The Thai street food dish of stir-fried rice noodles with shrimp, peanuts, and lime is pad Thai.
Pad Thai is made by stir-frying rice noodles with ingredients such as egg, tofu, bean sprouts, fish sauce, tamarind, sugar, and often shrimp. Lime wedges, crushed roasted peanuts, chili, and fresh vegetables are commonly served alongside it, allowing diners to adjust the sweet, sour, salty, and spicy balance.
Although its flavors are now strongly associated with Thailand, noodle cookery was influenced by Chinese culinary traditions. The modern dish emerged in Thailand during the mid-20th century, when the government promoted rice noodles as part of nation-building and efforts to reduce rice consumption during wartime shortages. Its earlier name, kuai tiao pad Thai, was later shortened.
Pad Thai is often confused with pad see ew, another Thai noodle dish. Pad see ew generally uses broader noodles and a darker soy-based sauce, while pad Thai is characterized by its tangy tamarind-based flavor and typical peanut-and-lime accompaniments.