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Pad Thai

This is the full authentic recipe for Pad Thai, one of the most popular and iconic dishes in Thai cuisine.
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Course: Dinner, lunch
Cuisine: Thai
Keyword: noodles, pad thai, stir fry
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6
Author: Bonny B

Ingredients

Serving size note: In this recipe, a "cooking portion" refers to how much you will cook at one time. This amount yields the quantity of Pad Thai you would get in typical (American size) restaurant order (enough Pad Thai for 1-2 people, depending on appetite).

Pad Thai Sauce

(This yields about 1¼ cup, enough for 4-5 cooking portions. Use ¼ cup per serving portion. Store unused sauce in fridge.)

  • ¾ cup tamarind concentrate
  • 75 grams palm sugar, about 7 tbsp chopped, see notes for subs
  • 4 tbsp fish sauce
  • ¼ cup water

Aromatics - amounts are per cooking portion

  • 1 tbsp garlic, chopped
  • ¼ cup shallots, chopped
  • ⅓ cup pressed tofu, cut into small pieces
  • 1 tbsp preserved (sweet) radish, diced into small pieces
  • 1 tbsp dried shrimp, diced into tiny pieces

Stir Fry - amounts are per cooking portion

  • 6-8 shrimp, peeled & deveined
  • 1-2 eggs
  • 1½ cups garlic chives, cut to 2 inch pieces
  • 4 oz rice noodles, medium width
  • 1 cup bean sprouts, plus a little extra to serve on the side

How I Make It

Pad Thai Sauce

  • Combine Pad Thai sauce ingredients over low heat to let the sugar disolve. If using palm sugar, chop it up into small bits to help it melt easier.

Protein

  • This recipe uses shrimp, but you can use any protein you prefer - chicken, pork, tofu, beef, etc.
  • Slice up your protein into bite size. If using shrimp, remove the shell and devein. Season with salt and pepper. Cook in a little oil and set aside.

Stirfying the Pad Thai

  • Have all your ingredients ready and within reach as this goes quickly.
  • In a large wok or pan, cook all your aromatics (tofu, shallots, raddish, dry shrimp, garlic) in a little oil for a minute or so.
  • Add chives and continue stirfrying.
  • Add noodles. If using dry noodles, make sure you've re-hydrated them by soaking in warm water for 30-60 mins first. Keep stir fying, and add a little water (¼-⅓ cup) if you need to. Keep stir fying. The noodles will start to soften in the water.
  • Add ¼ cup Pad Thai sauce and keep stirfying.
  • Add an egg or two, let it set for a few seconds in the pan, then scramble and mix it through the noodles.
  • Toss in the bean sprouts and the cooked shrimp (or other protein).
  • Serve with crushed peanuts (you can also toss some of this through the noodles in the wok), extra bean sprouts on the side, lime wedges, and grounded chili powder or chili flakes.

Notes

  • Palm sugar can be substituted with regular sugar or light brown sugar. However each substitute presents a different level of sweetness so your sauce may be sweeter. 
  • Shallots can be substituted with diced red onion.
  • Garlic chives can be replaced with green onions. Flavor will be a little different but visually and texturally the same.
  • If using dried rice noodles, soak them in warm water for 30-60 minutes to rehydrate them before using. Then use them like you would if they were fresh noodles in this recipe.
  • Shrimp can be substituted with any protein (beef, chicken, tofu, etc.)
  • Personal note - I often make this without the preserved radish and dried shrimp since I don't always have those on hand. I never, ever add tofu - it is one of the foods I hate and an occasional sworn enemy. I also prefer the smaller rice noodles (the type you use in Pho) than the medium ones. As long as the Pad Thai sauce is good, it will still be bomb ;)