PREP TIME: 10 mins | COOK TIME: 20 mins | TOTAL TIME: 30 mins | SERVINGS: 4 people
I love pad Thai and luckily I’ve found this easy recipe. The ingredients look a lot but after reading through the steps, I felt confident that I can pull this off. And I did with flying colours! This wonderful street food with a sweet and savoury flavour you can quickly and easily make at home in under thirty minutes! Looks complicated, yes, but in truth, this is easier than it looks.
INGREDIENTS
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6 ounces (175grams) dried 5mm-wide flat rice noodles
1 tsp sesame oil
1 ¾ ounce (50grams) pot of potted brown shrimp (the teeny tiny shrimp in butter)
1 ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon salt
pinch of garlic salt
20 large raw king prawns – peeled and de-veined
3 cloves garlic – peeled and minced
½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
2 Eggs – beaten
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
2 teaspoons shrimp paste
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free
1 tablespoon Thai preserved radish – chopped (optional)
⅓ c. 40grams roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
4 spring onions (scallion – halved, then finely sliced lengthways
3 ½ ounces 100grams fresh bean sprouts (mung bean sprouts)
2 tablespoons roughly chopped coriander/cilantro
To Serve:
2 limes – sliced into wedges
1 fresh red chilli – sliced
Extra chopped coriander/cilantro – spring onions, chopped peanuts, and chilli flakes
How to make Pad Thai
Step 1: In a large pan with boiling water, add the noodles. Turn the heat off and let it stand for about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. To prevent the noodles from sticking together, drizzle with sesame oil and toss.
Step 2: Over high heat, heat a large wok. Add in the potted shrimp in butter, vegetable oil, salt, and garlic salt and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes until a bit golden.
Step 3: Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a bowl but leave the oil in the wok.
Step 4: To the oil in the wok, fry the king prawns, garlic, and dried chilli flakes for about 2 to 3 minutes until the king prawns are pink.
Step 5: Add the whisked eggs to the prawns.
Step 6: Fry until the eggs are just scrambled, stirring often using a spatula.
Step 7: Adjust the heat to medium, then add in the noodles, potted shrimp, fish sauce, tamarind paste, sweet chilli sauce, sugar, shrimp paste, and soy sauce/tamari.
Step 8: Toss and heat for approximately 5 minutes until the noodles are hot. To stop the noodles from sticking and make sure that the pieces of shrimp pasta are broken up, ensure to keep moving them around the wok.
Step 9: To the wok, add the preserved radish, peanuts, spring onions (scallions), beansprouts, and coriander (cilantro).
Step 10: Toss again and continue to cook for another minute or two until the beansprouts are just heated through.
Step 11: To serve, garnish with some lime wedges and top with fresh red chillies. If desired, sprinkle with more coriander/cilantro, spring onions, chopped peanuts, and chilli flakes.
NOTES:
Substitute potted shrimp with 30 grams or 1-ounce or 3 tablespoons of dried shrimp. When frying, you can add an extra tbsp of vegetable oil. Although potted shrimp is not an authentic ingredient in Pad Thai, I love to use them because they are small and juicy, unlike dried shrimp that are a bit too chewy and pungent.
I would not recommend making this ahead, however, for any leftovers, you can save and reheat them. Note that the noodles tend to be a bit stickier and drier when reheating and the prawns will be less tender. When reheating, sprinkle with a few tbsp of water and reheat in the microwave for about 3 to 5 minutes per portion on the highest heat setting. Agitating the noodles every after 30 seconds using a fork or chopsticks and continue to heat until piping hot.
I like Pad Thai fresh but if you have any leftovers, you can freeze them. When ready to eat, defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat as instructed above.
For Pad Thai sauce, you can add the ingredients one at a time or mix them all, then directly pour on the noodles during cooking. Sauce ingredients:
Garlic
Dried chilies
Fish sauce
Shrimp paste
Tamarind paste
Chilli sauce
Sugar
Pad Thai are naturally Gluten-Free, just be mindful of the ingredients. Also, you can use tamari instead of soy sauce.
For a Vegetarian Pad Thai, substitute the shrimp and prawns with mushrooms and tofu. You can use a vegetarian fish sauce. For the shrimp paste, you can use miso paste.
