Pad Thai

Pad Thai is one of the world’s most beloved noodle dishes. Along with Thai Green Curry and Red Curry, this is the dish by which every Thai restaurant is measured. In fact, I was trying to find the “best” Thai restaurant in my area just last week and it brought me much amusement that Pad Thai was the baseline of a favourable or unfavourable rating for almost every review! If you’ve been disappointed by basic Pad Thai recipes in the past, have faith – I promise this one delivers! I use chicken here but feel free to switch with any protein, even prawns/shrimp.  If you're after a truly authentic Pad Thai recipe, but be warned that most people will find it a little too "real" for their palettes because Pad Thai in Thailand has stronger fish sauce/dried shrimp "funk". 

Can’t find Tamarind Puree?

Believe it or not, a great substitute is ketchup. With a few tweaks to the recipe, you can achieve a similar, extremely good outcome!

The Noodles

Pad Thai is made with flat dried rice noodles which can be found in everyday supermarkets. I recommend Chang’s “Thai style” rice noodles rather than the actual Thai brand rice noodles (Erawan Rice Sticks – red pack below) that are sold at supermarkets. Chang’s are less prone to breaking and require just 5 minutes of soaking in hot water. The Erawan Rice Sticks are far more prone to breaking when stir frying.

Other ingredients in Pad Thai

Here are two more ingredients that are very Pad Thai-centric: firm tofu and garlic chives. You’ll find firm tofu at the supermarket too – go for the firmest plain tofu you can find (read the label, give the packet a squeeze to check). Don’t even think about trying this with soft tofu – it will just totally disintegrate! Garlic chives are the big brother of normal chives. They taste like garlicky chives (I know, you’re shocked right? 😂) and are shaped like blades of grass. Sub with extra garlic and green onions if you can’t find them. MORE NOTES:
1. Rice noodles – Use a noodle that is 2 – 3 mm / 0.1 ” thick. Avoid wider rice noodles, they are more prone to breaking. 125g doesn’t sound like much noodles but they expand when soaked. 2. Tamarind is the heart and soul of Pad Thai. The authentic version starts with tamarind pulp which needs to be soaked then strained. Puree is sold in a jar at supermarkets (Asian section), far easier! It’s a scoopable soft paste (see video). It can be labelled as Tamarind Puree or Paste (not to be confused with Tamarind concentrate which is stronger – use about 1/3 of the amount if you have this).  KETCHUP SUBSTITUTE if you can’t find tamarind. Use this for the Pad Thai Sauce instead of ingredients listed above: 1 tbsp ketchup, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce*, 2 tbsp rice vinegar (or 1 tbsp white vinegar). See in post for explanation, and cynics, don’t judge until you’ve tried this! It’s remarkably good and quite close to the base Pad Thai recipe!:  * This is mainly for colour, so can be substituted with light or normal soy sauce and flavour will still be the same. 3. Can be substituted with light soy sauce though you will lose a bit of the flavour edge that fish sauce gives it. 4. Not in authentic Pad Thai but is essential for this everyday version. 5. Garlic chives look like blades of grass and taste like garlicky chives. If you can’t find them, it’s not a deal killer. Best to substitute with chopped shallots (aka green onion / scallions)/.. 6. General note: I use a skillet here, I find it easier. But if you have a well seasoned wok, make it in that if you want!