This is the Holy Grail of Asian dishes for me. A little sweet, a little sour and the perfect amount of heat. The noodles are glossy and touched with just the right amount of sauce. The dish has tons of texture too – from the sprouts to the peanuts and the silky chicken. And don’t forget the nice touch of acidity by squeezing those limes before eating!
Can you tell I’m a bit in love with this one?
Partly because it’s so hard to find a really good version eating out. Even developing this recipe took many, many iterations to finally land on a version that has some of the funk and character of authentic Pad Thai, but easier to make and pleasing to American palates.
That said, this recipe has many pieces of “authentic” in it. To do it right and not resort to the ketchup or jarred sauce abomination that is so many restaurant versions – you’ll need to get a few special ingredients.
It’s so worth it and you’ll love the experience of checking out your local Asian market if you’ve never been. Here is a photo and some links for a few of the specialty ingredients that make this the best Pad Thai you will ever eat!
Key Ingredients
- Palm Sugar: I got this at my local market. You can also substitute with light brown sugar. Palm sugar is a touch sweeter.
- Sambal Oelek – this ground chili paste is a secret ingredient for adding spice and character to so many dishes.
- Black Thai soy sauce: sweeter and thicker than regular soy.
- Red Boat Fish sauce: this is to Asian cuisine what San Marzano tomatoes are to Italian cooking so use a quality brand.
- Tamarind Concentrate: There are different styles and consistencies available from Thai to Indian. This one just hit the right notes.
- Shrimp paste: Authentic Pad Thai uses dried shrimp that are cooked in the wok but I found shrimp paste to be easier to work with by putting that slight seafoody funk right into the sauce. Buy this at an Asian market, it’s way too expensive online.
Cooking Notes
One of the tricks to getting this dish right is the noodles. First, you need the right stick-style noodles. I used several types but landed on the Three Ladies Brand. Second you really do need to soak the noodles for at least one hour in warm tap water. I also add a tsp of salt to the water. You want them to be pliable, bouncy and barely al dente. They will soften fully when incorporated into the sauce.
The order of operation for this recipe is super important to get the noodles that glossy texture. If you add the sauce too early and before you’ve coated your noodles with oil, you’ll end up with sticky clumps of soggy noodles. No one likes a soggy noodle 😉
The good news about this dish is that despite it looking like a lot of steps and ingredients, it cooks really fast. I like to soak my noodles, make my sauce and set it aside, then prepare the rest of my ingredients. End-to-end you’re looking at a total time of 70 minutes including the soak time.
How spicy is this!?
Ok, let’s talk about heat. I’m not quite a chili-head but I love a nice kick of heat whenever I can get it! That said, the recipe as written makes what I consider a 4 out of 10 heat level. If you want to crank it up, add more Sambal Oelek to your sauce and/or diced Thai chilis to the stir fry. Hot chili oil helps too and yes, I use it!
Anything optional?
When I make a dish, it’s usually a 100% effort to make every aspect as good as it can be. I do believe the small details are what can really elevate a dish. That said, you can skip a few steps if you want. Don’t. But if you do… 😉
- Velveting: this process is similar to what’s used in Asian restaurants on thinly sliced meats to give them a unique soft texture on the inside. Try it to see the difference for yourself. It doesn’t really add any time to the cook.
- I also make my own stir fry oil specifically for asian dishes. It’s basically a neutral oil plus chili and sesame oils to give it that subtle asian vibe. Much better for you than the cottonseed “Stir Fry” oil sold in stores.
Now run off to the store and go make this thing! And I welcome your questions or feedback 🙂
One final note: it says 2 servings but can stretch to 3 people.
Ingredients
- 7 oz Rice sticks (half bag) - Medium width
- 1 lb chicken breast or thigh - thinly sliced
- 1 TBSP Shaoxing wine or Mirin - low sodium
- 2 tsp Corn starch
Sauce
- 3 TBSP Palm sugar (packed) - or light brown sugar
- 3 TBSP Tamarind paste concentrate
- 2 TBSP Black Thai soy sauce - or Oyster sauce
- 1 TBSP Dark soy
- 1 TBSP Fish sauce
- 1 tsp Shrimp paste
- 2-3 tsp chili paste - Sambal Oelek
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Stir fry
- 2 TBSP Stir-fry oil - or Grapeseed
- 1 cup onion - sliced
- 1/2 cup shallots - sliced
- 4-5 small thai chilis (red) - sliced, or crushed red pepper
- 2 whole eggs - whisked
- 1/2 cup Chinese chives - or green onion, split lengthwise, 2" pieces
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts
- 1/4 cup Scallions - bias sliced
Garnish
- 1/4 cup Roasted peanuts - crushed fine
- cilantro leaves
- lime wedges
- bean sprouts
Stir-fry oil
- 1/2 cup Grapeseed - or Avocado
- 1/2 tsp Hot chili oil
- 1/4 tsp Sesame oil
Instructions
Cook rice noodles
- Boil water, add 1/2 TBSP salt. Cook noodles on low boil 6 min. Drain and rinse under cold water. Reserve in sieve. Rinse again in cold water to separate if they start to clump up before going into stir fry.
Velvet Chicken (optional)
- While water starts to boil, slice chicken into thin 1/4" strips. (Note: Place chicken in freezer 15 min to firm up for easier slicing) Whisk mirin/wine, cornstarch, together. Pour over chicken slices, toss to coat, set aside 20 min. or refrigerate if longer.
Make sauce
- In saucepot over LOW heat add all sauce ingredients above. Cook until sugar is dissolved and sauce becomes thick. Heat off, set aside.
Stir Fry
- In large wok, on HIGH, add 2T oil. Pat chicken slices dry with paper towel. Fry chicken until done and slightly seared. Remove from pan, set aside in bowl.
- Add eggs to pan, more oil if needed, scramble. Add to bowl with chicken.
- Lower heat to MED, add more oil (using hot chili oil here for more heat), briefly sautee onion, shallot and chilis (lightly season) until onions opaque. Add chinese chives, cook 1 min. Add noodles, combine well coating all noodles in oil. Add back chicken and egg. Combine well. NOW add sauce. Toss and using tongs to combine, cook until sauce is absorbed by noodles. 1-2 min.
- Heat off. Add scallions and 1 cup of sprouts. Mix well, using tongs to separate noodles into other ingredients. Test for seasoning.
Garnish
- Garnish each plate with crushed peanuts (or omit if allergic), cilantro and lime wedges. Add small pile of sprouts to the side with a squeeze of lime over the top of entire dish. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper for a little extra kick!
