Pad Thai is the most popular Thai dish. It’s a delicious dish consisting of noodles, vegetables, meat or tofu, peanuts and flavored with Thai sauces like Tamarind and fish sauce.

You might be wondering what pad thai ผัดไทย (pàt tai) means?

Pad Thai meaning

Pad ผัด means to stir fry.

Thai ไทย is obviously Thailand.

So pad thai ผัดไทย is essentially stir-fried noodles from Thailand.

Other dishes with Pad in the name

There are many more dishes with Pad ผัด in the name.

Since pad ผัด means stir fry, many other dishes in Thailand have pad in the name.

Pad Grapao ผัดกะเพรา

Translates to stir-fried holy basil. It is a dish usually served with rice and consists of pork or chicken, basil, and Garlic.

Kao Pad ข้าวผัด

Translates to stir-fried rice.

Pad chàa ผัดฉ่า

Is a spicy stir fry with spices such as paprika, garlic, and pepper pounded together. Usually has basil, kaffir lime leaves.

Pad Pak ผัดผัก

Translates to stir-fried vegetables.

If you don’t specify if it’s pork, chicken, meat, or seafood, the seller might ask you to specify.

Summary

The pad in pad thai means to stir fry. So pad thai is essentially stir-fried (noodles) from Thailand.