01x09 - The Pad Thai Gamble

[bunniefuu]

[WIND BLOWING]

[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

PADMA: An empty space.
A blank slate.

What can you create
from nothing?

[LIVELY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Welcome to Las Vegas.

In a place where anything goes,

you can come from anywhere
and become anyone.

[SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE]

♪ ♪

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Whoo! Yes, yes.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

PADMA: I came to America
when I was four.

I'm an immigrant,
and I'm not alone.

I've spent my life
writing about food

and tasting the world.

Now I want to explore who we
are through the food we eat.

My game is strong.

What exactly is American food?

And what makes us American?

I'm Padma Lakshmi.

Come with me
as we taste the nation.

[SOLEMN MUSIC]

♪ ♪

ALL: [SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE]

PADMA: How do you convey
who you really are

in a place where
no one understands you?

This was the struggle
for early Thai immigrants

who came here in the 1960s.

Before then, there wasn't
a single Thai person

in Las Vegas,
according to records.

And Thai cuisine in this country

was virtually unknown,

which is pretty crazy
because today,

there's Thai food everywhere.

In fact, some of the best
is right here in Las Vegas,

home to one of the largest
Thai communities in the U. S.

And I'm proud to say that
those pioneering immigrants

were overwhelmingly women
who, like my own mother,

came here to make a better
life in a strange, new land.

Can I, um, try
the pumpkin Thai custard?

How do you make this?

Eggs, coconut milk,
a little bit sauce,

pumpkin top.

It's not too sweet.
It's just right.

No, it's great.
It's, like, very light.

So this is
your extended family.

Right. Yes.

COOK: Hello. PADMA: Hello.

PADMA: You do?

PADMA: Sure. COOK: Yup.

Mm, it's the most
popular dish, right?

Yes, uh‐huh. From the Thai.

PADMA: Ah, pad thai, the star
of Thai cuisine in America.

Sweet, sour, and salty,

flavors that hint
at an exotic meal,

but don't scare
the casual American diner.

If you're like me,
you're craving it right now.

INTERVIEWEE:
When you mention Thai food,

people here definitely think
of pad thai.

INTERVIEWEE: Tasty, healthy,
and affordable.

Three factor.
You can find it easy.

INTERVIEWEE: Every restaurant,
they start to have pad thai,

every restaurant.

I do love pad thai.

PADMA: But pad thai
represents so much more

than what's on the plate.

It's a symbol of the
Thai immigrant experience.

And for the women
who brought it here,

it was a tool they used
to fit in

before they could
really stand out.

I don't think I could live here

for the sheer dryness of it.

Yeah.

I'm from
a tropical climate, like‐‐.

MARK: We are tropical people.

I know. We need humidity, man.

We need humidity.

[EERIE MUSIC]

PADMA: My introduction
to this community

is Mark Padoongpatt,

a first generation
Thai immigrant and professor

at the University of Nevada,
Las Vegas.

He literally wrote the book

on the history of Thai people
in America through food.

How many pad thais do you think
you've had in your life?

MARK: [LAUGHS] A lot.

Over a thousand, probably.
[LAUGHS]

PADMA: Hi, can I get
a pad thai for to‐go, please?

Thank you.

Thai food has become so popular,

it's earned its place
at the American drive‐through.

All right, thanks, man.
I appreciate it, bro.

All right.

PADMA: Go ahead. Let me see it.

Ta‐da. MARK: All right.

Do Thais really
use chopsticks?

Or is that for Westerners? No.

No, it's for Westerners
and it's the Chinese influence,

but Thai people use
forks and spoons.

PADMA: All right,
so what's all this?

MARK: Okay, so we got
egg, green onions,

saw a little bit of peanut
on there, chicken.

This is about as typical
as you're gonna get

'cause it's‐‐it's
a little bit sweet, salty.

It needs some lime
and some heat.

You need some dry chili.
That's how I like my pad thai.

The funniest thing is
pad thai, it's seen as, like,

this typical Thai dish that
goes back hundreds of years.

It was actually created
in the 1930s.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

Thailand changes its name
from Siam to Thailand.

Phibunsongkhram, who was the
prime minister at the time,

he was really set on creating
a sense of Thainess.

Pad thai is one of
the inventions of that period.

We have this national dish,
pad thai, that's ours.

PADMA: He's like Coca‐Cola‐‐
MARK: Yeah, yeah.

You know, with his branding.
And he names it Thai.

- Like, what does "pad" mean?
- "Pad" is fry.

