.
Street Food & MarketsPad Thai is the dish that introduced most of the world to Thai food. It was popularized in the 1930s and 40s, when the government promoted rice noodles as an affordable national dish. It is easy to love: sweet, sour and savory with soft noodles, crunchy sprouts and peanuts, and only as spicy as you like.
The secret is tamarind. A good Pad Thai sauce balances tamarind's fruity sourness with palm sugar and fish sauce, and the noodles are tossed until they absorb it completely, glossy but never wet.
Read the full story in our journal: Why Pad Thai Is the World's Most Popular Thai Dish and The Best Thai Noodles in Manhattan.
