Pad Thai is a dish you’ll find in almost every Thai restaurant and is a well-known street food. It placed 5th on the list of the tastiest dishes in the world – more delicious than gelato, lasagne, or croissants – in a 2011 CNN Go foodies poll. Pad Thai traditionally uses ingredients that stimulate all the five tastes – sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and spicy – making it so rich on your taste buds!

This stir-fried noodles consists of eggs, bean sprouts, chopped yellow tofu, roasted peanuts and dried shrimp, seasoned with chili, fish sauce and sugar. The traditional Pad Thai includes dried shrimps and tofu, but modern variations of the dish includes beef, chicken, pork, and other meats.

Here are a few questions we asked Tiffany, the owner of Jasmine Thai, to learn more about this Thai favorite.

Question: What does this dish remind you of Thailand?
Answer: Pad Thai reminds me of street food in Thailand. This is very common to find almost anywhere.

Q: Is it suitable for any kind of weather or situation ? Lunch or dinner ? Is this a seasonal dish? Or do you eat it all year round?
A: You can eat Pad Thai all year round!

Q: Did you usually eat this with another side dish or drink?
A: Pad Thai is very versatile and can go with almost any drink or side dish that you prefer.

Q: What’s in the dish? Are there any options? e.g. lamb or beef
A: At Jasmine Thai, our Pad Thai has prawns and chicken and vegetables.

Q: What are some details about how this is prepared and cooked? Anything interesting to mention?
A: This dish is stir fried thin rice noodles tossed with homemade pad Thai sauce, egg, bean sprout, spring onion then wrapped in egg basket.

Q: Do you use any fresh local ingredients? What is good about the ingredients used? e.g. bought fresh daily or bought from local producers
A: Yes, we buy and hand pick vegetables from local producers daily. That way, we can make sure that we use only fresh local ingredients.

Q: How is your cooking style different to other Thai restaurants?
A: Our homemade pad Thai sauce comes in 3 different flavors: Sweet, Sour and Salty – like the taste in Thailand

Q: Why is your dish better?
A: We’re the only Thai restaurant in Mandurah who wrap Pad Thai with an egg basket.

Q: How is this dish modified for Australian taste?
A: We add some meats like chicken or prawn, unlike in Thailand where it’s  mostly vegetables with a small portion of dried shrimp. Spring onion is used as one of the ingredients here, but in Thailand we use garlic chives.