This Pad Thai recipe is easy to make, ready in only 30 minutes, and tastes better than any takeout version. Simply combine some fresh veggies, eggs, and noodles with a delicious homemade Pad Thai sauce without tamarind for a truly satisfying dish. It's sweet, tangy, and so tasty that you won't even miss the restaurant.
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Sometimes I'm just craving some authentic Asian cuisine. While the restaurants near me are usually good enough, I find that the food just always tastes so much better when it is prepared fresh at home.
Today I'm sharing this tasty pad thai recipe with you that I really should have shared much sooner. As soon as I made it once, I knew my family would be requesting it all the time (and they do!)
🥘 Ingredients
You'll be able to find most of these ingredients at your local grocery store, most likely on the Asian foods aisle. If you can't find tamarind paste at your supermarket, you can try an Asian market, order it online, or use rice vinegar instead.
Stir Fry
- Rice Noodles - 8 ounces of flat rice noodles.
- Olive Oil - 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, divided.
- Chicken Breast - 8 ounces of uncooked diced chicken breast. You can also swap this out for extra firm tofu or shrimp if you like!
- Garlic - 3 teaspoons of minced garlic (or about 3 cloves).
- Eggs - 2 large eggs that have been beaten.
- Bean Sprouts - 1 cup of fresh bean sprouts.
- Roasted Peanuts - ½ cup of finely chopped roasted peanuts. You can add some more for garnish if you like!
Pad Thai Sauce
- Fish Sauce - 3 tablespoons of fish sauce.
- Soy Sauce - 1 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce.
- Brown Sugar - 5 tablespoons of light brown sugar.
- Rice Vinegar - 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar or tamarind paste. Authentic pad Thai uses tamarind paste, which you can definitely swap out for rice vinegar if you have some! However, it isn't super easy to find in your local supermarket, so you may have to visit an Asian market or order it online.
- Sriracha - 1 tablespoon of sriracha, or more if desired.
- Peanut Butter (optional) - 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter. This adds a nice flavor and some extra creaminess that I really enjoy!
Garnish
- Green Onion - 3 stalks of green onions that have been chopped.
- Limes - 2 medium limes, cut into wedges.
- Cilantro - ½ cup of chopped cilantro.
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🔪 How To Make Pad Thai
This recipe is very easy to make, you'll need either a wok or a large saucepan, a mixing bowl and whisk, a sharp knife, a wooden spoon, and your measuring utensils.
This recipe is for 4 hearty servings, but you can easily double the recipe if you like.
Prep & Mix The Sauce
Prepare the noodles. Cook 8 ounces of rice noodles according to the packaged instructions, only until they are just tender. Then, rinse them under cold water.
Prepare the sauce. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together your sauce ingredients (3 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 5 tablespoons of light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar or tamarind paste, 1 tablespoon of sriracha, and 2 tablespoons of the optional peanut butter) and set it aside.
Stir Fry & Serve
Heat oil. Pour 1½ tablespoons of neutral-flavored cooking oil into either a large saucepan or a wok and place it over medium-high heat.
Cook the chicken. Add 8 ounces of diced chicken (or shrimp or tofu) and cook for 3-4 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Add 3 teaspoons of minced garlic in the last minute of cooking the chicken. *Shrimp will cook faster than chicken, so adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Scramble the eggs. Push the cooked chicken and garlic to the edges of the pan and add a tad more cooking oil to the center. Pour 2 beaten eggs into the center of the pan and scramble them, breaking the eggs up into smaller pieces as they cook.
Add the remaining ingredients. Add the cooked noodles, sauce mixture, 1 cup of fresh bean sprouts, and ½ cup of roasted peanuts to the pan and toss until everything is well combined.
Serve. Garnish with 3 stalks of chopped green onions, some lime wedges from 2 limes, and ½ cup of chopped cilantro, and serve immediately.
🥗🥘🍲 Best Served With
You can eat this exactly as it is, or serve it with some quick and simple potstickers or Thai spring rolls. Your family is sure to love it. Enjoy!
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💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Pick your protein. Instead of chicken, you could also try this recipe with shrimp or extra firm tofu.
- Tamarind is preferable. Rice vinegar will work just fine in this recipe, but if you can find tamarind paste it will give it more of an authentic flavor.
- Boost the flavor. You can add a scoop of creamy peanut butter to your pad Thai sauce to add some richness and extra flavor.
- A little contrast. I like to add red pepper strips to this dish for contrast in color and flavor.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Pad Thai tastes best when it is enjoyed fresh. However, you can still eat some tasty leftovers for a few days. Keep any leftover pad Thai stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 3-4 days.
