Better Than Takeout Pad Thai
Pad Thai is undeniably the most popular Thai dish and is widely enjoyed by everyone who takes a bite. The appeal is easy to understand once you taste this addictive must-have Thai street food for yourself. It masterfully combines a range of flavors—sweet, sour, salty, and umami—in a harmonious burst that characterizes this mesmerizing stir-fried noodle dish. It’ll have you daydreaming about it until your next late-night takeout fix. But what’s better than takeout? You can make this feel-good Thai street food favorite right in the comfort of your own home for a fraction of the cost in under 30 minutes! And the best part? You can gather everything you need from your local supermarket, so you can make it again and again.
What is Pad Thai?
For many, Pad Thai serves as an enticing introduction to the vibrant and delicious world of Thai cuisine. This popular Thai noodle dish is a stir-fry that features a medley of sweet, sour, and umami flavors combined with thin, flat rice noodles. It also includes bean sprouts, garlic chives, scrambled eggs, a choice of protein, and almost always, crushed peanuts.
While Pad Thai features a variety of flavors, its most distinctive characteristic is a notable sourness. This comes from tamarind, a key ingredient that imparts the dish’s iconic lip puckering and shiny notes. Alongside tamarind, other ingredients like fish sauce, oyster sauce, and brown sugar come together to create a harmonious blend of sweet, umami, and sour flavors.
The Origins of Pad Thai
Today, Pad Thai is commonly served at many street stalls across Thailand, but how did this popular Asian comfort dish originate? The term “Pad Thai” combines “pad,” meaning “fried,” with “Thai,” indicating the dish’s national identity. Though believed to have Chinese origins centuries ago, the version of Pad Thai we know today was developed in the 1930s in Thailand as part of a nationalist movement.
During World War II, Thailand experienced a significant rice shortage, and Pad Thai was promoted as a solution. Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram endorsed the use of rice noodles, which helped forge a distinct Thai identity. Since then, Pad Thai has quickly become a favorite both among Thai citizens and around the world.
How Do You Make Pad Thai?
Preparing Pad Thai at home is relatively simple, with ingredients that are surprisingly accessible at your local grocery store. While there are many variations of Pad Thai, each recipe typically follows a similar blueprint: it contains rice noodles, eggs, and proteins such as tofu, chicken, or dried shrimp. Additionally, the dish features a balanced sauce that brings salty notes from the traditional fish sauce or soy sauce, a delicate sweetness from palm or brown sugar, and a distinct sourness from tamarind juice.
Easy Pad Thai Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 oz Pad Thai dried rice noodles
Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp Tamarind puree, not concentrate
- 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
Stir-Fry
- 2-3 tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil
- 1/2 Onion sliced ( red or yellow )
- 2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
- 5 oz Chicken Breast thinly sliced
- 2 Eggs lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 Cups Bean Sprouts
- 1/2 Cup firm tofu, cut in 1 inch batons
- 1/4 Cup Garlic Chives, cut in 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 Cup finely chopped peanuts
Instructions
- 1. Soak the rice noodles in a large bowl with warm water until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Immediately drain the noodles when they are opaque and pliable. Do not oversoak, or your noodles will be mushy. 2. In a small bowl prepare the sauce. Mix the tamarind puree, brown sugar, fish sauce, and oyster sauce until well blended. Set aside. 3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Cook onion and garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 4. Sauté the chicken until thoroughly cooked, or until juices run clear. 5. Add more oil to the pan if needed and push cooked chicken to one side of the pan. Add the eggs to the pan, and lightly scramble. Blend with chicken. 6. Add the bean sprouts, tofu, and soaked noodles to the pan. Pour in the sauce, and mix.7. Add the garlic chives, and peanuts. Toss gently and continue cooking for two minutes. 8. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Garnish with additional peanuts, lime wedges, chili flakes, and extra bean sprouts on the side if desired. Enjoy!
