December 12, 2023
This easy Pad Thai recipe has rice noodles, chicken, shrimp, tofu, peanuts, scrambled eggs, and fresh vegetables all tossed together in a delicious homemade sauce. It's packed with flavor and can be made in under 30 minutes!
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 a 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.
This recipe is written by Lauren Allen at tesbetterfromscratch.com
About Lauren Allen
Our mission is to bring the JOY back to cooking.
With the right recipe and tools, cooking is FUN! Our recipes are approachable for every skill level and any level of cook.
Meal Plans: We are proud to offer FREE weekly meal plans that include a grocery shopping list with budget information. You can create your own meal plan with your favorite recipes, or you can use our preset meal plans, and even customize them in case there’s a recipe you want to swap out.
COURSE: MAIN COURSE
CUISINE: THAI
PREP TIME: 15 MINS
COOK TIME: 15 MINS
TOTAL TIME: 30 MINS
SERVINGS: 4
CALORIES: 627
AUTHOR: LAUREN ALLEN at tastesbetterfromscratch.com
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
3 Tablespoons fish sauce
1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
5 Tablespoons light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar , or Tamarind Paste*
1 Tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce , or more, to taste
2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter* (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Cook noodles according to package instructions, just until tender. Rinse under cold water.
Make sauce by combining sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
Stir Fry: 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.
Garnish the top with green onions, extra peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges. Serve immediately!
Store leftovers in the fridge and enjoy within 2-3 days.
NOTES:
About 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.
Recipe Variations:
Tamarind Paste: Substitute 2 Tablespoons Tamarind paste in place of the vinegar, for a more authentic sauce.
Vegan or Vegetarian: Leave out the egg. Use tofu, and substitute the fish sauce for more soy sauce.
Peanut Butter: In my recipe, I add a big scoop of peanut butter to the sauce because I think it gives the whole dish an added creaminess and boost of flavor.