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!
Fantastic- had it at a Thai restaurant last week- this was much nicer. Thanks Nagi
This was the best pad thai recipe I’ve tried and came out as good or better than the local thai restaurants near me. The whole family loved it and it will be on the week day rotation!
Made this as part of a Thai banquet luncheon and it was well received. I made a vegetarian version, so added more tofu batons in lieu of chicken. I pressed the tofu, so it sucked up the sauce.
My friend commented that she usually doesn’t like pad Thai, but she loved this version. I put a good amount of tamarind in it, and I told her that a lot of the local restaurants in our area use the ketchup shortcut and the flavor is hardly authentic.
Thank you for another fantastic recipe!
I meant to add this to my last comment.
I cook 3 – 5 times a week a week for my son and your Green Thai Curry and Red Thai Curry are , hands down, both our favourites!!!
I’m not big on signing on to websites. Very first thing I will say, you are my top go to for most international recipes, not all. Secondly, your recipes are around 98% bang on.
The reason I signed into your site today is a common mistake . It might sound silly but I know I’m a good home cook. You cannot add the garlic until 30 – 40 seconds before you start adding the other ingredients… the onion ( or mushrooms) should cook sautéed minimum 2 minutes before you add garlic, depending on the cuisine
I’m sorry, it’s just a nitpick of mine. Too much burned garlic in the last 48 years. I hope I’m not insulting you….I know on other social platforms, I’d be attacked
Delicious and simple to make. The pad thai at restaurants where I live is always too sweet and mostly noodles. But this was perfect
I often crave this and have always just had it from a restaurant. I’m so happy to have found this recipe. It hits the spot perfectly!! I use this as a great base and add a few more vegetables and it’s still awesome.
Not that you probably need a 1000th review for this recipe 😅 but after making this the second time in less than a month I just want to add mine anyway. Great recipe, lovely flavours that are not overpowering and perfectly balanced. Also adaptable – first time I made this exactly as per the recipe; this time I used prawns and no tofu or chicken but added some snow peas a few sliced mushrooms and slivers of red pepper while reducing the noodles for a lighter dish (on a bit of a low carb virtuous eating mission). Totally awesome!
There are no Thai restaurants in my country town (it’s a 30min drive to the closest one) so any Thai cravings have to be met by cooking my own (or Nagi’s as it were). I doubled this recipe and soaked the Erwan brand noodles for 45 minutes beforehand as suggested. A great recipe, easy to follow and a great balance of all the flavours and crunch.
Wow, epic flavours – used the tamarind/oyster/fish sauce combo and added broccoli. I think it’s genius to add the tofu with the sprouts & noodles as it stays a really nice soft texture. Best Pad Thai I’ve sampled including a couple of 5 star local Thai joints! You nailed it Nagi👍
Delicious.
I am intolerant to garlic so used ordinary chives and skipped the garlic cloves.
I am about to make it for the 2nd time
I tripled the recipe and it turned out great. Perfect balance of sweet, salty and tangy with a wonderful crunch from the bean sprouts and peanuts. Will definitely be making this one again. Thanks for the recipe, Nagi!
I’ve made this recipe like 29 times it’s always great.
I’ve done other recipes in the past but this is so great! Love the flavors. Thank you for the tips of noodles. They stayed intact!
Absolute cracker of a recipe – easy, affordable and delicious, real restaurant quality. Thanks so much for sharing!
This tasted great. I used Royal Elephant brand Thai Rice sticks, and Rani Tamarind paste, both from Amazon. Garnished with lemon slice and shredded green cabbage. Easy to make, and a lot cheaper than our local Thai restaurant pad thai!
I tried this today and it turned out fantastic. Thank you for the recipe!
Best Phad Thai recipe I’ve tried. I made it with tofu only (no chicken) and it was very flavoursome.
Best pad Thai recipe I have ever tried ! I don’t use tofu i instead use prawns and chicken and it always comes out delicious. For the sauce I usually add some peanut butter just to add a more nutty taste to the dish which my family loves.
Thanks for sharing this great tasting recipe! My family loved it and I will definitely be adding it to the rotation.
I made this today…it was incredible. My mom also really liked it. I really liked the sauce a lot…I did not use brown sugar..I bought solid can sugar..melted it down in a pan and incorporated it into the sauce…delicious.
The best pad thai recipe I’ve ever tried! Loved every part about, tasted just like in a restaurant.