Asian Main
Pad Thai
Ratings & commentsThailand's best-known noodle dish: rice noodles stir-fried with prawns, tofu, egg and a sweet-sour tamarind sauce, topped with peanuts.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Serves
- 3
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Heat
- Medium hot
About this Pad Thai
Pad Thai is street food at its best: soft rice noodles tossed over a fierce heat with prawns, tofu and egg in a sauce that hits sweet, sour and savoury at once. Everything cooks in minutes, so have every ingredient ready next to the stove before you start.
Ingredients
- 300 gRice Noodles, flat, dried
- 20 gTamarind, paste
- 30 mlSoy Sauce
- 20 gBrown Sugar
- 40 mlVegetable Oil
- 15 gGarlic, finely chopped
- 200 gPrawns, raw, peeled
- 150 gTofu, firm, cut into small cubes
- 2 eachEggs
- 10 gChilli, fresh, finely sliced
- 50 gSpring Onions, cut into short lengths
- 30 gPeanuts, roasted, roughly crushed
- 100 gLimes, cut into wedges
Plus water and a little salt to taste.
How to prepare Pad Thai
Soak the noodles in a bowl of just-boiled water for 8-10 minutes, or as the packet says, until flexible but still firm. Drain and toss with a teaspoon of the oil so they do not stick.
Mix the tamarind, soy sauce, sugar and 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Taste: it should be sweet, sour and salty.
Heat a wok or large frying pan over a high heat until smoking. Add half the oil, then the tofu, and fry for 3-4 minutes until golden. Remove.
Add the remaining oil, the garlic and chilli and stir-fry for 20 seconds. Add the prawns and cook for 2 minutes until pink and curled.
Push everything to the side, crack in the eggs and scramble them for 30 seconds until just set.
Add the noodles and the sauce. Toss constantly for 2-3 minutes until the noodles have absorbed the sauce and are tender, adding a splash of water if they seem dry.
Return the tofu to the pan with most of the spring onions and toss through.
Serve at once, topped with the peanuts, the remaining spring onions and lime wedges to squeeze over.
The method was written by AI from the ingredient list. Cook with your own judgement, and check that everything is cooked through and safe to eat.
Tips
- Do not over-soak the noodles: they finish cooking in the wok, and soft noodles turn to paste.
- Cook in one batch only if your pan is large; a crowded pan steams rather than fries. Two smaller batches are better.
- Use a vegetarian version by leaving out the prawns and adding extra tofu.
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