đđź Sawaddee Ka
People can get attached to how a dish is supposed to be and get very passionate defending their âcorrectâ version. Sure, I get annoyed when I see a completely awful version of a Thai dish on the internet, like Rachael Rayâs pad thai Uncle Roger recently reviewed.
But sometimes, itâs people from the same culture arguing with each other over whatâs the correct way. Pad kra pao or Thai holy basil stir fry, my latest recipe, is an interesting example. Hereâs the video, but read on for the back storyâŚ
Growing up in Thailand I only knew of one type of pad kra pao.It had ground meat, long beans, and sometimes other veggies. Itâs seasoned with oyster sauce, fish sauce, black soy sauce, and more.
But as I studied further into Thai cuisine, I read that pad kra pao started out as a much simpler dish. Seasoned only with fish sauce and sugar, and contained no vegetables. For years this felt like something only a handful of people knew about.
As the internet allowed knowledge and opinions to be passed on rapidly, I started seeing people talking about the pad kra pao with veggies with disdain. MY GOD NOT THE LONG BEANS!!! đŠ
(And if youâre wondering if it should actually be pad gaprao or pad krapow, read my answer in the FAQ section of the recipe post.)
When I posted my original pad kra pao video 7 years agoâŚ
I didnât hear anyone complain about the long beans or black soy sauce. If I posted that recipe today, Iâm pretty sure that will not be the case.
But dishes evolve, and they do for a reason, e.g. some people actually like vegetables in their pad kra pao! Let them have it! And thatâs perfect. Thatâs why our world today is full of such a staggering diversity of food. We wouldnât want it any other way.
It is ridiculous, if not comical to see how upset some people can become if a certain food dish is not made to what they consider to be the right way. To me, cooking is an art not a science, which means it evolves and changes. To others it something that is chiseled in stone. You are wasting your time if you make a dish that is different then from what they think is the right way. No matter how delicious others think the dishes is, they will tell you, "you made it wrong."
Growing up my Thai father always added green beans to our pad krapao. Itâs the only way my family eats it!