Pad Thai
Updated June 11, 2024
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 8ounces sen lek (dried ⅛-inch-wide flat rice noodles) or other pad Thai noodles
- ¼cup minced garlic
- 2tablespoons minced shallot
- ¼cup minced Thai sweet preserved radish (optional; see Tip)
- 10 to 12peeled and deveined medium shrimp
- 8ounces superfirm (pressed) tofu, cut into bite-size cubes or rectangles (1 cup)
- 4large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2cups bean sprouts
- 1small bunch garlic chives or scallion greens, cut into 1-inch lengths (½ cup)
- 3tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for cooking eggs
- Chopped peanuts, chile powder and lime wedges, for serving
- ⅓cup fish sauce
- ⅓cup tamarind liquid or concentrate
- ⅓cup coconut or other palm sugar or dark brown sugar
For the Noodles
For the Sauce
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)
748 calories; 32 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 86 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 3101 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the noodles: Place dried noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let soak for 20 to 30 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients, allowing the water to cool, and stirring and separating the noodles occasionally with your hands. When ready, noodles will be white, limp and almost soft to the bite. (They will cook a little more later on.) Pour off all the water, fluff noodles with your hands, and set aside.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, make the sauce: Combine the fish sauce, tamarind and coconut palm sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often, just until sugar has dissolved, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Step 3
Line up the ingredients in the order they’ll be cooked: Place the garlic, shallot, radish and shrimp in a bowl, then line up the tofu, noodles, sauce, eggs, bean sprouts and chives. When ready to cook, place 1 cup of hot tap water near the stove.
- Step 4
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a 14-inch wok, a heavy 12-inch skillet or a large Dutch oven medium-high heat until shimmering. (If using a smaller pan, cook in 2 batches.) Add the contents of the garlic bowl and stir-fry over medium heat, adjusting the flame so the ingredients are sizzling but not popping or scorching, until the shrimp are nearly pink, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tofu and stir-fry to heat through, about 2 minutes.
- Step 5
Add noodles and raise the heat as high as it goes, tossing and separating them with a wok turner, tongs or both. When noodles are sizzling, add about half the sauce and 1 tablespoon water, and stir-fry, tossing to coat and cook through.
- Step 6
Taste a noodle for doneness and seasoning. If needed, add more sauce and water, and keep cooking, turning often, until noodles are softened and savory.
- Step 7
Push noodles to one side of the pan, add enough oil to lightly coat the other side, and add the eggs. Use the spatula to scramble the eggs, stirring and scraping until cooked through and just dry, 1 to 2 minutes, then stir them into the noodles.
- Step 8
Add the bean sprouts and chives, and stir to combine. Serve immediately, passing the peanuts, chile powder and lime wedges to adjust seasoning to taste.
- Thai sweet preserved radish, often sold already minced or shredded online and in Asian markets, delivers a tangy chewiness. For the taste you want in pad Thai, be sure to buy the dry-packed Thai variety and not Chinese or other types of preserved radish.
Private Notes
Comments
Best sauce 1tbsp tamarind concentrate,3 Tbsp fish sauce ,1tbsp sugar,2 tbsp lime juice From Suzanne Foo Fresh Inspirations2005
This was a big hit for us! I was dubious about 1/3 cup of fish sauce, but I thought the sweet/salty/tart balance was good, especially w a squeeze of lime. I nuked the palm sugar and it mixed in fine-I didn’t want to use another pan or have the smell of evaporating fish sauce put off my kids. I added broccoli, ginger and red pepper flakes, and would experiment with frying time/order, as the end result was delicious, but a bit wet. Also, anything crunchy (ie bean sprouts) should go on top!
This recipe needs adjusting to hit the "this is delicious!" pad thai mark. Cooked it exactly as written. Result was both a bit bland and a bit overpowering with the tamarind tang. Next time I would (1) add a dash of koji and a dash of hot chili to the sauce (2) slightly reduce the ratio of tamarind ingredient (3) remove the garlicky shrimp and tofu from the pan before cooking and tossing the noodles in the sauce (4) toss the shrimp and tofu back into the dish with the egg.
Add cilantro, mix fish sauce w veg fish sauce. Use smaller shrimp and super firm tofu.
I followed Ep’s recipe for the sauce and Ann’s recommendation to boil rather than soak the noodles which produced a perfect noodle texture. I marinated and baked the tofu (NYT Cooking recipe). Taking others comments about overcooking into account, I cooked in quick batches and put everything together for only 2-4 minutes at the end. This pad Thai was great and I will definitely make it again.
Tamarind substitute for fellow rural people in a pinch: extra brown sugar, 1/4 c worcester sauce, and 1/4 c apple cider vinergar simmered until thick.
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