but I couldn't be more excited about tasting one in the country

that created it.

I'm going with a local called Ping to a place known as the Brass Wok,

where Pad Thai is the only thing on the menu.

It's run by husband and wife team Narong and Narisara.

How long have you been making pad Thai for?

THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE

22 years. 22 years?

What makes your pad Thai so good?

These guys serve up a couple of hundred pad Thais every lunchtime.

It's like the ultimate fast food.

We've got oil and then noodles straight in!

Cook it in there?

Interesting.

Into the wok, Narong's adding shrimp and tofu, then a couple

of unexpected ingredients -

pickled turnip -

I'm guessing that's salty - and something sweet.

An egg is cooked alongside and the dish is done.

Here they serve their pad Thai with bean sprouts,

peanuts, spring onions and a banana flour.

Wow, you made that so quickly and it looks beautiful.

I love it with all the bits on the side.

That is delicious.

It's the most real pad Thai I've ever had.

It's much sweeter than I was expecting.

Can I use your big wok to make you a pad Thai?

Maybe cook it and give it to your workers as well,

see what they think?

You take the afternoon off?

THEY LAUGH

now I need some fresh ingredients

for my pad Thai, which means a visit to Chanthaburi's amazing market.

There's literally nothing you can't find here!

There's so much!

We need some beansprouts. Yeah.

Over here.

Here? Yeah. One kilo. OK.

Yeah, let's do that.

I find it impossible not to mess with a classic recipe,

and I want to surprise Narong and Narisara.

I want to put something interesting in my pad Thai.

Something like shrimp? Squid! That's it. Yeah.

I'm going to put some squid in it.

Can I have half a kilo?

I'm feeling the pressure a little bit now.

You'll be fine. You'll be fine.

I hope so. Cooking for a pair of pad Thai purists is pretty daunting.

Oh, here comes trouble.

20-odd years of experience and I'm making a pad Thai on their wok.

Oh, dear God.

I'm going to stick...

..my onions and my shallots, and my chilies.

I'm going old school with my pad Thai sauce,

which means tamarind, fish sauce and soy.

Then I'm going to add - which is slightly unconventional -

some turmeric. I wonder what they think of that.

And some lime juice.

Turmeric will deepen the flavour and lime

will add a slightly sour note.

Would you mind crushing up some cashews in there for me, please?

I've got to find a way of distracting him now.

If you could just chop up, just rip up some celery leaves

for me. Thank you.

Hurry up now, while they're not watching. Right.

Then I'm going to add my squid.

The best thing about a pad Thai is it all happens so fast.

I've got my special pad Thai noodles,

if I can untangle them.

I'm going to add my sauce. It's just tamarind paste,

fish sauce and soy mixed together.

Oh.

SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

No egg.

I'm not putting egg.

As well as beansprouts, in yet another break in convention,

I'm serving cashew nuts, chilli and celery leaves

on the side.

Well, if the history is slightly ropey, you don't really know

where it's from, which means, to me that means I have creative

license to do whatever I like with it.

But will the Brass Wok staff agree?

On the menu, they've got pad Thai made with shrimp,

I've made mine with squid.

How do they feel about that?

THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE

Shrimp is better.

You think shrimp is better? Yeah.

Did I see you add some sugar?

Yeah.

THEY LAUGH

Sugar fiends!

Honestly, you've surprised me.

This whole pad Thai and sugar thing, I'm shocked.

It seems that the people in Thailand have a very sweet tooth,

but they're also pretty frank.

They're not scared to tell you when you're wrong.

I've grown up in a family where I am used to being told how it is,

so that for me was the easiest knock back I've ever had in my life.

So, from now on I think I will stick to squid in a pad Thai,

just not putting the sugar in, though.

I'm going to stick to my sugar in my sweets.