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Thai

Pad Thai

Non-vegetarian

ผัดไทย · phat thai

Flat rice noodles stir-fried in a hot wok with prawns, tofu and egg, glossed in a sweet-sour tamarind and fish sauce dressing and finished with bean sprouts and peanuts.

Pad Thai is a Thai noodle dish from Thailand, ready in about 30 minutes and made with rice noodles, tamarind paste and prawns / shrimp. It serves 2 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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A serving of Pad thai
Photo: Takeaway / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-3.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
10 min
Total
30 min
Serves
2
Level
Intermediate
Calories
914

Ingredients

2 servings

For the sauce

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Soak the noodles in lukewarm water until pliable but still firm at the centre, then drain. They will finish softening in the wok (opens in a new tab).

    • 25 min

    Over-soaked noodles turn mushy and break up when stir-fried.

    Ingredients tossed in a hot wok
    How it looks · Photo: Aesthos AR. Photography on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Stir the tamarind, fish sauce (opens in a new tab) and palm sugar (opens in a new tab) together until the sugar dissolves. Taste: it should be sour, sweet and salty in roughly equal measure.

    • 3 min

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oil in a wok (opens in a new tab) over high heat. Fry the tofu (opens in a new tab) until golden, add the garlic (opens in a new tab), shallot (opens in a new tab) and dried shrimp (opens in a new tab) if using for 30 seconds, then the prawns (opens in a new tab) until just pink.

  4. Step 4

    Add the drained noodles and the sauce. Toss constantly until the noodles absorb the sauce and turn soft and glossy; splash in a little water if they stick.

    • 3 min
    • high heat

  5. Step 5

    Push everything to one side, crack the eggs (opens in a new tab) into the space and scramble briefly, then fold through the noodles.

    • 1 min
    • high heat

  6. Step 6

    Toss in the bean sprouts (opens in a new tab) and spring onion (opens in a new tab) for a few seconds so they stay crisp. Serve with the peanuts, chilli flakes (opens in a new tab) and lime (opens in a new tab) wedges.

      A finished dish being plated
      How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

    About this dish

    Origin
    Thailand · Well documentedPopularised in Thailand in the mid-20th century as a national noodle dish.Also popular in United States, United Kingdom, AustraliaMore food from Thailand
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Noodles · Main courses · Street food
    Cooking method
    Stir-fried
    Taste
    sweet & sour, umami, nutty
    Diet
    Pescatarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · High-protein
    All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein
    With the listed swaps: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Ovo-vegetarian, Flexitarian-friendlyWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Street food · One-pan
    Cook more with
    Rice noodles · Tamarind paste · Prawns / shrimp · Fish sauce · Jaggery / palm sugar · Garlic
    Techniques
    Stir-frying

    Allergens

    • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
    • Contains, can be adapted: Fishfrom fish sauce
    • Contains, can be adapted: Crustaceansfrom fish sauce, prawns / shrimp, dried shrimp
    • Contains: Peanutsfrom roasted peanuts
    • Contains: Soyfrom tofu

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    914 kcal per serving

    Estimated

    1 serving ≈ 478 g · recipe makes 2

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 21%
    • Carbohydrate 49%
    • Fat 30%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy914 kcal191 kcal
    Protein48.2 g10.1 g
    Carbohydrate114.3 g23.9 g
    Net carbohydrate——
    Sugars——
    Added sugars16.1 g3.4 g
    Fibre——
    Fat31.5 g6.6 g
    Saturated fat4.7 g1 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol347 mg73 mg
    Sodium1760 mg368 mg
    Salt equivalent4.4 g0.9 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    1072 mg
    Calcium
    542 mg
    Iron
    5.8 mg
    Magnesium
    186 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    —
    Vitamin C
    —
    Vitamin D
    —
    Vitamin B12
    —
    Folate (DFE)
    —

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: dried shrimp, red chilli flakes, lime.
    • Tamarind paste: Raw tamarind pulp (FDC 167763). Commercial concentrates vary in water content.
    • Jaggery / palm sugar: Brown sugar (FDC 168833) used as a stand-in for unrefined cane jaggery and palm sugar.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Cook no more than two portions at a time — an overcrowded wok steams the noodles instead of frying them.

    Common mistakes

    • Using tomato ketchup in place of tamarind changes the dish entirely.

    Serve with

    • Put out fish sauce, sugar, chilli flakes and lime so everyone can season their own plate, as Thai vendors do.

    Food safety

    • Cook prawns until pink and opaque all the way through.
    • Cook the egg until set if serving young children, pregnant people or anyone vulnerable.
    • Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat within 1 day; reheat until piping hot.

    Storage

    • Best eaten fresh. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 1 day.

    Reheating

    • Stir-fry with a splash of water until hot.

    Variations

    • Pad thai with dried shrimp and preserved radish: Add a spoonful each of small dried shrimp and chopped sweet preserved radish with the garlic for a more traditional flavour.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    Main ingredient

    Used in steps 1, 3, 4, 5, 6

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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