If you love Thai food, this Pad Thai recipe is going to knock your socks off! This Pad Thai truly stacks up to great Thai restaurants yet is totally doable for every home cook with just a trip to your every day grocery store.
If you’re feeling inspired, indulge in a Thai banquet at home with Chicken Satay Skewers, Thai Fish Cakes, and a Thai Red Curry or Green Curry!
Pad Thai recipe
Pad Thai is one of the world’s most beloved noodle dishes. Along with Thai Green Curry and Red Curry, Pad Thai is the dish by which every Thai restaurant is measured!
I was trying to find the “best” Thai restaurant in my area just last week and it brought me much amusement that Pad Thai was the baseline of a favourable or unfavourable rating for almost every review!
What is Pad Thai??
Pad Thai is a Thai noodle stir fry with a sweet-savoury-sour sauce scattered with crushed peanuts. It’s made with thin, flat rice noodles, and almost always has bean sprouts, garlic chives, scrambled egg, firm tofu and a protein – the most popular being chicken or prawns/shrimp.
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On the streets of Thailand, you’ll find authentic Pad Thai has a distinct fishy/prawny “funk” (which sounds thoroughly unappetising but is actually completely addictive and the very essence of true Thai street food. And I really hope you didn’t misread the word “funk”……)
If a very authentic version is what you’re after, refer to this Prawn/Shrimp Pad Thai recipe I shared from Spice I Am Thai restaurant:
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On the other end of the spectrum, a quick Google is all it takes to find a myriad of basic westernised versions which are typically made with not much more than something sour (vinegar, lime juice), soy sauce and sugar. These recipes will not taste like any Pad Thai you’ve had from a restaurant – or from the foodcourt. Sorry to disappoint!
About THIS Pad Thai recipe
This recipe I’m sharing today lies in the middle between hardcore authentic Pad Thai (which most Westerners would probably find too fishy) and very basic westernised Pad Thai recipes that tend to lack the true flavours of Pad Thai and are typically too sweet.
It truly stacks up to your favourite Thai takeout – except less oily (restaurant Pad Thai is notoriously oily) – but you will not need to hunt in the dark corners of an Asian store to find the ingredients.
It’s an everyday Pad Thai recipe I specifically created so I can make it whenever I want just by popping into my local supermarket!
What is Pad Thai Sauce made of?
Pad Thai Sauce is made with fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar and tamarind.
Tamarind is the ingredient that is the heart and soul of Pad Thai sauce, giving the sauce the sour flavour that Pad Thai is known for. It’s an ingredient used in South East Asian cooking, like this Malaysian Beef Rendang.
Authentic Pad Thai is made with Tamarind pulp which comes in a block (size of a soap bar) which is then soaked in hot water, then pressed through a sieve to make tamarind puree.
To make life easy, I use ready made tamarind puree which is sold at supermarkets here in Australia. 🙌🏻🙌🏻 Or Asian stores, obviously (and it’s cheaper).
Don’t worry if you can’t find Tamarind Puree! I have a cheeky but astonishingly great sub instead….
The cheesy sub for tamarind
Ketchup.
I kid you not. You will be amazed how good this tastes.
It took a few goes to get the flavour balance right – you can’t do an outright substitution of ketchup for tamarind given one is sweet and the other sour. I had to adjust the ingredients.
I dare to say that some people might even prefer the ketchup version to the Tamarind version as it might be more familiar to them because there’s no denying there are plenty of suburban Thai restaurants that use ketchup in their Pad Thai!
Here’s a comparison of the two. The ketchup version is slightly redder, and obviously does taste different but it’s remarkably good and certainly still a terrific Pad Thai fix!
Pad Thai Noodles
Pad Thai is made with flat dried rice noodles which can be found in everyday supermarkets.
I recommend Chang’s “Thai style” rice noodles rather than the actual Thai brand rice noodles (Erawan Rice Sticks – red pack below) that are sold at supermarkets.
Chang’s are less prone to breaking and require just 5 minutes of soaking in hot water.
With the Erawan Rice Sticks, if prepared per the packet (boiled for 6 – 8 minutes), they disintegrate within seconds of hitting the pan. If soaked in boiling water, they last longer in the pan but still break.
The only way to use Erawan is to soak in room temperature water for around 40 minutes and be quite careful when tossing, and also use a touch more oil.
Don’t worry, directions for both are in the recipe. 🙂 But if you can, get Chang’s. Far less effort and stress!
Other things in Pad Thai
Don’t worry, I’m not going to put up a photo of every single ingredient in Pad Thai! Just the ones you might not be so familiar with. 🙂
Here are two more ingredients that are very Pad Thai-centric: firm tofu and garlic chives.
