Pad Thai is a delicious noodle dish that stands out for its combination of flavors and textures. It's packed with protein from shrimp, crunchy peanuts, spicy chili, and fresh lime. And it only takes 15 minutes to prepare! It's easy, quick, and super addictive: the perfect recipe for getting started with Thai cuisine.
Interestingly, Pad Thai is considered a traditional Thai dish, but it was actually created just 70 years ago at the behest of dictator Phibun. The goal behind its creation was to showcase Thai culture through a "national dish" that would suit all palates.
The most popular version of Pad Thai is with prawns, but if shrimp aren't your thing, you can also prepare it with chicken, beef, or pork. It's also an excellent vegan recipe by substituting tofu for the meat and vegan fish sauce for the fish sauce. Below, we'll show you how to prepare all kinds of versions so you don't miss out on trying them.
Index
- 1 Necessary ingredients
- 2 How to prepare Pad Thai
- 3 Where to get the ingredients to prepare Pad Thai
- 4 How to cook rice noodles
- 5 Ingredient Substitutions
- 6 Chicken Pad Thai
- 7 Vegan Pad Thai
- 8 Ingredients
- 9 Instructions
Necessary ingredients
How to prepare Pad Thai
Where to get the ingredients to prepare Pad Thai
All the "special" ingredients in this recipe can be found at any Asian supermarket. You don't need a specific brand of each product; any brand will work for this recipe.
If you don't have a supermarket nearby, here are some links so you can buy products online. It's worth having them because you can use them in tons of recipes.
- Get Rice Noodles here
- Get Fish Sauce here
- Get Rice Vinegar here
- Get Chile Flakes here
How to cook rice noodles
Rice noodles are much easier to cook than wheat noodles, and are also gluten-free. Simply soak them in warm water for the time indicated on the package. If your noodles come without any instructions or are all in Chinese, allow 10 or 15 minutes. You'll know they're ready when you can roll them around your finger without them breaking. Once hydrated, drain them well and add them to any preparation at the last minute, as, like pasta or rice, they can easily overcook if overcooked.
Ingredient substitution
Pad Thai recipes vary from region to region, and there are hundreds of ways to prepare it, so don't feel guilty about wanting to customize it a little.
Chicken Pad Thai
Since Pad Thai isn't a truly traditional dish, we've taken the liberty of offering variations that may better suit your tastes.
To prepare a chicken Pad Thai, simply replace the shrimp with thinly sliced chicken breast, so you can cook them quickly and eat them in one bite.
Vegan Pad Thai
If you want to prepare a vegan Pad Thai, you can follow our recipe perfectly, keeping in mind that you must:
〉 Replace the shrimp with 50-100g of tofu
〉 Use a vegan fish sauce like this one from Cilantro and Citronella.
〉 Eliminate the use of eggs
Servings 2
- Amount per serving
- % Daily Value *
- Saturated Fat 4.4 g23 %
- Fiber 6.5 g26 %
- Sugars 16.2 g
- Calcium 162 %
- Iron 4 %
*Percent daily values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
