This amazing Pad Thai recipe is easy and approachable and can be made in under 30 minutes. It starts with fresh ingredients including rice noodles, chicken, shrimp, tofu, cilantro, bean sprouts, peanuts and scrambled eggs tossed in a delicious homemade pad Thai sauce that is so good it tastes like it came from your favorite Thai restaurant.
For a Pad Thai recipe that uses palm sugar and tamarind paste, check out Thai Cooking with Joy.
I’ve not kept my love for Thai food a secret here (here are some of my favorite Thai recipes), but I really can’t believe it’s taken me so long to share a homemade pad thai recipe. Just see the recipe card for proof of how easy it is to make from home!
What is Pad Thai?
Pad Thai is stir-fry dish made with rice noodles, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, peanuts, a scrambled egg and bean sprouts. The ingredients are sautéed together in a wok and tossed in a delicious pad thai sauce. It’s common street food in Thailand and one of the most popular menu items at Thai restaurants around the country.
To make vegan or vegetarian pad thai, leave out the egg and substitute the fish sauce for more soy sauce.
How to make Pad Thai Sauce:
Traditional pad thai sauce includes fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and tamarind paste. Tamarind paste is not easily found at a regular grocery stores so I substituted rice vinegar. If you would like to use tamarind paste, substitute about 2 Tablespoons in place of the rice vinegar in this recipe. I also added a big scoop of peanut butter to my sauce, because I think it gives the whole dish an added creaminess and boost of flavor that I love.
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Recipe
Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 8 ounces flat rice noodles
- 3 Tablespoons oil
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 8 ounces uncooked shrimp, chicken, or extra-firm tofu , cut into small pieces
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
- 1 red bell pepper , thinly sliced
- 3 green onions , chopped
- 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
- 2 limes
- 1/2 cup Fresh cilantro , chopped
For the Pad Thai sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 5 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar * see note
- 1 Tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce , or more, to taste
- 2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter , optional
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package instructions, just until tender. Rinse under cold water.
- Mix the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
- Heat 1½ tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan or wok over medium-high heat.
- Add the shrimp, chicken or tofu, garlic and bell pepper. The shrimp will cook quickly, about 1-2 minutes on each side, or until pink. If using chicken, cook until just cooked through, about 3-4 minutes, flipping only once.
- Push everything to the side of the pan. Add a little more oil and add the beaten eggs. Scramble the eggs, breaking them into small pieces with a spatula as they cook.
- Add noodles, sauce, bean sprouts and peanuts to the pan (reserving some peanuts for topping at the end). Toss everything to combine.
- Top with green onions, extra peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges. Serve immediately!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Very tasty. I used coconut aminos instead of fish sauce and cut the sugar to 2 tablespoons. Added some onions & spinach for veggies. Got a good review from my very particular son too!
This was a huge hit with my family. I love some so tasty without having to use jarred sauce! Thanks
This is delicious! I reduced the amount of fish sauce and increased the vinegar, then used chunky PB. My family ate it up!
This is SO good. I’ve never made pad Thai at home before, but the flavours are absolutely perfect. I only used 3tbsp of brown sugar and didn’t have red pepper so I substituted bok choy. It’s exactly what I’ve been craving. Thanks so much!!
This is one of the best recipes I’ve made in years. I had a craving for pad Thai and the recipe really rocked!!