With just a trip to your regular grocery store, anyone at home can make this Pad Thai recipe, which truly compares to the best Thai restaurants. This dish is a favorite of Thai cuisine for good reason, thanks to the slippery noodles, distinctive sweet-savoury flavor, sprinkle of peanuts, and tang from lime!
A Note about Pad Thai Sauce:
Traditional pad thai sauce contains tamarind paste, fish sauce, vinegar, and sugar. Since rice vinegar can easily be substituted for tamarind paste, I did so. In this recipe, replace the rice vinegar with about 2 Tablespoons of tamarind paste if you prefer. In order to give the dish an extra creaminess and flavorful boost that I love, I also added a generous amount of peanut butter to my sauce.
Authentic Pad Thai
The very essence of genuine Thai street food, authentic Pad Thai has a distinct fishy/prawny “funk” that sounds utterly repulsive but is actually utterly addictive. Try the version with shrimp and prawns I shared from the Spice I Am Thai restaurant if authenticity is what you’re after.
On the other end of the scale, a quick Google search will turn up a plethora of straightforward westernized variations that are typically made with just something sour (vinegar, lime juice, etc.), soy sauce, and sugar. These dishes won’t have the same flavor as any Pad Thai you’ve had at a restaurant.
Today I’m going to share a recipe that falls somewhere between a strict authentic version (which even I think is borderline too fishy) and a very basic westernized version, which usually lacks the necessary depth of flavor and is usually too sweet.
Since restaurants typically use a lot of oil, it truly compares to your favorite Thai takeout, but you won’t have to scour the dim aisles of an Asian market for the ingredients.
How to make Pad Thai
After gathering the ingredients, preparing the dish is actually very simple.
As with all stir fries, make sure you have everything ready to go into the wok or skillet before you start cooking because things come together quickly!
I can’t believe I just wrote about Pad Thai without even taking a breath to catch my breath.
Before I run out of room for the recipe, I’ll stop here. .
So – meet your new favourite Pad Thai recipe. You can prepare it every night of the week by simply stopping at Woolworths on the way home. WHOOOOT!!!!! – Nagi xx.
FAQ
Are Pad Thai and rice noodles the same?
The ingredients for pad thai are soaked dried rice noodles, chopped firm tofu, eggs, fish sauce, tamarind pulp, garlic, shallots, red chili pepper, and palm sugar. It is typically served with lime wedges and chopped roasted peanuts.
Are Pad Thai noodles thin or thick?
Noodles: While Pad See Ew uses wider, flatter rice noodles, Pad Thai frequently uses thin rice noodles. Pad Thai’s main sauce flavor comes from the tamarind, while Pad See Ew gets its flavor from soy sauce.
What noodles should I buy for Pad Thai?
Flat dried rice noodles, which are available in regular supermarkets, are used to make pad Thai. I advise Chang’s “Thai style” rice noodles over the authentic Thai brand rice noodles that are available in supermarkets (Erawan Rice Sticks – red pack below).
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.
