Why Thai?

It’s hard to imagine the American restaurant landscape without Thai
food: Tom yum and pad see ew are practically household names, and
pad thai is the ultimate quarantine comfort food. (It's
apparently zombie apocalypse comfort food, too, as shown on
the Walking Dead.) According to the Thai Embassy, more than 50
percent of all Thai restaurants abroad are located in the United
States and Canada. So why did the U.S.—and Los Angeles in
particular—become the epicenter of Thai food’s global rise? How did
Cold War politics and a shortage of ingredients lead to the
creation of shrimp curry recipes made with anchovy paste and sour
cream—as well as the jackfruit industry in Mexico? What does this
all have to do with one street kid from Bangkok? Listen in now for
these stories and more: it's a vacation for your tastebuds! Learn
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