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Pad Thai
Thailand's culinary ambassador. Stir fried rice noodles in sweet sour tamarind sauce with egg, peanuts, and lime.
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The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Pad Thai, in 5 ideas
- The wok must be violently hot. Everything happens in minutes. Have every ingredient within arm's reach before you start.
- Taste the sauce before it hits the noodles. Sweet, sour, salty, all at once. Adjust now, not later.
- Soak, do not boil, the noodles. Warm water, 30 minutes, pliable but still firm. They finish in the wok.
- Tamarind is the sour. Extra lime on the side is garnish, not a substitute.
- Serve immediately. Pad thai waits for no one. It clumps as it sits.
What you need
Ingredients
- 12 oz dried rice noodles
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 2 tbsp tamarind paste
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, sliced thin
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1 1/2 tbsp white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup coarsely ground peanuts
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 medium lime, cut in wedges
How to make it
Directions
- Soak the noodles in warm water for 30 minutes until pliable but still firm. Drain.
- Stir together the sugar, vinegar, fish sauce, and tamarind paste until the sugar dissolves. Taste it. It should be sweet, sour, and salty in balance.
- Heat a wok or your largest pan over the highest heat until smoking. Add half the oil and sear the chicken with the garlic until just cooked, about 3 minutes. Push to the side.
- Add the remaining oil and scramble the eggs, breaking them into ribbons.
- Add the drained noodles and the sauce. Toss constantly for 3 to 4 minutes, until the noodles drink up the sauce and turn tender.
- Fold in the bean sprouts, chives, and half the peanuts. Serve immediately with lime wedges, paprika, and the remaining peanuts on top.
Cook in two batches if your pan is small. Crowded noodles steam instead of sear, and steamed pad thai is just sad noodles. Two fast batches beat one soggy one.