This is a Pad Thai recipe that truly stacks up to great Thai restaurants yet is totally doable for every home cook with just a trip to your every day grocery store. With the slippery noodles, signature sweet-savoury flavour, sprinkle of peanuts and tang from lime, this is a Thai food favourite for good reason!
Pad Thai recipe
Pad Thai is one of the world’s most beloved noodle dishes. Along with Thai Green Curry and Red Curry, this is the dish by which every Thai restaurant is measured. In fact, I was trying to find the “best” Thai restaurant in my area just last week and it brought me much amusement that Pad Thai was the baseline of a favourable or unfavourable rating for almost every review!
If you’ve been disappointed by basic Pad Thai recipes in the past, have faith – I promise this one delivers!
What is Pad Thai??
Pad Thai is a Thai noodle stir fry with a sweet-savoury-sour sauce scattered with crushed peanuts. It’s made with thin, flat rice noodles, and almost always has bean sprouts, garlic chives, scrambled egg, firm tofu and a protein – the most popular being chicken or prawns/shrimp.
Authentic Pad Thai
Authentic Pad Thai on the streets of Thailand has a distinct fishy/prawny “funk” (which sounds thoroughly unappetising but is actually completely addictive and the very essence of true Thai street food). If authentic is what you’re after, try this Prawn/Shrimp version I shared from Spice I Am Thai restaurant.
On the other end of the spectrum, a quick Google is all it takes to find a myriad of basic westernised versions which are typically made with not much more than something sour (vinegar, lime juice), soy sauce and sugar. These recipes will not taste like any Pad Thai you’ve had from a restaurant.
This recipe I’m sharing today lies in the middle between hardcore authentic version (which even I find borderline too fishy) and very basic westernised recipes that tend to lack the proper depth of flavour and are typically too sweet.
It truly stacks up to your favourite Thai takeout – except less oily (restaurants tend to use loads of oil) – but you will not need to hunt in the dark corners of an Asian store to find the ingredients.
What is Pad Thai Sauce made of?
Pad Thai Sauce is made with fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar and tamarind.
Tamarind is the ingredient that is the heart and soul of Pad Thai sauce, giving the sauce the sour flavour that Pad Thai is known for. It’s an ingredient used in South East Asian cooking, like this Malaysian Beef Rendang.
Authentic Pad Thai is made with Tamarind pulp which comes in a block (size of a soap bar) which is then soaked in hot water, then pressed through a sieve to make tamarind puree.
To make life easy, I use ready made tamarind puree which is sold at supermarkets here in Australia. 🙌🏻🙌🏻 Or Asian stores, obviously (and it’s cheaper).
Can’t find Tamarind Puree?
Believe it or not, a great substitute is ketchup. With a few tweaks to the recipe, you can achieve a similar, extremely good outcome!
The Noodles
Pad Thai is made with flat dried rice noodles which can be found in everyday supermarkets.
I recommend Chang’s “Thai style” rice noodles rather than the actual Thai brand rice noodles (Erawan Rice Sticks – red pack below) that are sold at supermarkets.
Chang’s are less prone to breaking and require just 5 minutes of soaking in hot water.
The Erawan Rice Sticks are far more prone to breaking when stir frying.
Other ingredients in Pad Thai
Here are two more ingredients that are very Pad Thai-centric: firm tofu and garlic chives.
You’ll find firm tofu at the supermarket too – go for the firmest plain tofu you can find (read the label, give the packet a squeeze to check). Don’t even think about trying this with soft tofu – it will just totally disintegrate!
Garlic chives are the big brother of normal chives. They taste like garlicky chives (I know, you’re shocked right? 😂) and are shaped like blades of grass. These are also sold at supermarkets here in Australia (with the other fresh herbs). Sub with extra garlic and green onions if you can’t find them.
How to make Pad Thai
Once you’ve gathered the ingredients, the making part is actually very straight forward!
As with all stir fries, make sure you have all the ingredients prepared and ready to toss into the wok or skillet because once you start cooking, things move fast!
I cannot believe how I’ve just written about Pad Thai without barely pausing for a breathe.
I’m going to stop here before I run out of space for the recipe. 😂
So – meet your new favourite Pad Thai recipe. The one you will make over and over again, any night of the week, just by popping into Woolies on the way home. WHOOOOT!!!!! – Nagi xx
Watch how to make it
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Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 125 g / 4oz Chang’s Pad Thai dried rice sticks (Note 1)
Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tbsp tamarind puree (Note 2)
- 3 tbsp (packed) brown sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce (Note 4)
Stir Fry:
- 2 – 3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 1/2 onion , sliced (brown, yellow)
- 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
- 150 g/5oz chicken breast (or thigh) , thinly sliced
- 2 eggs , lightly whisked
- 1 1/2 cups of beansprouts
- 1/2 cup firm tofu, cut into 3cm / 1 1/4″ batons (see photo)
- 1/4 cup garlic chives , cut into 3cm / 1 1/4″ pieces
- 1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts
For serving=:
- Lime wedges (essential)
- Ground chilli or cayenne pepper (optional)
- More beansprouts
Instructions
- Place noodles in a large bowl, pour over plenty of boiling water. Soak for 5 minutes, then drain in a colander and quickly rinse under cold water. Don’t leave them sitting around for more than 5 – 10 minutes.