You’ll find firm tofu at the supermarket too – go for the firmest plain tofu you can find (read the label, give the packet a squeeze to check). Don’t even think about trying this with soft tofu – it will just totally disintegrate!
Garlic chives are the big brother of normal chives. They taste like garlicky chives (I know, you’re shocked right? 😂) and are shaped like blades of grass. These are also sold at supermarkets here in Australia (with the other fresh herbs).
I cannot believe how I’ve just written about Pad Thai without barely pausing for a breathe.
I’m going to stop here before I run out of space for the recipe. 😂
So – meet your new favourite Pad Thai recipe. The one you will make over and over again, any night of the week, just by popping into Woolies on the way home. WHOOOOT!!!!! – Nagi xx
More Thai Food favourites
- Thai Chili Basil Chicken Stir Fry
- Pad See Ew
- Thai Red Curry and Green Curry
- Massaman Curry
- Thai Fish Cakes
- See all Thai Recipes
Pad Thai
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 125 g / 4oz Chang's Pad Thai dried rice sticks (Note 1)
Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tbsp tamarind puree (Note 2)
- 3 tbsp (packed) brown sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 4)
Stir Fry:
- 2 - 3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 1/2 onion , sliced (brown, yellow)
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 150 g/5oz chicken breast (or thigh) , thinly sliced
- 2 eggs , lightly whisked
- 1 1/2 cups of beansprouts
- 1/2 cup firm tofu, cut into 3cm / 1 1/4" batons (see photo)
- 1/4 cup garlic chives , cut into 3cm / 1 1/4" pieces
- 1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts
For serving=:
- Lime wedges (essential)
- Ground chilli or cayenne pepper (optional)
- More beansprouts
Instructions
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Place noodles in a large bowl, pour over plenty of boiling water. Soak for 5 minutes, then drain in a colander and quickly rinse under cold water. Don't leave them sitting around for more than 5 - 10 minutes.
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Mix Sauce in small bowl.
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Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large non stick pan (or well seasoned skillet) over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 30 seconds.
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Add chicken and cook for 1 1/2 minutes until mostly cooked through.
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Push to one side of the pan, pour egg in on the other side. Scramble using the wooden spoon (add touch of extra oil if pan is too dry), then mix into chicken.
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Add bean sprouts, tofu, noodles then Sauce.
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Toss gently for about 1 1/2 minutes until Sauce is absorbed by the noodles.
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Add garlic chives and half the peanuts. Toss through quickly then remove from heat.
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Serve immediately, sprinkled with remaining peanuts and lime wedges on the side, with a sprinkle of chilli and a handful of extra beansprouts on the side if desired (this is the Thai way!). Squeeze over lime juice to taste before eating.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Adjusting to his new life for the next few months. He does an excellent sad face.
I was supposed to fly out to the States on Saturday but I pushed my flight back to spend the weekend getting him settled at my mother’s house. He was supposed to stay with the Golden Retriever boarder, but a) I couldn’t burden her even though she was insisting; and b) he would be so sad watching all his friends leaping into the car for beach and park outings while he remained in his crate.
My mother’s house is perfect. He’s usually quite bored here 😂
Thank you for all the lovely messages, helpful tips and sharing your experiences. I was truly touched – made me weepy actually! N xx
Brilliant recipe Nagi. I love your tamarind hack. I normally have it but I didn’t today and I really felt like pad Thai without having to go out. It tasted great. Also, incase you want to add, I only had panadaroo brand rice noodles – 10 minutes in boiling water from the kettle and they held their shape with perfect texture. Thanks again for a great recipe
Best Ever!
Thanks so much!!
HI Nagi ,
I only have tamarind Concentrate. Can I sub that for the purée ?
Hi AD, yes you can, is it one you need to reconstitute? As the amount will need to be adjusted as per the packet directions – N x
Hi, Nagi. I Will try this recipe 🌞
Love to know what you think Rosa!
Yummy! I used the ketchup version.
I’m s glad you loved it Laura!
Hi Nagi, can I use palm sugar? If so, what would be the substitute amount for brown sugar?
Thank you
Hi, you sure can, just grate the palm sugar and use the same amount as brown – N x
I soaked the noodles for 6 minutes, an extra minute than called for in the recipe, and my noodles ended up waaaaay undercooked. I’d have thought they’d get softer cooking in the pan with the sauce, but that didn’t happen. I still give it 4 stars though because the sauce was really good, it definitely has an authentic flavor. Hopefully I will fix it next time by soaking the noodles for longer!
Hi Amanda, so sorry you had issues with this one! Can I ask what type of noodles you used? – N x