Reheating
You can reheat individual portions of your leftovers in the microwave. Cover the dish with a damp paper towel and heat for 1 minute on high power, stir, and continue in 30-second increments until heated to your satisfaction.
Stir fry larger portions in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat on the stovetop to reheat.
❓ Recipe FAQs
The difference between these two tasty dishes comes from the sauce. Lo mein typically features soy sauce while pad Thai uses a combination that consists of sugar, fish sauce, tamarind, and peanuts.
Tamarind paste is a key ingredient when it comes to making pad Thai. However, it isn't exactly the easiest thing to find (which is why you can substitute it for rice vinegar in this recipe and still have a super tasty dish!) You'll be able to find tamarind paste in any Asian market if you can find one near you. Additionally, you can purchase it online.
I don't recommend it. Pad Thai is best enjoyed as soon as it is ready. If needed, you can go ahead and chop up your chicken (or tofu) and whisk together the sauce ingredients. Simply store them in the fridge until you're ready to start cooking.
😋 More Dinner Ideas
- Drunken Noodles - Another delicious Thai-inspired noodle dish that is bound to be a hit!
- Chili Con Carne - This hearty and tasty chili is simmered to perfection.
- Goat Curry - An Indian-inspired comfort food that can't be missed.
- Albondigas Soup - This Mexican meatball soup is packed with tons of flavor!
- Lo Mein - A classic and saucy takeout option that tastes even better when it is homemade.
- Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry - This easy dish is loaded with chicken, fresh veggies, and homemade teriyaki sauce.
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📖 Recipe Card
Pad Thai Recipe
Ingredients
Stir Fry
- 8 oz flat rice noodles
- 3 tablespoon cooking oil (divided)
- 8 oz chicken breast (diced)
- 3 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts (or canned, drained and rinsed)
- ½ cup roasted peanuts (finely chopped or crushed)
Pad Thai Sauce
- 3 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium)
- 5 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar (or tamarind paste)
- 1 tablespoon sriracha (or more if desired)
- 2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter (optional)
Garnish
- 3 stalks green onion (chopped)
- 2 medium limes (cut into wedges)
- ½ cup cilantro (chopped)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Prep & Make The Sauce
- Cook your 8 oz flat rice noodles according to the packaged instructions, only until they are just tender. Then, rinse them under cold water.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together your sauce ingredients (3 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 5 tablespoon light brown sugar, 2 tablespoon rice vinegar or tamarind, 1 tablespoon sriracha, and the optional 2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter) and set it aside.
Stir Fry & Serve
- Pour 1½ tablespoons of 3 tablespoon cooking oil into either a large saucepan or a wok and place it over medium-high heat.
- Add the diced 8 oz chicken breast and cook for 3-4 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Add the 3 teaspoon garlic in the last minute of cooking the chicken.
- Push the cooked chicken and garlic to the edges of the pan and add a tad more oil to the center. Pour the beaten 2 large eggs into the center of the pan and scramble them, breaking the eggs up into smaller pieces as they cook.
- Add the cooked noodles, sauce mixture, 1 cup fresh bean sprouts, and ½ cup roasted peanuts to the pan and toss until everything is well combined.
- Garnish with the chopped 3 stalks green onion, some 2 medium limes wedges, and chopped ½ cup cilantro, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Instead of chicken, you could also try this recipe with shrimp or extra firm tofu.
- Rice vinegar will work just fine in this recipe, but if you can find tamarind paste it will give it more of an authentic flavor.
- You can add a scoop of creamy peanut butter to your pad Thai sauce to add some richness and extra flavor.
- I like to add red pepper strips to this dish for contrast in color and flavor.
- To store: Keep any leftover pad Thai stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 3-4 days.
- To reheat: You can reheat individual portions of your leftovers in the microwave. Cover the dish with a damp paper towel and heat for 1 minute on high power, stir, and continue in 30-second increments until heated to your satisfaction. Stir fry larger portions in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat on the stovetop to reheat.
Erika Linnea says
Super goda smaker! Besök en asiatisk livs för att inhandla alla varor, fråga dom i butiken vilka dom själva brukar använda. Det gjorde jag , och jag kan bara säga.. wow! Sååå gott! Faktiskt godare än ” hämt pad thai:en ”
Tamarindpastan gör susen! 🙂 (Super good flavors! Visit an Asian store to buy all the goods, ask them in the store which ones they usually use. I did, and I can only say.. wow! So good! Actually tastier than "get the pad thai"
The tamarind paste does the trick! :))