Why Almost Every Town In America Has a Thai Restaurant

Video written by Ben Doyle

[eustache_dauger]

Thai gastro-diplomacy is kinda clever idea for soft power tbh.

[bjornmu]

In 2012 I ate at the world's northernmost Thai restaurant, located at 78 degrees North in Longyearbyen, Svalbard. And yes the waiter and the chef were indeed from Thailand.

[wienerdust]

There’s a Thai restaurant in my home town and another one a couple towns over. I was wondering for the longest time why their interior decor and their menus are so similar but now I finally understand; it’s all a government backed program. Who would’ve guessed that…

[MadShenans]

Real talk, I see no losers in this situation; making sure food is super good, sending it all over the world, so people will want to come to the country where the food comes from. Beats an annoying TV ad or underwhelming promotion deal.

Eat the food, and if you like it, come visit and eat more, no strings attached!

[LividImp]

Our favorite Thai restaurant is owned/run by the sweetest old man you ever met. My wife and I refer to him as our "Thai grandpa". If that is Thailand's doing, I have to thank them for the awesome food and the awesome grandpa.

[BlackTomorrowMusic]

There is a Thai restaurant in the town I grew up in. I've been to plenty of Thai restaurants since then, but nothing beats this place. I used to go in, order something at random, and ALWAYS enjoy the meal. The owner started to recognise me and my wife. And he'd educate us on the best way to enjoy the meal. Eventually, when he took our order, I'd just ask him to surprise me. And he never disappointed. Sometimes, we'd even come in, and he'd have an item that wasn't on the menu that he was experimenting with, and asked if we'd like to order it. Always a great experience. I always make a point to go there when I'm back in town.

[zaphod]

Pad Thai came about due to a rice shortage, and since 1kg of rice makes 2kg of rice noodles, the government wanted to encourage people to eat noodles, so created Pad Thai as the national dish to encourage it

[KarlPrytz]

In my home town Gothenburg, Sweden we've got a thai restaurant called Thai Tanic.

[ericscavetta]

My first experience with Thai food (and Thailand's soft diplomacy) was at Rhode Island's only Thai restaurant in 1988. The amazing flavors were literally life-changing - I learned to speak and read Thai, developed an interest in Buddhism, and then moved there and worked for several years.

Of course, the food in Thailand is at a different level from the westernized version often found in the US, UK, and so on. I've found most restaurants cater to western expectations (sweeter, less spicy, more meat, less vegetables, and fewer fresh herbs), but I am occasionally surprised when I find authentic dishes like: Pomelo salad (yam som o), Wonton noodles with red pork & crab (bamee giow nam), Boat noodles (kuay teow reua), Catfish larb (laab pla duk), catfish salad (yam pla duk fu). But I have never found Winged bean salad (yam tua plu) and Crab dry curry (bu pad pong karee) outside of Thailand. I highly recommend eating in Thailand - but it may ruin your expectations for Thai food outside of Thailand... :)

[whiskeynovember]

2 things I learned after living in Thailand:
1- Pad Thai is definitely not the national dish
2- Thai restaurants in the US are not even comparable to the food you'll find in Thailand

[Ninten]

Normally this kind of government influence comes off super sketchy, but honestly I have nothing but respect to Thailand for this. It’s very clever and rather non-confrontational, albeit a bit propagandist. Though propaganda isn’t inherently bad.

[Belenus]

“Don’t just ask for the manager, ask for the prime minister”
I’m gonna send a direct letter to the Thai prime minister demanding that my favorite Thai restaurant reopen, because I am very sad that they closed.

[cjwhitmore]

I wish there was a Thai restaurant within 50 miles of where I grew up. I never had Thai food until I went to college. Hopefully they keep expanding within New Mexico!

[harunsuaidi]

As an Indonesian, I think our government should do the same. We have a lot of great dishes. It's time for the world to know Indonesia is more than just Bali.

[VeeViViVee]

Pad Thai was created during WW II when food were scarce, animal protein like chicken, pork were super expensive. The government then create a recipe that used the broken rice that nobody wanted turned them into rice noodle. Add some beansprout, tofu, whatever veggie one can find, tamarind source, fish source, palm sugar, stir-fried everything and boom Thai national dish was created.

[MyTechFanatic]

Britain kinda did this in Spain. Badly. Instead of a government-backed program, it was Brits moving to Spain and complaining every Sunday that they couldn’t get a Sunday roast, until they could.

[janedoeYT]

Honestly, neat idea. We should fight with food, not with wars.

[SUPERTOMMO]

This is really interesting… though being Thai, I highly doubt our government had ever been this supportive, let alone creative.

Could have just been my ignorance, gotta dig more into this.

[DynamicalisBlue]

The National Thai Cookbook that was introduced to the public in the 1940s was an amazing idea and something other nations could have greatly benefited from.
It:
- standardised all common dishes to a fairly decent standard.
- had recipes that incorporated abundant local ingredients.
- diversified ingredients to prevent food shortages ever having a serious impact.
- it made other regions of Thailand aware of other regions food.

Noodle dishes for example DID exist in Thailand before the 1940s. But it was primarily exclusive to regions with Chinese ancestry, the South and the very North. This Cookbook just made other regions aware of them.

[sunnesunne]

Thai is essentially Australia's unofficial national cuisine and it has been that way for well over a decade, if not even longer definitely not just a US phenomenon.