Oh, so like Thai fry.

Yeah, it's‐‐so it's not,

like, anything, like,
really crazy, right?

It was just, like,
stir‐fried noodles,

but it's the Thai
stir‐fried noodles.

PADMA: When did you parents
come to this country?

MARK: They came
in the late '70s.

And they met in LA.
That's where I was born.

I was homecoming king, so
I was, like, pretty popular,

but I never felt quite
Thai enough for my family,

and obviously never felt,
like, American enough

for everybody else.

I can identify however
I wanna identify,

but then society
sees me a certain way.

It's so funny because
I think it's something

that every immigrant kid
goes through.

I went through that.

When people would find out
that I was Thai,

the first thing they
would‐‐would say is, like,

"Oh, I love pad thai."

But it's the equivalent
of, like,

if you meet, like, a
black person, and you're like,

"Oh, I love basketball."

Right? Or, "I love hip‐hop."

And you're like,
"But that's not..."

It doesn't encompass, like,

the‐‐the complexity
of our experiences, right?

The history of Thai people...

You wouldn't think
liking pad thai is a problem,

but we've become so familiar
with the dish

that we've overlooked
everything else,

like Thai culture,
the complex history

of the brave women
who forged a path here,

and the broader cuisine.

The gateway to another culture

often happens first
through food.

Right, right.

But how do we get out of just

associating Thai culture
with pad thai?

Like how‐‐how do we expand
on the understanding

of the Thai experience
and what Thai culture is about?

That's like a‐‐that's one of
the greatest challenges, right?

Like everybody knows Thai food.
Nobody knows about Thai people.

There's the dish,
and then there's the hands

that prepare and serve the dish.

[TRANQUIL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

INTERVIEWEE: I grew up
in Thailand,

and I‐‐I moved here
when I was 12 years old.

INTERVIEWEE: Oh, my God,

this is, like,
difference from Thailand.

People walk fast, so fast.
I don't know why.

But now I'm getting
used to‐‐about that already.

PADMA: For many Thai immigrants,

their journey to America
began earlier.

NEWS ANCHOR: The new Communist
campaign in Vietnam continues.

Just after midnight...

PADMA: Vietnam, the w*r.
America's quagmire.

Millions of young soldiers
shipped to a far‐off place.

After battle,
U. S. Military‐sanctioned R&R

in nearby Bangkok introduced
GIs to Thailand

and Thai women.

[ROCK MUSIC]

Some couples fell in love
and got married stateside.

These women, dubbed
w*r brides, are a big part

of why early Thai immigrants
were predominantly female.

[FUNKY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

PADMA: I know. [LAUGHS] There's
something about a guy in a uniform, right?

PADMA: Radeem, Saithong,
Kan, and Oywan

are among the original Thai
settlers here in Las Vegas.

They've created
a beautiful, vibrant community

out of absolutely nothing.

They met over 40 years ago
while working as waitresses

on the Ubon Air Force Base
in Thailand.

The base is also where they
met their American husbands.

- You love him right away.
- Yeah.

- Love at first sight.
- Yeah. [LAUGHS]

PADMA: Did he come
into the restaurant?

RADEEM: Yeah, he come to eat.

[LAUGHTER]

He was a good tipper? Yeah.

Like, what?


[LOW TEMPO MUSIC]

PADMA: Why did so many GIs
marry Thai women?

What do you think the reason is?

KAN: Most of them is,
like, young.

And we young too.

We, like, just grow up together.

How long did you know
your husband on the base?

PADMA: Oh. He's 20.

I'm 31.
PADMA: Wow, you're a cougar.

[LAUGHTER]

PADMA: You were a single mother
with four children,

and he still‐‐he raised them
like his own.

Yeah. PADMA: Mm‐hmm.

What's your favorite Thai dish?
RADEEM: Som tum.

[LIVELY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

PADMA: Som tum is
a super refreshing Thai salad

made with firm, unripe papaya.

RADEEM: Okay. Enough.

PADMA: Using
a large mortar and pestle,

the ingredients are pounded
to extract their flavors.

It's so good,

crunchy and tangy
with a really nice kick.

RADEEM: This is a Thai style.
This one.

It smells so good.

I think it's
curling my eyelashes.

KAN: Oh, really? ALL: [LAUGH]

PADMA: It's so spicy.

We don't need salt because
of the fish sauce, right?

KAN: Fish sauce already salty.

KAN: Yeah.

