Thai street food staple Pad Thai is probably the most popular dish at your neighborhood Thai restaurant. In actuality, Thailand’s national dish is this widely consumed stir-fried noodle dish. Bold, umami flavors and a variety of textures turn Pad Thai into a comforting dish that everyone can enjoy, but what exactly is it about it that makes it so delicious? Lets take a closer look at this beloved Thai dish.
View Recipe: Classic Pad Thai
If you can, chop up some salted radish from your local Asian market and add it to this recipe for Pad Thai. It gives the dish an irresistibly tangy flavor.
What is Pad Thai??
Thai stir-fried noodles known as “Pad Thai” are served with a sweet-savory-sour sauce and crushed peanuts. The most popular proteins are chicken or prawns/shrimp. It is made with thin, flat rice noodles and almost always includes bean sprouts, garlic chives, scrambled eggs, firm tofu, and a protein
Eating healthy should still be delicious. Sign up for our daily newsletter for more great articles and tasty, healthy recipes.
Rice noodles, tofu, eggs, and a sauce made of tamarind paste, fish sauce, dried shrimp, garlic, chiles, and palm sugar (which is frequently less refined than cane sugar) are the main components of a traditional Pad Thai. Rich, vibrant flavors, including funky (fish sauce and dried shrimp), sour (fresh tamarind paste), and sweet (palm sugar), define pad thai.
Recipes for Pad Thai vary, but theres almost always a base of wide rice noodles, a generous sprinkle of crushed peanuts on top, and a lime wedge served alongside. The addition of a quick, wok-scrambled egg and a pile of fresh bean sprouts are also part of most versions of the dish.
Most Pad Thai recipes for the home cook get their sweet and sour components from brown sugar and vinegar or lime juice. Though a combination of shrimp and tofu are traditional, you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in place of the shrimp, or just use vegetables and tofu for a vegetarian version.
FAQ
Are Pad Thai noodles the same as rice noodles?
Vermicelli, a kind of rice noodle, is a thick cut of noodles used in pad Thai. They give the food some chew and are pretty much the perfect medium for a sweet-and-sour pad Thai sauce. These noodles can soften just by soaking, similar to vermicelli, so there’s no need to bring water to a boil before using them.
How are Pad Thai noodles different?
The difference between these two dishes is that Drunken Noodles is spicy and savory while Pad Thai is nuttier and sweeter. What is this? Pad Thai is a dish made of rice noodles and a sauce with chicken and crushed peanuts. The sauce is made with tamarind paste, fish sauce, and palm sugar.
What do Pad Thai noodles taste like?
Ingredients for Pad Thai The food is combined with tamarind sauce and served with lime. This dish’s flavors are based on a sweet-savory fusion. It’s a treat for the tastebuds—salty, nutty, and with that slightly sweet sauce!
What are Pad Thai noodles called?
Rice noodles: These thin rice noodles are typically used to make Pad Thai. However, you can use any size of rice noodle you have on hand. Protein: I’ve included a recipe for chicken pad Thai below, but you can also use shrimp, beef, pork, tofu, or any other type of protein you like.