To scale the recipe up by doubling the ingredients. This will take a bit longer to cook and you have to be very careful when frying the noodles. And to scale it down, half the ingredients and cook in the same way.
NUTRITION FACTS:
Calories: 616kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 494mg | Sodium: 3383mg | Potassium: 669mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 955IU | Vitamin C: 33.2mg | Calcium: 242mg | Iron: 3mg
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (175grams) dried 5mm-wide flat rice noodles
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 ¾ ounce (50grams) pot of potted brown shrimp (the teeny tiny shrimp in butter)
- 1 ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- pinch of garlic salt
- 20 large raw king prawns - peeled and de-veined
- 3 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 2 Eggs - beaten
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
- 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons shrimp paste
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free
- 1 tablespoon Thai preserved radish - chopped (optional)
- ⅓ c. 40grams roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
- 4 spring onions (scallion - halved, then finely sliced lengthways
- 3 ½ ounces 100grams fresh bean sprouts (mung bean sprouts)
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped coriander/cilantro
- To Serve:
- 2 limes - sliced into wedges
- 1 fresh red chilli - sliced
- Extra chopped coriander/cilantro - spring onions, chopped peanuts, and chilli flakes
Instructions
Step 1: In a large pan with boiling water, add the noodles. Turn the heat off and let it stand for about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. To prevent the noodles from sticking together, drizzle with sesame oil and toss.
Step 2: Over high heat, heat a large wok. Add in the potted shrimp in butter, vegetable oil, salt, and garlic salt and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes until a bit golden.
Step 3: Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a bowl but leave the oil in the wok.
Step 4: To the oil in the wok, fry the king prawns, garlic, and dried chilli flakes for about 2 to 3 minutes until the king prawns are pink.
Step 5: Add the whisked eggs to the prawns.
Step 6: Fry until the eggs are just scrambled, stirring often using a spatula.
Step 7: Adjust the heat to medium, then add in the noodles, potted shrimp, fish sauce, tamarind paste, sweet chilli sauce, sugar, shrimp paste, and soy sauce/tamari.
Step 8: Toss and heat for approximately 5 minutes until the noodles are hot. To stop the noodles from sticking and make sure that the pieces of shrimp pasta are broken up, ensure to keep moving them around the wok.
Step 9: To the wok, add the preserved radish, peanuts, spring onions (scallions), beansprouts, and coriander (cilantro).
Step 10: Toss again and continue to cook for another minute or two until the beansprouts are just heated through.
Step 11: To serve, garnish with some lime wedges and top with fresh red chillies. If desired, sprinkle with more coriander/cilantro, spring onions, chopped peanuts, and chilli flakes.
Notes
Substitute potted shrimp with 30 grams or 1-ounce or 3 tablespoons of dried shrimp. When frying, you can add an extra tbsp of vegetable oil. Although potted shrimp is not an authentic ingredient in Pad Thai, I love to use them because they are small and juicy, unlike dried shrimp that are a bit too chewy and pungent. I would not recommend making this ahead, however, for any leftovers, you can save and reheat them. Note that the noodles tend to be a bit stickier and drier when reheating and the prawns will be less tender. When reheating, sprinkle with a few tbsp of water and reheat in the microwave for about 3 to 5 minutes per portion on the highest heat setting. Agitating the noodles every after 30 seconds using a fork or chopsticks and continue to heat until piping hot. I like Pad Thai fresh but if you have any leftovers, you can freeze them. When ready to eat, defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat as instructed above. For Pad Thai sauce, you can add the ingredients one at a time or mix them all, then directly pour on the noodles during cooking. Sauce ingredients: Garlic Dried chilies Fish sauce Shrimp paste Tamarind paste Chilli sauce Sugar Pad Thai are naturally Gluten-Free, just be mindful of the ingredients. Also, you can use tamari instead of soy sauce. For a Vegetarian Pad Thai, substitute the shrimp and prawns with mushrooms and tofu. You can use a vegetarian fish sauce. For the shrimp paste, you can use miso paste. To scale the recipe up by doubling the ingredients. This will take a bit longer to cook and you have to be very careful when frying the noodles. And to scale it down, half the ingredients and cook in the same way.