PADMA: It's very important

to make Thai food
look pretty, right?

BOTH: Yeah.

Thank you.

KAN: Mm‐mm. OYWAN: Mm.

PADMA: Oh, this is nice.
So it's nice and light.

KAN: [SPEAKING THAI]

PADMA: This one?

Pork skin, crispy pork skin.

Okay. Okay.

Do I have to have it
right now?

Yeah. Okay.

[LAUGHS]

Go ahead. Okay.

Like my own mother,
they just want to feed me.

[WHIMSICAL MUSIC]

How was it when you first came
to America with his family?

PADMA: Radeem was the first
to come to Las Vegas

with her younger husband
in 1975.

Kan and Saithong followed.

Their husbands applied
for transfers

to Nellis Air Force Base
in Nevada

so the friends
could all stay together.

Starting over required
a lot of sacrifice.

What was the hardest thing
for you?

PADMA: Mm‐hmm.

PADMA: Mm‐hmm.

But the women persevered

and willed a community
into existence,

a thriving enclave

that welcomed more
Thai immigrants to Las Vegas.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Together in a new land,

they honored their culture,
their food, and their faith.

PADMA: Mm‐hmm, was it easy
to practice your religion

with your American husbands?

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

PADMA: Mm‐hmm.

PADMA:
I guess there was a real need

in the community for that.

KAN: Yeah.

RADEEM: It's so beautiful.
This is my home, you know?

I mean, my home.

ALL: [RECITING HYMN]

[TRANQUIL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

INTERVIEWEE: Thai food
is very flavorful.

It's very well‐balanced.

It has spice,
sweetness, sourness,

bitter, saltiness.

DAN: I talk to friends
all the time,

like, when they're asking
to cook at home and stuff.

Put, like, a spoon of
fish sauce, a spoon of sugar,

and a spoon of lemon or lime.

Mix that up, see what it tastes
like, and then go from there.

You take one
of those components out,

they wouldn't eat it.

It wouldn't‐‐it
wouldn't taste right.

PADMA: There's so much more
to Thai flavors

than the sweet, sticky takeout
pad thai we all know and love.

And here to break it down
is Dan Coughlin.

He learned Thai cooking
from his mother,

who was one of the pioneers

who first brought Thai food
to America.

Now, Dan owns Le Thai,
a popular restaurant

in the trendy
Fremont East neighborhood.

DAN: This is a sauce
that would be in, like,

every Thai household.

Fish sauce, sugar, the lime,

fresh garlic, fresh cilantro,

green onion,
fresh Thai chili pepper.

I mean, you could eat this on

with just a fried egg
and some rice.

PADMA: Is it spicy‐spicy, or‐‐.

DAN: It should be,
like, a medium.

Whose medium? DAN: [LAUGHS]

It's not that spicy.
DAN: Not bad.

PADMA: It has that balance
you're talking about,

the sour, the salty
with the fish sauce.

For sure. The sweet, okay.

While there's so much more
to Thai cuisine,

knowing how to stir‐fry
noodles is essential.

Dan let me have a go
at my own version of pad thai.

The noodles will stick,

so you have to work fast
with the wok.

DAN: Can you flip? There you go.

Nice, see? Thank you.

It's all in the wrist,
they tell me.

Let's see what you think.

DAN: That's good.

PADMA: This is
the Thai 2.0, dude.

- DAN: Padma Thai?
- Watch your back.

God damn it. [LAUGHS]

[LAUGHS]

PADMA: Let's see
what your mom thinks.

Dan's mom, Nikki Bujadham,
taught him everything he knows

about feeding
the American diner.

It's hot. Mmm.

PADMA: Yeah.

That's the key.

PADMA: All right.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

DAN: These are tough. This isn't easy.
NIKKI: Yeah.

PADMA: Oh, you fold it
right away.

DAN: Oh, yeah. NIKKI: Right.

- PADMA: That's where‐‐okay.
- Try again.

NIKKI: Yeah, yeah, see?
DAN: Yeah, see?

PADMA: Every chef has
their own spring roll recipe,

varying the fillings
and dipping sauces.

In Chiang Mai in Bangkok,

they're practically sold
on every street corner.

NIKKI: I came here, 1971
with my mom.

Wait, how‐‐why did
your mom come here?

PADMA: Your mom married
an American soldier

'cause you wanted to be‐.

In USA so badly.

I asked her,
"Please, please, please."

PADMA: And why did you want
to come to America?

Not‐‐not easy at all.

