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Authentic and the best Pad Thai recipe with rice noodles stir-fried with homemade Pad Thai sauce. Learn how to make Pad Thai noodles with this easy recipe!
Pad Thai Recipe
What is Pad Thai?
Pad Thai is Thai stir-fried noodles with rice stick noodles, shrimp, chicken, fried tofu, eggs and Pad Thai sauce.
The noodles are topped with crushed peanuts and served with fresh chives, lime wedges, with condiments such as sugar, fish sauce and chili powder on the side.
Pad Thai noodles are cooked over high heat in a wok, with a sweet, savory, sour and spicy Pad Thai sauce.
It is a popular street food in Thailand and sold by many street vendors. It’s also available in Thai restaurants, probably the second most ordered other than Tom Yum Soup.
Looking for more authentic Thai recipes? Check out my Pad See Ew recipe!
Pad Thai Ingredients
This recipe calls for simple ingredients below:
- Pad Thai noodles or flat rice noodle. They are also labeled as rice sticks.
- Fried tofu
- Bean sprouts
- Chicken and shrimp
- Crushed peanuts
- Fresh limes
You can get the ingredients easily from regular supermarkets and in the International food aisle.
Otherwise, you can buy them online or go to an Asian store.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
Pad Thai Sauce
What is Pad Thai Sauce Made of?
There are two types of Pad Thai sauce: tamarind based and vinegar based.
The sauce is the soul of the dish and you should make it from scratch. The sweet, savory, spicy and sour sauce is added to the noodles for the iconic taste.
Authentic Pad Thai sauce calls for the following ingredients:
- Tamarind juice or tamarind concentrate.
- Palm sugar.
- Chili powder.
- Fish sauce.
Authentic Pad Thai noodles are made with tamarind.
Tamarind is prepared by extracting the juice from tamarind pulps, which comes in a block in a clear plastic packaging (see picture above).
You can also buy tamarind concentrate which can be diluted with water.
However, you can make the sauce without tamarind, by substituting tamarind with vinegar, which is what I use for my recipe here.
There are many bottled sauces in the market but they don’t taste as good and not authentic because it’s loaded with chemicals, preservatives and MSG.
The Origin Of Pad Thai
The dish was born, with much fanfare, during a competition masterminded by Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram some time in the 1940s, when Thai nationalism was on the rise.
The goal of the competition was to identify a noodle dish that was Thai and the dish was born. (Most noodle dishes in Thailand Thailand are Chinese in origin, for example: Pad See Ew.)
How To Make Pad Thai
There are many kinds of Pad Thai rice stick or flat rice noodles available in the market.
They vary in their width so for the best Pad Thai, you want to use rice noodles that are about 1/10″ wide, as pictured above.
To prepare the fried rice noodles, follow the package instructions to boil them in hot water first.
The rice noodles should be soft (but still chewy and not mushy) after boiling. Rinse the boiled noodles with cold running water before cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are many ways to make Pad Thai. You can make it with shrimp or chicken.
You can also make it with tofu or even beef.
You can also make it vegan by using a vegetarian seasoning sauce.
My homemade Pad Thai recipe is healthy as it’s loaded with vegetables.
It’s very easy to make and the taste is better than Thai restaurants or takeouts.
This recipe is 557 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Serve this dish as a main dish (such as Choo Chee Salmon) or side dish with other Thai dishes. For an authentic Thai meal at home, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Additionally, feel free to explore my other authentic Thai recipes, such as Tom Yum, Drunken Noodles, Green Curry, and Thai Cucumber Salad next. They are all amazing and taste just like the ones in Bangkok!
