Closet Cooking

Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

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Pad Thai

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Pad Thai
Stir-fried shrimp and rice noodles in a tasty sweet, salty, sour and spicy sauce topped with roasted peanuts.

Pad Thai, a Thai style stir fried rice noodle dish, has to be one of my all time favourite meals and I always enjoy using its ingredient and flavour combinations in other dishes. With all of the Pad Thai style dishes that I have been making as of late I was reminded that I needed to update the original Pad Thai recipe along with it’s 5 year old photo. Given my obsession with Pad Thai it’s a good thing that it’s so easy to make at home and the only ‘exotic’ ingredients that you really need to track down are the tamarind concentrate and the fish sauce which can be replaced by more commonly available lime juice and soy sauce in a pinch. One of the great things about Pad Thai is it’s amazingly magical balance of sour, salty, sweet and spicy created by the tamarind, fish sauce, sugar and chili sauce. All said and told, Pad Thai really only takes less than 10 minutes to cook and things go quickly after the first ingredient hits the pan so the secret to success is in making sure that you have all of the ingredients ready to go before you start cooking. It’s so easy to enjoy Pad Thai at home, even on a busy weeknight and with this recipe it is sure to become one of your favourite meals as well!

Pad Thai
The original photo:

Pad Thai

Pad Thai

Pad Thai

Prep Time:10 minutes Cook Time:10 minutes Total Time:20 minutes Servings: 2

Stir-fried shrimp and rice noodles in a tasty sweet, salty, sour and spicy sauce topped with roasted peanuts.

ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate (or 4 tablespoons lime juice)
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce)
  • 3 tablespoons palm sugar or sugar
  • 1 tablespoon chili sauce or to taste
  • 6 ounces rice noodles
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 6 ounces shrimp, chicken or tofu
  • 2 shallots, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, chopped
  • 1 cup bean sprouts
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 lime lime cut into wedges
directions
  1. Heat the tamarind, fish sauce, sugar and chili sauce until the sugar is dissolved.
  2. Soak the noodles in water as directed on package until just pliable.
  3. Heat oil in a pan.
  4. Add the shrimp, shallots and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Add the sauce and the noodles and mix and move to the side of the pan.
  6. Add the egg, let it set a bit and then mix it into the noodles.
  7. Add the peanuts and bean sprouts and cook for a minute.
  8. Add the green onions and cilantro and remove from heat.
Similar Recipes:
Pad Thai Soup
Pad Thai Omelette
Spicy Peanut Sauce Pad Thai
Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Pad Thai
Chicken Pad Thai Nachos
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  6. Esi says

    November 25, 2008 at 4:53 am

    I love Pad Thai! It’s my favorite thing to order in, but my last attempt at making it didn’t go so well. I am going to have a go at this recipe some time.

    Reply

  8. Anonymous says

    November 25, 2008 at 6:04 am

    I love Pad Thai. There is a wonderful place in Chicago called Cozy Noodle that serves the most amazing Pad Thai. Ahh, I miss it. Yours looks pretty darn close to theirs.

    Reply

  13. Amanda says

    November 25, 2008 at 7:55 am

    Phad thai is definitely one of the harder dishes to make, it never quite turns out right… unless it’s by a stroke of luck.

    I should take some of your tips and give it a shot.

    Reply

  18. Ruth Daniels says

    November 25, 2008 at 12:24 pm

    I’m like everyone else here…Pad Thai is fantastic, and I have it whenever I go to a Thai restaurant (not always great) and since I have everything on hand, except the palm sugar (must look for that)…well…thanks for sharing the recipe with Presto Pasta Nights.

    Reply

  26. emily says

    November 25, 2008 at 5:15 pm

    Kevin,

    You really need to do a post on food photography. I can’t figure out how you always get such great lighting! Do you cook when it’s still light out, or do you have a light box, or special lights? I must know!

    Beautiful post, as usual.

