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!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
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
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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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 , NOT concentrate (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!
OK so I was shocked at how good this tasted, and that it came out of MY kitchen!! This tasted even better than some restaurants! I added Thai chilis for some heat, and topped with chopped cilantro and lots of lime (how I love it). Even without the essential crushed peanuts (allergic child) it was fantastic! Another huge winner! Thank you Nagi 🙂
I’ve tried numerous pad thai recipes
I live in Liguria, Italy where Thai food doesn’t exist and I miss it so much. I went to visit American friends in Tuscany and asked her what she’d like me to make for them. She asked if I knew how to make Pad Thai as they were craving it. I made your recipe along w your chicken satay, a Vietnamese crispy salad, and marinated cucumbers. Both your recipes were amazing–the Pad Thai was as good as any restaurant, I’m from San Francisco where we have amazing Thai restaurants. I would make this often but getting tofu and bean sprouts are really difficult for me.
I dont love sprouts so I used some preshredded cabbage near the end and it gave me the crunch it needed.
Thanks so much, the sauce is perfect. I really appreciate your recipes.
Soooo good ! I didn’t follow the recipe exactly tho cause I thought I had to many noodles.
Incredible recipe! I’ve tried several pad Thai recipes and this one is truly remarkable! Will definitely stick to this one from now on! Thank you so much Nagi!
Hi Nagi! Very keen to try this recipe after a disappointing pad thai noodleshop experience last night.
2 questions please! What brand tofu do you use? And,
Limes are hideously expensive at the moment, can I use my own lemons or is lemon just not going to cut it?
Hi Danielle, if you scroll through the post you’ll see the picture of the tofu I use. Limes are the garnish that are squeezed over at the end – you could use lemon, but I’d use it sparingly to taste 🙂 N x
I tried this recipe from you. The taste was irresistibly delicious! thanks for sharing this recipe.
Ugh, so good! ❤️ Tonight will be my second time using your recipe. Thank you so much for sharing, Nagi! I will have to give your other recipes a try, too.
How would I go about substituting most of the fish sauce under the ketchup substitute recipe?
Hi Salvador – I talk about this in note 3. N x
PERFECT I used Tamarind concentrate Finally a perfect Pad Thai recipe!!!!!Thank you
Absolutely delicious…..fast, easy and yummy. I have also made the tamarind substitute and it worked perfectly. This is one of my go-to, regular weeknight recipes now.
I am having trouble finding tamarind in my area. I have found lemongrass tamarind sauce. Would I be able to use this as a substitute?
Thanks so much I just love your recipes and how they add a little spice to my day 😉
Hi Kaylee, sorry I haven’t heard of that sauce so I’m unsure what is in it! N x
What can I substitute for oyster sauce that is gluten free? I couldn’t find ‘note 4’ after the oyster sauce.
Thanks
Hi Cori, I’ve seen a couple of brands make gluten free oyster sauce 🙂 N x
After 20 years of trying to make restaurant style Pad Thai and being bitterly disappointed, Nagi you have come to the rescue.🙌 This is so delicious. I love it that it tastes like restaurant Pad Thai but is nowhere near as oily as the restaurant version. I added some carrots, broccoli and snow peas that I stir fried first and tossed through at the end. This will be a new staple in our house. Loved by the adults and kids alike.
Can 👏🏻 We😍👏🏻Just👏🏻Talk👏🏻About🙌🏻👏🏻This👏🏻Recipe👏🏻
It is amazing and I made it earlier this week, and then had to make a double (well, technically triple on the noods part) again for my girls because it is SO GOOD. I used the ketchup version because even though I had Tamarind purée, I was too nervous to use it because I usually taste my sauces before I use them and this one looked so much more darker and was extremely bitter, I was nervous I had done something wrong. On the second go I still made the ketchup version, but I added a tablespoon of the tamarind purée and it was amazing, so next time I will attempt it with the sauce as the recipe states and see if I like the ketchup (hand made, not Heinz) instead, we shall see. BUT EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS is amazing this is why I love Recipe Tin Eats and also thank you!!
Wahoo!! That’s great to hear Aliya! Thanks so much for the honest feedback 🙂 N x
I made this tonight. The flavours were great. Really enjoyed this dish.X
Hi Nagi,
I made this Recipe and it was nice. I bought Chang’s Pad-Thai rice noodles and followed your instructions on soaking in boiling water for 5mins & I did give them a good rinse under cold water.
I found that the noodles had a lot of bite to them still? They were not soft and very tender.
Is that how they are meant to be?
As when me and hubby have eaten Pad-Thai out the noodles are always very soft.
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanyou
Cathy x
Hi Cathy, sorry you’re having issues here – leave them in the water slightly longer as they shouldn’t have bite. They also finish cooking in the wok, so just test them while they are cooking to ensure they are soft. N x
Will do!
Thankyou Nagi x
I lost my go to pad thai recipe (took ages to find one I liked) so gave this one a go. It was not only tastier but less complex. Winning! My new go too.
Just made this Pad Thai. Crikey it was good!
Hi! I absolutely LOVE your recipes and videos and explanations!
I have a somewhat funny question: my boy really loves the shrimps in the pad thai dishes, and I’m looking for a way to make them with the same taste but without the noodles… Any suggestions? Cheers!