Noodles(kuaitiao)

Essential Ingredients pad thai

Borrowed from the Hokkien "guotiao" , or flat rice noodles, the meaning of kuaitiao in Thailand is extended to include all kinds of noodles. In fact, kuaitiao generally means noodles and noodle dishes. However, flat rice noodles are the most favorite for the Thais, and hence form the majority of our noodle recipes in this cookbook.

Noodles(kuaitiao)

Noodles(kuaitiao)

There are two broad types of flat rice noodles in Thai cooking-the wide rice noodles or sen yai (2-cm width) and the thin rice noodles or sen lek (3-mm width), available in fresh as well as dried forms. Chantaboon noodle or sen chan is a special kind of sen lek, soft but not soggy when stir-fried with sauce. Therefore, it has been the best and the mose appropriate noodles for pad thai. Although dresh Chantaboon noodles are available in Thailand, and variably called pad thai noodles or sen pad thai, the dried version, often referred to as rice sticks, are more accessible abroad. In foreign markets, Chantaboon rice sticks, are more accessible abroad. In foreign markets, Chantaboon rice sticks are also regarded as a perfect substitute for banh pho, the thin rice noodles for pho, the famous Vietnamese noodle soup. Note that rice sticks similar to the Chantaboon have been produced in many northeastern provinces of Thailand as well, particularly in Korat, or Nakhon Ratchasima province. They are know locally as mi and have been used particularly for a stir-fried noodle dish called pad mi, the flavor of which is very similar to pad thai. Not only in the northeast, the terms mi and pad mi are similarly know in many southern provinces of Thailand.

Rice vermicelli, available mainly in packaged dried form, is more often used in noodle soups, and to a lesser extent in fried noodles. But it fares rather prominently in the famous mi krop or Thai crispy noodles.