The Secret Ingredient

BEYOND PAD THAI: EXPLORING ALBUQUERQUE’S THAI FOOD SCENE

MORE THAN JUST PAD THAI

There was a rumor in my college town that the most popular Thai restaurant had a surprising secret ingredient in its pad thai: ketchup. And believe it or not, the rumor might have been true.

Ketchup, with its sweet and tangy flavor, has long been used as a substitute for tamarind, a traditional ingredient in pad thai. Whether it’s because ketchup is easier to find, simpler to prepare, or better suited to American tastes, some restaurants still use it today.

That little rumor points to something bigger. Much like the spaghetti Americans grew up eating, the pad thai most Americans know is often an adaptation of the original dish.

Pad thai itself reportedly became popular during a modernization campaign launched by the Thai government in the 1940s. Over the following decades, Thailand promoted its cuisine internationally through a strategy known as gastrodiplomacy. Today, pad thai has become so closely associated with Thai food in America that many diners use it to judge an entire restaurant.

But Thailand’s culinary traditions extend far beyond one noodle dish.

DISCOVERING THE REAL FLAVORS OF THAILAND

A decade ago, I spent time cycling through Thailand, discovering a country as geographically diverse as its food.

From the lush northern mountains bordering Myanmar and Laos to the eastern plateau, central rice fields, and southern peninsula stretching toward Malaysia, each region offers its own culinary traditions.

Within hours of arriving in Bangkok, I realized how little I actually knew about Thai cuisine.

Despite years of eating green curry and fresh rolls in the United States, I had barely scratched the surface. Thai fried chicken, stir-fried water spinach, simple noodle soups, and countless roadside specialties introduced me to flavors I hadn’t experienced before.

One particularly memorable discovery was pad kaprao, a beloved Thai stir-fry that seemed far more common among street vendors than the pad thai Americans typically associate with the country.

Returning home made it difficult to enjoy American Thai restaurants the same way.

Many menus offered nearly identical selections, often with toned-down flavors designed for customers less accustomed to the intense heat, fermented ingredients, and bold seasonings found throughout Southeast Asia.

Unless a restaurant specialized in regional dishes, such as northeastern Thailand’s Isaan cuisine or northern Thai sausage, I usually passed.

For a while, I had practically given up on Thai food in New Mexico.

Then I discovered Thai II Cuisine in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill neighborhood.

During the pandemic, its takeout became a regular favorite. The lemongrass-packed fish cakes, pad kaprao, and laab reminded me of the dishes I’d enjoyed abroad.

Eventually, though, I grew tired of takeout. Freshly prepared noodles simply aren’t the same after spending time sealed inside a Styrofoam container.

It took another restaurant experience to rekindle my enthusiasm.

THAI KITCHEN: TRADITIONAL FLAVORS IN AN UNEXPECTED SETTING

Dining at Leo’s when it opened in Santa Fe reminded me how much I loved Thai cuisine in all its spicy, aromatic complexity.

That experience inspired me to take another look at Albuquerque’s Thai restaurants.

A friend had once told me that Thai Kitchen, located near the Albuquerque and Corrales border, served some of the most authentic pad thai she’d found in the area.

From the parking lot, the restaurant looks like another ordinary strip-mall business. Step inside, however, and the atmosphere is surprisingly inviting.

Wood accents, thoughtful lighting, and living plants create a comfortable dining room suitable for a quick weekday lunch or a relaxed Saturday dinner. Unlike many Thai restaurants in Albuquerque, Thai Kitchen also offers beer and wine alongside traditional Thai iced tea.

And the pad thai lives up to its reputation.

The noodles are beautifully caramelized, the shrimp perfectly cooked, and the cabbage pleasantly crisp. Tamarind provides its signature tang, fish sauce adds depth, and just enough sweetness brings everything together.

Opened in 2014 by husband-and-wife team Art and Bond Xaiyasiha, both former employees of Siam Cafe, Thai Kitchen promises to bring Thailand directly to its customers.

The menu includes familiar favorites such as pad thai, pad see ew, and a selection of curries. But it also offers two versions of pad kaprao.

This popular stir-fry combines pork, basil, garlic, and Thai chilies. In Thailand, it’s an everyday staple, much like the breakfast burrito in New Mexico.

Every cook has a slightly different version. Some use ground pork, others sliced meat or fish. Some keep the spice manageable, while others add enough chilies to challenge even experienced diners.

Thai Kitchen may substitute Thai basil for the harder-to-find holy basil, but the result is delicious. Its dinner menu also features a version topped with an egg, a common preparation in Thailand.

SA THAI: A MODERN TAKE ON REGIONAL FAVORITES

Thai Kitchen’s success helped inspire another Albuquerque restaurant.

A few years ago, Art partnered with local entrepreneur Claudius Dipo Alam, whose ventures include Paleta Bar, to create SA Thai.

