SeafoodThai

Pad Thai

Name: Pad Thai
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 125g Rice Noodles; Juice of 3 Lime; 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper; 2 teaspoons Muscovado Sugar; 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce; 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil; 200g Tiger Prawns; 4 finely sliced Spring Onions; 140g Bean Sprouts; 25g Peanuts; Handful Coriander; 2 Lime; To serve sweet chilli sauce

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 Prawn Stir-Fry.

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Ingredients

Rice Noodles125g
LimeJuice of 3
Cayenne Pepper1/2 teaspoon
Muscovado Sugar2 teaspoons
Fish Sauce2 tablespoons
Vegetable Oil2 tablespoons
Tiger Prawns200g
Spring Onions4 finely sliced
Bean Sprouts140g
Peanuts25g
CorianderHandful
Lime2
sweet chilli sauceTo serve

Step-by-Step Instructions

8 steps

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

Step 1⏱️ 4 minutes

Put the noodles in a large heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over them and leave for 4 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold running water.

Step 2🥄 Mix

Put the lime juice, cayenne, sugar and fish sauce in a bowl and mix well.

Step 3

Have all the other ingredients ready by the cooker.

Step 4🍳 Fry

Heat the oil and fry the prawns until warmed through.

Step 5

Add the spring onions and noodles and toss around.

Step 6🥄 Mix

Tip in the lime juice mixture, then stir in the beansprouts and half the peanuts and coriander.

Step 7⏱️ 1 minute

Cook for 1 minute until everything is heated through.

Step 8✨ Serve

Pile into a large dish, scatter with the rest of the peanuts and coriander, and serve with lime wedges and sweet chilli sauce.

👨‍🍳 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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