Pad Thai
Restaurant-quality pad thai at home — chewy rice noodles, crispy tofu or shrimp, and a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty, and umami in every bite.
Health Scores
Ingredients
- 8 oz dried flat rice noodles (pad thai noodles)
- 2 tablespoons tamarind paste (not concentrate)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or palm sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 8 oz shrimp (peeled, deveined) or extra-firm tofu, cubed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 3 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
- Dried red chili flakes (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Soak the rice noodles in room temperature water for 30 minutes until pliable but still slightly firm. Drain and set aside. Do not use hot water — it makes them mushy.
Tip: The noodles should bend easily without snapping but still feel slightly stiff. They'll finish cooking in the wok. Over-soaked noodles turn to mush during stir-frying.
- 2
Make the sauce: whisk together tamarind paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar in a small bowl. Taste and adjust — it should be a balance of sweet, sour, salty, and savory.
Tip: The sauce should taste slightly too intense on its own. Once it coats the noodles and other ingredients, the flavor will mellow and balance out.
- 3
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until smoking. Add the shrimp or tofu and cook 2-3 minutes until golden. Remove and set aside.
- 4
Add the remaining oil to the wok. Add garlic and cook for 15 seconds until fragrant. Push to one side. Crack the eggs into the empty side of the wok and scramble quickly until just set, about 30 seconds.
- 5
Add the drained noodles to the wok. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss constantly with tongs or two spatulas for 2-3 minutes until the noodles absorb the sauce and turn glossy.
Tip: If the noodles stick or seem dry, add a splash of water (1-2 tablespoons). Keep them moving — rice noodles clump if they sit still.
- 6
Return the shrimp or tofu to the wok. Add bean sprouts and green onions. Toss for 30 seconds — just enough to wilt the sprouts slightly while keeping their crunch.
- 7
Serve immediately, topped with chopped peanuts, lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and chili flakes if desired.
Why This Recipe Works
- Room temperature soak keeps the noodles chewy instead of mushy — hot water over-hydrates them before they even hit the wok.
- Tamarind paste delivers the authentic sweet-sour backbone that lime juice alone can't replicate.
- Smoking-hot wok creates wok hei — that slightly smoky, charred flavor that separates restaurant pad thai from bland home versions.
- Sauce balance hits all four Thai flavor pillars: sweet (sugar), sour (tamarind + vinegar), salty (fish sauce), and umami (fish sauce again).
- Quick toss at the end keeps bean sprouts and green onions crunchy for textural contrast.
Understanding Thai Flavor Balance
Thai cooking is built on balancing four flavors: sweet, sour, salty, and umami. In pad thai, each ingredient has a job. Tamarind handles the sour. Fish sauce handles salty and umami simultaneously. Brown sugar handles sweet. The rice vinegar adds a second layer of acid that brightens everything.
The key insight is that the sauce should taste too intense on its own. When it coats the noodles and mixes with the eggs, protein, and vegetables, the flavors mellow. If the sauce tastes "just right" in the bowl, the finished dish will taste flat.
Step-by-Step Guide
Prep everything before you start cooking. Pad thai comes together in about 5 minutes once the wok is hot, and there's no time to chop while stir-frying. Soak the noodles, mix the sauce, chop the garlic, and have the eggs cracked into a bowl.
Get the wok screaming hot. You should see a wisp of smoke before adding oil. The oil goes in, swirls around, and then the protein goes in immediately. Cook it fast — 2 minutes for shrimp, 3 for tofu. Remove it. Don't let it sit in the wok getting rubbery.
Garlic goes in for 15 seconds — just until fragrant. Push it to one side. Eggs go into the empty side and get scrambled roughly. You want big, fluffy curds, not a thin omelet. Break them apart with your spatula.
Now the noodles. They go in with the sauce, and you toss constantly for 2-3 minutes. The noodles should absorb the sauce and turn glossy. If they stick, add a splash of water. Everything goes back in — protein, sprouts, green onions — and you toss for 30 more seconds. Plate it immediately. Top with peanuts and a lime wedge. It should hit your mouth while the wok is still smoking.
Tips & Tricks
- ✓Tamarind paste is non-negotiable — it provides the signature tangy-sweet flavor. Find it in the Asian aisle or at Asian grocery stores.
- ✓High heat is critical. A wok that's not hot enough steams the noodles instead of stir-frying them. You want to see smoke before adding ingredients.
- ✓Cook in batches if your wok is small. Overcrowding drops the temperature and produces soggy pad thai.
- ✓Dried shrimp and preserved radish are traditional additions that add umami depth. Find them at Asian markets.
- ✓Palm sugar is more authentic than brown sugar and has a more complex sweetness, but brown sugar works fine.
Variations & Substitutions
| Ingredient | Substitute | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tamarind paste | 2 tbsp lime juice + 1 tbsp ketchup | Not authentic but approximates the sweet-sour balance |
| Fish sauce | Soy sauce + 1/2 tsp sugar | Loses the umami depth but works for vegetarian version |
| Rice noodles | Linguine or fettuccine | Not traditional but works in a pinch. Cook al dente. |
| Shrimp | Chicken breast, sliced thin | Cook 3-4 minutes until no longer pink |
| Bean sprouts | Shredded cabbage | Adds similar crunch, holds up better to heat |
Storage & Reheating
- Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. The noodles will absorb remaining sauce and soften.
- Freezer: Not recommended — rice noodles become mushy when frozen and reheated.
- Reheating: Reheat in a hot wok or skillet with a splash of water and a drizzle of oil. Toss over high heat for 2 minutes. Microwave makes it gummy.
Nutrition Information
Per serving (serves 4)
| Calories | 420 |
| Total Fat | 14g |
| Saturated Fat | 2g |
| Cholesterol | 165mg |
| Sodium | 920mg |
| Carbohydrates | 54g |
| Fiber | 2g |
| Sugar | 10g |
| Protein | 22g |