Pad Thai is Thailand’s most famous food export, but the history of Pad Thai might be a bit of a surprise. Pad Thai exemplifies the balance of sweet, hot, salty, sour, and bitter flavors that is key to Thai cuisine, while creating an interesting mix of textures from the cooked noodles, crisp bean sprouts, and crunchy dried shrimp. Some stands are even creating new Pad Thai varieties out of green papaya!

Pad Thai is not the only option in Thai fried noodles. Pad See Ew, Raad Na, and Pad Kee Mao all use similar ingredients and small alterations to create their unique flavors. A noodle shop in Chiang Mai’s Old City serves up great versions of all three, plus spicy green mango salad.