PADMA: Nikki opened
the first Thai restaurant ever

in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Back then, surviving
meant assimilating.

She had to adapt her menu to
the average American palate.

NIKKI: A lot of people
still eat steak and potato,

you know?

35 years ago, not too many
people knew Thai food at all.

They know only
Chinese food, right?

So I have to make Chinese‐‐.

- DAN: To get them in the door.
- Yeah.

- Like sampling.
- Like a sample, yeah.

PADMA: One taste at a time,
Nikki introduced

her new community
to authentic Thai flavors,

and eventually, she no longer
needed to compromise.

[SOLEMN MUSIC]

PADMA: Nikki's success is
the American dream.

Now she supports her son
on his culinary journey.

NIKKI: I think about today.
I make today the best I can.

And I love here.
I love this country.

This is my home,
not in Thailand.

It's true, it's true.
This is that.

I just say
with the bottom of my heart,

America is my home.

I finished. DAN: Yeah, 25.

I think there's 25 of them.

PADMA: If you'll fry them up,
I'll eat them.

[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC]

INTERVIEWEE: Every girl
who grew up in the household

in Thailand,
when we get mad or angry,

we don't really,
like, you know, yell

or we don't talk about it.

We just keep it
our‐‐to ourselves.

INTERVIEWEE: From the outside,
Thai women seems to be

very shy, and very submissive,
and quiet.

But we're very outspoken,
very independent,

and a little sassy, I think.

♪ ♪

Thank you. Mm‐hmm.

[SPEAKING THAI] Okay.

PADMA: You wouldn't know it
to watch her serenely prep

in a quiet kitchen,

but Saipin Chutima
is restaurant royalty.

[FUNKY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Even I am a vocal, longtime fan.

Penny? PENNY: Hi.

Hi, I'm Padma. I'm Penny.

BOTH: Nice to meet you.

PADMA: I can't tell you
how excited I am to be here.

Oh, my God.

PENNY: Let me take you
into the kitchen.

PADMA: Hi. BOTH: Hi.

PENNY: Mama, meet Padma.
This is my sister, Sabrina.

PADMA: Hi, I'm a hugger, sorry.
Hi.

Hi. I'm so happy to meet you.

SAIPIN: Thank you. You too.

PADMA: Saipin is a 2011
James Beard Award winner,

and her restaurant,
Lotus of Siam,

is widely considered
the best Thai in the country.

But what did it take
for one woman

to defy our assumptions
about Thai food

and build this culinary mecca
from scratch?

And look at all these
beautiful veggies.

Long bean? Yup.

Galangal. Galangal.

PADMA: Lemongrass.
SABRINA: Pennyworts.

SAIPIN: And this one‐‐
PADMA: Pennyworts.

So good.

PADMA: It's very lemony
and very bitter.

SABRINA: Oh, yeah.
It's very good as a salad.

PADMA: And what is the purple?

SABRINA: In English,
they call it spiderwort.

Ooh. That crunchiness.

It's lighter.
It almost tastes like grass.

Like, when you're a kid
and you eat grass, but better.

I'm sure I don't cook anything

like what you're
about to show me,

so this is a very big day
for me and my food history.

Thank you.

How old were you

when you first started working
in the kitchen?

All hands on deck. Yeah.

- PADMA: That's‐‐that's true.
- [LAUGHS]

PADMA: What are we
gonna cook today?

PADMA: Khao Soi is a creamy,
coconut, spicy noodle soup.

It's comfort food in a bowl,
but still nuanced and elegant.

[TRANQUIL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

SABRINA: So we're gonna be
frying that one first.

[HOLLOW METALLIC CHIMING]
PADMA: I love that sound.

SABRINA: The nice frying
and popping sound.

I like when she fries stuff
'cause then it smells

like pizza or, like,
pretzels in the house.

PADMA: Saipin grew up
in Chiang Mai.

At about 12, she began living
and working in the home

of a wealthy family.

It was an
upstairs‐downstairs situation

in a culture
of major class division.

But as it happens,
love found a way

between Saipin and one
of her employer's sons.

This didn't sit well
with the family.

At what point did you start
falling in love with Bill?

[LAUGHTER]

PADMA: Bill left Thailand
to attend college in America.

And after 10 long years apart,
he asked Saipin to join him.

Yeah, so right
when she landed,

they went to go get married.

Okay, good. $52.

- $52, their marriage, yeah.
- $52?

That's probably
the cheapest wedding.

Did Bill's side
of the family know

that you were going to be
with Bill to get married?

