What is pad thai? Google’s animated doodle shows what’s in the dish & how to make it

Today’s doodle takes a sharp turn from the usual doodle focus that pays homage to a person or holiday, and instead offers an animated ride through a pad thai recipe.

According to the Google Doodle Blog, the doodle’s artwork was inspired by a doodle team member’s own research into cooking the dish from Thailand.

“She wanted to be able to show all the delicious ingredients up close and invented some small pea-sized characters to be our culinary guides,” writes Google, “Her lovely creation celebrates the process of cooking this unique dish and eating it with friends — warm, colorful, messy, social, and wonderfully Thai.”

Leading to a search for “what is pad thai,” the doodle includes the following seven animated slides highlighting each stage of the pad thai-making process.

Google says the rice-noodle recipe gained popularity during World War II, when Thailand suffered a rice shortage.

“Rice noodles, however, happened to be cheap, filling, and plentiful. Coupled with vegetables and cheap sources of protein such as shrimp and prawns, rice noodles could provide a well-balanced, nutritious meal,” writes Google, “An age-old recipe (thought to be introduced by Chinese traders) was popularized amongst vendors and began to be hawked widely on the streets. Overnight, a national favorite was born.”