Pad Thai (Stir-Fried Rice Noodles)

About This Recipe

Pad Thai is arguably the world's most famous Thai dish — and frequently the most poorly made outside Thailand. The authentic version is made in a screaming-hot wok with rice noodles (sen lek), eggs, tofu, dried shrimp and prawns, seasoned with a balanced combination of tamarind paste, fish sauce, palm sugar and sometimes oyster sauce. Bean sprouts and garlic chives are added at the end and the whole dish takes under 5 minutes to cook — the key is mise en place (having everything prepped and at hand) and extremely high heat. The result should be slightly caramelised, with distinct separate noodle strands rather than a clumped, sticky mass. Pad Thai is served with a quartet of condiments: sugar, fish sauce, dried chilli and white vinegar — diners season their own bowl.

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 200 gdried rice noodles (sen lek, 3 mm)
• 200 graw prawns, peeled and deveined
• 150 gfirm tofu, cubed
• 3eggs
• 150 gbean sprouts
• 50 ggarlic chives or spring onions, cut into 3 cm pieces
• 3shallots, sliced
• 2 clovesgarlic, minced
• 2 tbspdried shrimp
• 3 tbsptamarind paste
• 2 tbspfish sauce
• 2 tbsppalm sugar or brown sugar
• 4 tbspvegetable oil
• 4 tbsproasted peanuts, roughly crushed
• lime wedges to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak noodles

   Soak rice noodles in room-temperature water for 30 minutes. Do not use hot water — they should be flexible but not fully cooked. Drain.

2. 2

   Make sauce

   Mix tamarind paste, fish sauce and palm sugar until sugar dissolves. Taste — it should be sour, salty and sweet in roughly equal measure.

3. 3

   Fry tofu

   Heat wok over maximum heat until smoking. Add oil and fry tofu cubes until golden on all sides. Push to the side.

4. 4

   Add aromatics

   Add shallots, garlic and dried shrimp. Stir-fry 30 seconds.

5. 5

   Add noodles and sauce

   Add soaked noodles and sauce. Toss constantly over high heat for 1–2 minutes until noodles absorb the sauce.

6. 6

   Add prawns and eggs

   Push noodles to the side, add a little oil, add prawns and cook until pink. Push to the side, crack in eggs and scramble lightly before mixing into the noodles.

7. 7

   Add sprouts and chives

   Add bean sprouts and garlic chives. Toss for 30 seconds — they should remain slightly crunchy.

8. 8

   Serve

   Plate immediately with crushed peanuts, lime wedges and a pinch of dried chilli. The condiment quartet goes on the table.

Variations

• •

  Pad Thai Jay (vegan): replace fish sauce with soy sauce, omit prawns and dried shrimp, add extra tofu.

• •

  Pad Thai moo: use pork instead of prawns — a common Bangkok street version.

Storage

Eat immediately. Pad Thai does not store or reheat well.

Frequently Asked Questions