Opened in 2024 near Paseo del Norte, SA Thai offers a more contemporary, fast-casual dining experience while introducing customers to dishes they may not encounter at traditional American Thai restaurants.

One standout is khao soi, a northern Thai noodle dish with Burmese influences.

Unlike the stir-fried noodles commonly associated with Bangkok, khao soi features thin egg noodles served in a rich red curry broth, traditionally with chicken. Crispy noodles are piled on top, and accompaniments often include pickled mustard greens and other condiments.

SA Thai also prepares an excellent pad kaprao topped with an egg.

But one of my personal favorites is the grilled beef nam tok, also known as waterfall salad. Its bold seasoning and distinctive galangal flavor make it particularly memorable.

The restaurant’s interior reflects its modern approach, featuring exposed ceilings, Bangkok-inspired wall illustrations, and even a deconstructed tuk-tuk mounted on a wall.

Both SA Thai and Thai Kitchen offer friendly, attentive service, although diners interested in exploring less familiar dishes may benefit from researching the menu beforehand.

I’m especially interested in trying SA Thai’s fried pork belly.

Art has also been developing a third restaurant, Thai Sabb, a quick-service concept focused on Isaan cuisine in the Wyoming Boulevard shopping center formerly home to Thai Tip.

Its northern Thai-style sausage may be reason enough for another visit.

PAD THAI CAFE: A LITTLE TASTE OF THAILAND

Lately, however, the restaurant I keep wanting to return to is Pad Thai Cafe, located near Talin Market in Albuquerque.

It’s small, unpretentious, and welcoming.

The women running the restaurant create an atmosphere that feels more like a family kitchen than a commercial dining establishment.

Thai conversations drift between employees and occasional customers. The dining room is modest, decorated with framed landscapes, photographs of the Thai king, and glass-topped tables displaying floral patterns.

There’s nothing flashy about it, and that’s part of the appeal.

In many ways, it reminds me of the simple restaurants I visited in Thailand, minus the open-air kitchen.

Ordering takeout is straightforward: Call, tell them what you’d like, and pick it up.

But dining inside is the better experience.

The drunken noodles are deservedly popular and make an excellent introduction for anyone beginning to explore Thai cuisine.

The tom kha is light, fragrant, and wonderfully aromatic. Both the glass noodle salad and papaya salad deliver the unmistakable depth of fish sauce, giving them the bold, funky character these dishes deserve.

And yes, the pad thai is fantastic.

What truly distinguishes Pad Thai Cafe, though, is its willingness to serve serious heat.

Of the Albuquerque Thai restaurants I’ve visited, this one comes closest to the spice levels I remember from Thailand.

Order your meal Thai hot, and be prepared.

If you’re unsure how much heat you can handle, the staff can bring a chili tray to the table so you can adjust the spice yourself.

It’s a small gesture that allows customers to explore Thai flavors on their own terms.

UNDERSTANDING THAI FOOD BEYOND THE AMERICAN MENU

Thai cuisine is enormously diverse. Even the food traditions of Bangkok alone could take a lifetime to fully explore.

I certainly don’t claim to be an expert.

But I appreciate restaurants willing to introduce American diners to flavors, ingredients, and traditions beyond the familiar standards.

Here’s another interesting detail: Thai food generally isn’t eaten with chopsticks, except for certain dishes such as noodle soups.

Instead, diners typically use a spoon in their dominant hand and a fork in the other.

Pailin Chongchitnant of Hot Thai Kitchen offers a helpful explanation of traditional Thai dining etiquette.

It’s a useful reminder for anyone who has ever confidently requested chopsticks for a plate of massaman curry, assuming the restaurant simply forgot to provide them.

And perhaps it’s also a reminder that learning about another culture often means letting go of assumptions we didn’t even realize we had.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS ENJOYMENT

Looking back, I can’t say for certain whether the pad thai from my college years actually contained ketchup.

Maybe it did. Maybe it didn’t.

It probably wasn’t prepared exactly as it would have been in Thailand, and it may have been missing several traditional ingredients.

But I loved it.

More importantly, it introduced me to a cuisine that would eventually inspire me to travel, explore, and appreciate an entirely new world of flavors.

Debates over culinary authenticity can become complicated. Who gets to decide what’s authentic? How far back must a recipe go before it qualifies? And if pad thai has Chinese culinary roots, does that somehow make it less Thai?

Those questions don’t always have simple answers.

Still, conversations about authenticity have helped broaden American tastes and encouraged restaurants to introduce dishes that once seemed unfamiliar.

They’ve also allowed international cuisines in America to grow and evolve.

And ultimately, whether you’re enjoying pad thai from a roadside wok in Bangkok or sitting down to dinner at a neighborhood restaurant in Albuquerque, perhaps the most important ingredient is simply how much you enjoy the meal.