You can get them, but you may not want them – those little dry shrimp are stinky, and that pickled radish is definitely an acquired taste. “Authentic” Pad Thai requires specialty ingredients. There was a minimum of four items, providing options for sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and spicy heat. In Thailand, there are condiment sets on every restaurant table, allowing each diner to adjust the seasoning of their dish to their taste. Like all food specialities, how “real” something is depends on how the cook’s mother made it, and while there are guidelines, you can be expected to customize a dish to your own liking. Pad Thai is the national dish of Thailand, and if you want the “real thing”, travel. If you simply crave the dish, here’s the skinny. It’s an interesting read if you crave knowledge. The esteemed publication “Gastronimica” has an excellent article on the origins of Pad Thai. Pad Thai can become your personal masterpiece, perfectly balanced to your taste. If you’re cramped for space, however, you might want to make your own sauce, one serving at a time. There are many sauces in bottles and packages in grocery stores and specialty stores that have been created to enhance noodle dishes, and you could sample your way through all of them until your fridge door is full of wonders. I have had some great Pad Thai, and some mediocre Pad Thai, but one thing is true – if it didn’t just come right out of the hot wok, much of the hoped-for “party in your mouth” will be missing. There’s something very satisfying about a dish of slippery noodles in a complex and tasty sauce, especially if there’s a bit of contrasting crunch and a shrimp or two in the mix.

Pad thai america's test kitchen