Pad thai is the dish most of the world orders first, and in Thailand it is cooked to order at street stalls and night markets, one or two portions at a time in a blackened wok. Its origin story is contested. The popular version credits Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram, who in the late 1930s and 1940s promoted noodles and a new national identity, but historians note there is little firm evidence tying him to the recipe, and the noodles, the wok and the technique all arrived with Chinese cooks. A dish called Thai stir fried noodles, it has been pointed out, is unlikely to have been named by Thais in the first place.

Whatever its parentage, the formula is settled: tamarind for sour, fish sauce for salt, palm sugar for sweet, with crunch from raw sprouts and peanuts and a wedge of lime to adjust. We make two generous portions at a time, exactly as the stalls do, because a crowded pan steams the noodles into a sulk. For a crowd, simply cook a second batch while the first is being admired.

The tamarind sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) tamarind concentrate
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons (40 g) palm sugar
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) water

The noodles

Ingredients

• 6 oz (170 g) dried flat rice stick noodles
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
• 3 oz (85 g) extra firm tofu
• 8 oz (225 g) large raw shrimp
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 shallot
• 1 tablespoon dried shrimp
• 1 tablespoon sweet preserved radish
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (about 3 oz / 85 g) bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup garlic chives

To serve

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons roasted unsalted peanuts
• 1 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes

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