Rice noodles in a wok with shrimp, egg, and peanuts, perfectly balanced between sweet, salty, and sour. The sauce made of tamarind, fish sauce, and palm sugar is the heart of the dish and should be mixed and tasted beforehand because there is no time for it in the wok. Thailand's most famous street food, stir-fried in ten minutes.
Why this works
Rice noodles consist of pure starch without gluten to hold them together. In boiling water, this starch gelatinizes completely within a minute and the noodle loses all structure. When soaked in warm water, it only absorbs moisture and then finishes cooking in the sauce in the wok. The sauce must be ready beforehand because a wok drops from 250 °C to 150 °C the moment you pause to think.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Soak the noodles
Place the wide rice noodles in a bowl of warm, non-boiling water and let them soak for thirty minutes until they are pliable but still firm in the center. Do not boil them under any circumstances, as they will finish cooking in the sauce in the wok. Noodles that are too soft will inevitably fall apart during frying.
- 2
Mix the sauce
Heat the tamarind paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, and water in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Taste the sauce carefully now: it must taste distinctly sweet, salty, and sour all at once. Exactly this balance is what makes Pad Thai, and it cannot be corrected later in the wok.
- 3
Fry the tofu and shrimp
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok over high heat and fry the tofu for three minutes until golden brown. Add the shrimp and fry them for two minutes until they are just pink, then add the garlic for thirty seconds. Remove everything and set it aside so the shrimp do not become tough.
- 4
Egg and noodles
Add the remaining oil to the wok, pour in the beaten eggs, and let them set briefly before roughly breaking them apart. Immediately add the drained noodles and the sauce, and quickly toss everything together with two spatulas. The noodles will absorb the sauce in about two minutes, becoming soft and glossy.
- 5
Finish the dish
Return the tofu, shrimp, scallions, and half of the sprouts to the wok and toss everything for just thirty seconds so the sprouts stay crisp. Plate the Pad Thai, sprinkle peanuts and the remaining raw sprouts on top, and serve with lime wedges and chili flakes.
Our best tips
- Only soak the noodles, never boil them. This is the most common mistake and leads to mushy noodles.
- Taste the sauce beforehand. There is not a second of time for this in the wok.
- Tamarind paste cannot be replaced by vinegar or lemon. It brings acidity along with fruitiness and depth at the same time.
Tasty variations
Vegetarian
Replace the fish sauce with light soy sauce and use double the amount of tofu instead of shrimp.
With chicken
Fry 300 g of chicken strips for four minutes instead of the shrimp.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 742 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 42 g |
| Carbohydrates | 82 g |
| – of which sugar | 25 g |
| Fat | 28 g |
| Fiber | 7 g |
Where the 742 kcal come from
per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it
We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:
- Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
- Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
- Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
- Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my noodles sticking together?
They were soaked until too soft or the wok was not hot enough. Drain them well after soaking and work quickly.
Where can I get tamarind paste?
At an Asian grocery store as a paste in a jar or as a block for soaking. Make sure to buy unsweetened paste, otherwise the dish will be too sweet.
Can I stir-fry Pad Thai for four people at once?
It is better not to. Cooking in two portions keeps the heat high enough. The wok cools down significantly if the amount is too large, and the noodles will become mushy.
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