Wow. The origin of Pad Thai is indeed interesting!

Pad Thai is the most popular hai dish here in the USbut not so in Thailand. Noodles were introduced to Thailand by the Chinese after WWII and proliferated on Noodle Carts about the streets. This was greatly encouraged by the Thai government. It's origin is thought to be Southern China as it really isn't a Thai dish. It was introduced in an attempt to lower the rice cosumption in Thailand. It was declared a national dish by Luang Phibunsongkhram when he was Prime Minister during World War II, partly for his nationalism campaign, and partly for a campaign to reduce rice consumption in Thailand at a time when the government faced a major budget crisis. The government printed and circulated instructions to make this recipe throughout the Kingdom. Pad Thai is made different by each and every cook as there are as many ways to make pad thai as there are cooks, geographical regions, moods, and creative entrepreneurial spirit. The dish is made to your liking with the ingrdients you have and adjusting to your taste the alance of hot, sour, sweet and salty flavors so typical of Thai cuisine. Variations can be made by using shrimp, veggies, or other meats and changing what ingredients are used to obtain the sweet-hot-sour-salty balance. Pad Thai is often eaten with pickled radish, cilantro sprigs, green onions, and lime wedges to adjust the sourness. Shanti/Mary-Anne