They knew.

PADMA: But Bill's parents
disapproved of the marriage

and cut him off financially.

Saipin had to help
make ends meet

the best way she knew how.

So when did you open
your first restaurant,

and whose idea was that? Mine.

Mine. Your idea.

Her idea, yes. Good idea.

Yeah. ALL: [LAUGH]

SAIPIN: You put in that pan.
PADMA: In the pan.

Okay, just make me
do everything.

SABRINA: A little bit
of coconut milk into it

so that you can mix it.

SAIPIN: Okay. [SPEAKS THAI]

SABRINA: And then just have it
mix, and coat with the sauce.

SAIPIN: Yeah. PADMA: Yeah.

SAIPIN: [SPEAKING THAI]

SABRINA: She said
you could put all of it in.

Uh, vegetable sauce.
PADMA: Yeah?

SABRINA: Put it right in there.

SAIPIN: [SPEAKING THAI]

Yes, and then we taste it
to see‐‐.

SAIPIN: Taste. PADMA: Ah.

SABRINA: Is it too sweet?
Is it too salty?

Oh, my God. It's so good.

That's so good.
I have to wash my hands again.

I could not help
from licking that.

BOTH: [LAUGH]

How did you cook the beef?

SABRINA:
So we have family recipes

that she still has yet to pass
down to me or my sister.

My mom says if she were

to push all the recipes
onto me right now,

I wouldn't be able
to handle it at all.

PADMA: Saipin and her family
moved to Las Vegas,

and in 1999, she opened
Lotus of Siam.

As a tourist destination,
Vegas was a surprising choice.

But this was her blank slate

where she could express
herself fully through food.

Was Lotus of Siam
a success right away?

Very hard.
She cried every day.

Being young parents,
and then owning a business,

she was the dishwasher,
the cook, and everything.

Exhausted. Everything.

PADMA: Saipin's customers craved

greasy, Americanized
Thai takeout.

Most weren't used to the quality

or the complexity of flavors
Saipin was dishing out.

Why were you so sure that
people here needed to taste

real Thai food?

What was so important
about that?

SAIPIN: Yeah, done.
Okay, very good.

Ah, okay. [SPEAKING THAI]

SABRINA: Okay, now
we can distribute it.

Then you put the sauce
right on top.

PADMA: How much?
SAIPIN: Ah, up to you.

PADMA: Oh. BOTH: [LAUGH]

PADMA: Don't tell me that.

I'm gonna take a bath
in it later.

[SPACEY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

SABRINA: And your most
favorite, the chili oil.

Kind of like that. SAIPIN: Okay.

SABRINA: [SPEAKING THAI]

Yay! I did it.

♪ ♪

Mmm. Oh, my God.

The meat is so tender,

it's just disintegrating
in my mouth.

I'm moving to Thailand.

SAIPIN: [LAUGHS] Or Vegas.

[SPEAKING THAI]

[SPACEY MUSIC]

PADMA: Mmm!

[GENTLE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[LAUGHTER]

The culture of your restaurant
is very female‐dominated.

It's about women creating
what they want out of nothing.

PADMA:
In Tamil, we have a saying,

[SPEAKING TAMIL]

Which means "your hand
has an aroma,"

and it's something
you can't teach.

It's not just the ingredients.

It's not just the fire.

It's the hand.

And‐‐and you have
a very special gift,

and I hope that you give it
to your daughters

and give just a little bit
to me.

[LAUGHTER]

[PEOPLE SPEAKING
NATIVE LANGUAGE]

COOK: Yeah, I got it right here.

COOK: Beautiful.

PADMA: You have made
amazing use of very little

and turned it
into something very great,

and that's not an easy thing
to do.

[LAUGHTER]

SABRINA: She's like,
"You just have to fight."

After that, I mean,
especially when you‐,

for her, when she had her kids,
it‐‐you have to fight.

Yeah. You have no choice.

Mm, no, no choice.
PADMA: Yeah.

♪ ♪

What was the thing
that you were most afraid of?

PADMA: I have so much respect
for these women,

mothers and daughters
who braved the first steps

to a new land.

The risks
of leaving families behind

and arriving to the unknown

are huge for anyone.

And it isn't easy.

These women had to hustle
to survive

and eventually thrive.

So often, the women

are the carriers of the culture

and the flavors
of their homeland.

Ultimately,
it's through their hands

that these traditions
and identities

get passed on.

[SEDATE ACOUSTIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