- Mix Sauce in small bowl.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large non stick pan (or well seasoned skillet) over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 30 seconds.
- Add chicken and cook for 1 1/2 minutes until mostly cooked through.
- Push to one side of the pan, pour egg in on the other side. Scramble using the wooden spoon (add touch of extra oil if pan is too dry), then mix into chicken.
- Add bean sprouts, tofu, noodles then Sauce.
- Toss gently for about 1 1/2 minutes until Sauce is absorbed by the noodles.
- Add garlic chives and half the peanuts. Toss through quickly then remove from heat.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with remaining peanuts and lime wedges on the side, with a sprinkle of chilli and a handful of extra beansprouts on the side if desired (this is the Thai way!). Squeeze over lime juice to taste before eating.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published May 2018. Updated January 2019 with a new video, new step photos. No change to recipe.
More Thai food favourites
Good Thai is sorely lacking in my neighbourhood – so it’s critical to have recipes for all my favourite Thai dishes!
Life of Dozer
Flashback to when I first published Pad Thai back in May 2018 when he tore his cruciate ligament and was confined to a small space during his recovery. He does an excellent sad face. 😢
Happy to report that 3 months later, he was back to his wild, crazy self!
Oh, my, goodness!! I have tried MANY Pad Thai recipes and nothing compares to this one. I made it for a friend and she said it was better then the takeout version. This recipe is on repeat at my house. Try it and you’ll never make anything but this! Thank you Nagi for a phenomenal recipe.
will try it tomorrow.
Made this for dinner with my son last night (without the egg) and he said it was as good as his favourite restaurant pad thai!!
Was pretty good, just wished it was more spicy, I ended up using some chili oil and chili paste in the sauce I made.
Hi Christiano! Pad Thai is not supposed to be spicy 🙂 It’s supposed to be sweet! N x
A brilliant recipe! I used the tamarind supplement and it tastes exactly like any pad thai I’ve had previously. Absolutely delightful! 😊
Sorry, i should add I had to double the amount of light soy to add that kick! 😊
Love this recipe. I made it on the weekend and it tasted like a restaurant dish. Spot on. My husband even loved it and he doesn’t eat alot of asian meals. Very little effort required. I will definitely make it again.
My fave pad Thai ever we make this at least once a fortnight
Lovvve this recipe, I’m making it for the 4th time tonight! Question– if we homemake the tamarind paste, since it makes a whole lot more than what we need, how long do you think it’d last in the fridge? can it be frozen and reused? thanks 🙂
Amazing recipe and comes together soooo quick! I don’t think I ever need to order take out again!
I’ve made this twice so far. Yum and Yum. I have to make a kosher version, but it’s impossible to find kosher fish sauce. Guess what! Worcestershire sauce (the real kind) substitutes for fish sauce (it’s made with anchovies), oyster sauce, soy sauce, and there’s no need for ketchup!
That’s a great tip Jeff! Thanks!! N x
Made this couple of times and it tastes like restaurant meal every time. Easy and doesnt require a lot of prep work either….I love cooking this!!!!
Thanks Tanya! I am aiming for fakeout over takeout!! N x
Just made this for dinner, everyone loved it, super yummy!! Thanks once again Nagi!
Loved loved loved this recipe so much I made it two nights in a row!
Woo hoo!! That’s amazing Liz! Enjoy!! N x
Love this, made it tonight with my daughter, it was delicious and so easy
Woo hoo!! That’s amazing Dipika – enjoy! N x
LOVE THIS!!!!
Question!! If I want to double the recipe, do I need to make two separate batches or can I double it and cook it like normal?
If you have a very large pan/wok you could double it but otherwise it’s safest to make it in two batches! N x
I did a double batch tonight and my wok was just big enough to handle it. Next time I think I would probably split it to two batches though
Just had this for dinner and it was delicious. I got my groceries delivered and got soft tofu instead of hard, so it just added to the scrambled and I really liked it. We sprinkled chilli powder at the end, and it was perfection.
This is a delicious homemade pad Thai recipe. The best one I have tried yet. I couldn’t find tamarind in my area and used the alternative sauce recipe. Next time I will add carrots and snap peas to boost up the veggies
just awesome. . so simple yet so delicious. . my daughter says it’s so much better than the restaurant 😅
I’ve tried store-bought sauces only, and wasn’t a fan. I assumed making pad Thai from scratch would require tons of ingredients. I was surprised by how simple this recipe was, and how delicious! My fiancé went in for seconds AND took some to lunch today. Both are rare. Thanks for such an awesome recipe! This is going to be one of my staples from now on.
I am happy you both enjoyed it Miranda! N x
Hello Nagi, This is the new recipe I’m going to try this month. I’m just wondering if the brown sugar can be substituted or reduced as I’m diabetic? If you could advise. Ngā mihi.
Could I use tamarind concentrate instead of purée?
I reduced mine by half cause it felt too much sugar to my liking and it still tasted very good, I have tried a lot of pad thai in my life and it’s a great recipe. Next time I’ll try even less sugar.