Pad thai

Pad thai with fresh prawns from a street stall in Chiang Mai, Thailand, served the way stalls hand it over: noodles in the middle, with raw bean sprouts, garlic chives, a lime wedge, crushed peanuts and chili flakes on the side so you season it yourself. The dish is younger than most people assume. It became a national favorite in the late 1930s and early 1940s, when the government handed street vendors a standard recipe and pushed noodles to stretch the rice supply. Squeeze the lime, stir everything through and taste before adding more chili.