Other Thai Recipes You Might Like
Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 4 oz (120g) flat rice noodles
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 4 oz (120g) medium-sized shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 2 oz (60g) fried firm tofu, cut into slices
- 1 large egg
- 4-6 oz (120g-170g) bean sprouts
- 1 oz (30g) chinese chives , or scallions, cut into 2-inch (5cm) lengths
- 2 tablespoons crushed peanuts
- lime wedges
Pad Thai Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
Instructions
- Follow the package instructions to boil the dry rice noodles. The rice noodles should be soft (but still chewy and not mushy) after boiling. Rinse the boiled noodles with cold running water.
- Mix all the ingredients in the Pad Thai Sauce in a small bowl until well combined and the sugar completely dissolved, set aside.
- Heat up a skillet on high heat and add the oil. As soon as the oil is heated, add the garlic into the skillet and start stirring until you smell the aroma of the garlic. Add the shrimp and the tofu pieces into the skillet and continue stirring.
- As soon as the shrimp changes color, add the noodles into the skillet and stir continuously, about 30 seconds. Use the spatula to push the noodles to one side of the skillet, and crack the egg on the empty side of the skillet.
- Use the spatula to break the egg yolk and blend with the egg white, let cook for about 30 seconds. Combine the egg and the noodles, and add the Seasoning sauce. Stir to combine well with the noodles.
- Next, add the bean sprouts and chives and continue stirring. As soon as the bean sprouts are cooked, stir-in the crushed peanut. Turn off the heat and serve the Pad Thai immediately with the lime wedges.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This will be my second attempt at making pad Thai! The first recipe I used was just off super disappointing, hoping this one will be better!
What would you suggest to give it a kick?
And also I feel like this wouldn’t make very much sauce, can you just double or even triple that part?
Thank you!!
More fish sauce, sugar and a bit more vinegar, or tamarind juice if you have. Good luck. I would love to hear about the end results! Definitely squeeze some lime juice before serving. :)
This is the BEST Pad Thai that my husband and I have ever had!!! Thank you for the recipe. I’m making it again tonight!
After trying about 10 recipes found on Google search, I finally found your Pad Thai recipe and decided to try it. This is the BEST and most authentic Pad Thai recipe, hands down #1. The other recipes were no where close to your taste, presentations, they all just taste horrible. So glad to have found your site and now I want to make all the Asian recipes on your site.
I’ve been craving Pad Thai lately, and love the idea of making it at home. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Awesome, this is the best Pad Thai recipe ever!
Can the tofu be omitted? If so, do I need to substitute anything in it’s place? Thanks.
Yes, you can omit the tofu in Pad Thai.
I will try this and use Vinegar as tamarind is not available or common where I am. I know the Family will love this.
Thank you very much
Thanks, yes vinegar will work just fine for this Pad Thai recipe.
Why did you not use tamarind as many pad thai recipes do?
It’s not accessible to many readers so I used vinegar. In fact, many Thai street vendors also use vinegar to make Pad Thai these days. I have seen with my own eyes. :)
Wow, love Pad Thai, can’t wait to make this. Thank you for sharing. God bless.
Thanks Dina. Please try this Pad Thai recipe. :)
Is it the chili powder you use in Mexican foods or different kind?
Any fine chili powder is fine.
Hi Bee. I find that tamarind paste is an essential in an authentic Pad Thai. Respectfully, chile powder seems an odd choice here. Tamarind can be found at a lot of supermarkets these days.
Hi Mark, yes, I know that. Tamarind is not accessible everywhere, so I used vinegar. Trust me when I say this: some street vendors in Thailand use vinegar these days. Chili powder is a must in Pad Thai. Do you know that they add that before eating as they have the condiments on the table. I added in the cooking process.
Rather than rice vinagar and sugar, use palm sugar and tamarind….it’s more authentic. I use the concentrate and strain it since I contains bits of tamerind shell.
My sauce is just Tamerind, palm sugar and fish sauce
Hi Curtis, I know! I am trying to make this Pad Thai recipe accessible to more people: palm sugar and tamarind are not. The key is the balance of flavors, if the most authentic ingredients are not commonly found for everyone!
Thank you. I understand
That is why I buy online so I will have them