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Pad Thai

Name: Pad Thai
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 200 g Rice noodles, 5 mm; 200 g Prawns; 100 g Firm tofu (diced); 2 pieces Eggs; 3 tbsp Tamarind paste; 3 tbsp Fish sauce; 3 tbsp Palm sugar; 3 cloves Garlic; 2 pieces Shallot; 150 g Bean sprouts; 50 g Garlic chives; 50 g Peanuts (roughly chopped); To taste Lime; 3 tbsp Neutral oil

Pad Thai is Thailand's internationally renowned stir-fried rice noodle dish, distinguished by its harmonious interplay of sweet, sour, salty, and savory notes achieved through tamarind paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, dried shrimp, pressed tofu, eggs, and crushed roasted peanuts.

Quick, high-heat wok cooking is essential. Thin rice noodles (sen lek) are soaked in warm water until pliable but still firm, then flash-fried with aromatic shallots, garlic, and preserved radish. The noodles absorb the tamarind-palm sugar glaze while bean sprouts and Chinese chives are tossed in at the very end to retain a fresh, lively crunch.

Serve with fresh lime wedges, extra chili powder, raw bean sprouts, and a generous mound of coarsely crushed roasted peanuts on the side so each diner can balance the seasonings to their personal taste.

If you appreciate classic Thai dishes, you may also enjoy exploring our authentic Massaman Curry.

Difficulty: mediumPrep: 30 minCook: 10 minServes 2

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Ingredients

Rice noodles, 5 mm200 g
Prawns200 g
Firm tofu (diced)100 g
Eggs2 pieces
Tamarind paste3 tbsp
Fish sauce3 tbsp
Palm sugar3 tbsp
Garlic3 cloves
Shallot2 pieces
Bean sprouts150 g
Garlic chives50 g
Peanuts (roughly chopped)50 g
LimeTo taste
Neutral oil3 tbsp

Step-by-Step Instructions

5 steps

Interactive Cook Mode: Click any step or circle to check it off as you cook.

Step 1

Soak the noodles in warm water for twenty minutes. They should bend but still feel firm when you bite one.

Step 2

Dissolve the palm sugar in the tamarind and fish sauce, warming them together for a minute. Taste it: sour, salty and sweet should all land equally.

Step 3🍳 Fry

Get the wok hot, fry the tofu until crisp, add the garlic and shallot, then after half a minute the prawns. Cook until pink and push them to the side.

Step 4

Break the eggs into the cleared space, let them set and break them up with the spatula. Add the drained noodles and pour in the sauce.

Step 5🍳 Fry

Fry, tossing constantly, for two minutes until the noodles drink the sauce and soften. Add the sprouts and chives, toss once and take it off.

👨‍🍳 Chef's Culinary Notes

Cultural Heritage

Promoted in the late 1930s by Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram as part of a national modernization and identity campaign, Pad Thai united regional Thai street food culture with Chinese wok technique.

Dietary Substitutions

For a vegetarian or vegan version, replace fish sauce with light soy sauce and fermented bean paste, and use extra pressed firm tofu in place of dried shrimp or chicken.

Chef Technique Tips

Soak your rice noodles in room temperature water for 45 minutes rather than boiling them in hot water. Boiling water makes the noodles gummy in the wok, while soaked noodles absorb the sauce and stay resiliently chewy.

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