Pad Thai Recipe
An authentic Pad Thai recipe featuring stir-fried rice noodles, chicken, and a balanced tamarind-based sauce, delivering that classic Thai restaurant flavor at home.
Equipment
- Large wok or skillet
- Mixing bowls
- Tongs
Ingredients
Noodles and Sauce
- 8 oz dried flat rice noodles
- 3 tbsp tamarind paste
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tbsp lime juice
Stir-Fry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh, sliced thin
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups bean sprouts divided
- 3 green onions cut into 1-inch pieces
- ΒΌ cup crushed roasted peanuts divided
- Lime wedges for serving
- Chili flakes for serving, optional
Instructions
Soak the Noodles and Mix the Sauce
- Soak the dried rice noodles in warm water for 20-30 minutes, until pliable but still slightly firm, since they will finish cooking in the pan later. Drain and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the tamarind paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, and lime juice until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
Stir-Fry the Chicken and Aromatics
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add the sliced chicken and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes, until mostly cooked through.
- Push the chicken to one side of the pan, add the minced garlic to the empty space, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Crack the eggs into the same space, scrambling them quickly, then mix everything together.
Add the Noodles and Finish
- Add the drained noodles to the pan along with the sauce mixture, tossing everything together continuously for 2-3 minutes, until the noodles have softened fully and absorbed the sauce.
- Add half of the bean sprouts, the green onions, and half of the crushed peanuts, tossing for another minute to combine and slightly wilt the sprouts.
- Remove from heat and transfer to serving plates, topping with the remaining bean sprouts and peanuts. Serve immediately with lime wedges and chili flakes on the side.
Notes
- Soaking the noodles just until pliable, rather than fully soft, is important, since they continue cooking once they hit the hot pan, and starting too soft can lead to mushy, overcooked noodles in the final dish.
- Working quickly once the noodles and sauce go into the pan helps everything cook evenly without the noodles sticking or clumping together.
- Tossing continuously during the final stages of cooking, similar to a proper wok technique, helps distribute the sauce evenly across every noodle.
- If tamarind paste isn't available, a mixture of lime juice and a small amount of brown sugar can approximate some of the tanginess, though the flavor won't be quite as complex as using real tamarind.
- Leftover pad thai keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, though the noodles may firm up slightly, so a small splash of water when reheating helps loosen everything back up.