Google Doodle Pays a Tasty Tribute to Thailand’s Signature Dish: Pad Thai

Hungry? You will be after Google’s homage to Pad Thai, one of the national dishes of Thailand. Tuesday’s Google Doodle, inspired by a team member’s research into cooking up the perfect bowl of Pad Thai, presents an illustrated slide show taking users through all the steps of creating the classic.

Now ubiquitous on streets throughout the Kingdom, this noodley delicacy has humble origins. According to Google, Thais turned to rice noodles for a cheap and filling alternative amid shortages of rice during the Second World War. A salty-sweet recipe mixing in vegetables and inexpensive protein like prawns quickly caught on, and before long all the hawkers were making it.

Overnight, Google said, a national favorite was born.

Yet as the Bangkok Post has pointed out, Pad Thai may not even be Siamese in origin. The full name for the wok-fried noodle dish, kway teow pad Thai, suggests it may have Chinese roots. Google noted that the “age-old recipe” for Pad Thai is believed to have been introduced by Chinese traders.

Whatever its ancient origins, Thailand has certainly claimed their national preparation of the dish. Each chef creates their own distinct balance of sweet and spicy, but it is always unmistakably Thai.