    Reply

  30. Lynnylu says

    November 25, 2008 at 7:04 pm

    Pad Thai is great and yours looks perfect! Thanks for visiting my blog. Speaking of lighting, I just bought the Lowel Ego light set just for the winter months when I can’t get to photographing until nearly dark. I can’t wait to use it.

    Reply

  31. The Mediocre Cook says

    November 25, 2008 at 7:27 pm

    I’m a huge fan of fresh Pad Thai and have been making it fairly frequently once I found a good recipe for it. Pretty simple to make but definitely requires everything to be prepared before starting.

    Reply

  34. Manger La Ville says

    November 25, 2008 at 8:25 pm

    Last time I tried to work with fish sauce I ended up accidentally breaking the bottle. (The smell was intolerable in my NYC apt) So mostly I leave the Pad Thai up to the experts but your looked too good. I think I am going to try it again

    Reply

  38. Anonymous says

    November 25, 2008 at 10:50 pm

    I love Pad Thai, but have never made it at home before – thanks for the recipe!

    My daughter and I can have Asian food every night, but its not enough food for hubby!

    Thanks for the recipe Kevin!

    Reply

  41. Steph says

    November 25, 2008 at 11:39 pm

    I love pad thad! You did an amazing job with it. I agree, it’s so hard to make. The first time I tried it, I was so afraid of overcooking, I ended up with undercooked noodles.

    Reply

  46. Mrs Ergül says

    November 26, 2008 at 12:58 am

    Thai food gotta be one of my favourite cuisine for its dominant flavours goes very well with my palate!

    I gotta give this pad thai a try. it looks like an entire plate of goodness!

    Reply

  48. Jan says

    November 26, 2008 at 1:40 am

    Wow, Kevin! You’ve been cooking up a storm since I last dropped by.

    You’re right about Asian food, preparation is the key to getting it right. And this looks perfectly right to me. Great job!

    Reply

  50. gaga says

    November 26, 2008 at 6:17 am

    Lucky! Well, not luck, probably skill… either way, I’m jealous.

    I have tried 3 times now and still haven’t gotten it right. Maybe 4th times the charm?

    Congrats on your success

    Reply

  55. Kevin says

    November 27, 2008 at 2:12 am

    Michelle@Life with Three: This time I used rice noodles that called for boiling for a few minutes and they worked well. The last time I used the ones that just called for soaking them in hot water and they did not work out too well.

    Reply

  57. meeso says

    November 27, 2008 at 4:19 pm

    You always have some yummy looking Thai recipes… I am too lazy when I cook Thai and use three things, coconut milk, pre-made curry paste, and fish sauce… I need to try one of your recipes!!!

    Reply

  58. Amy says

    November 27, 2008 at 9:35 pm

    I tried that same recipe and didn’t have much luck with it. I think that I will need to try it again and hopefully it will come out as good as yours looks!

    Reply

  61. Carol Peterman says

    January 18, 2010 at 9:32 pm

    Pim's book motivated me to try to master this dish as well. I've made it three times now and every time it gets easier and better. Thanks for reminding me that I should make Pad Thai again soon. It looks like you definitely have the hang of it.

    Reply

  63. Sally says

    January 31, 2010 at 6:17 am

    I tried your recipe tonight and it worked really well. Thank you! I appreciated your simple, straight forward instructions. I tried making pad thai once before and it was okay, but this time, with your recipe, total success! Thank you.

    Reply

  64. Sandi says

    February 7, 2010 at 5:59 pm

    I love your site and this Pad Thai recipe looks great. Do they sell Tamarind concentrate in the supermarkets?

    I have followed and bookmarked you.

    Have a great day.
    Sandi :o)

    Reply

  66. Sabrina says

    May 1, 2010 at 11:56 am

    Wow! This is great! I absolutely love Thai food and I'm excited to try and get some recipes going for my blog as well. Any other tips you can share for good Thai cooking?

    Reply

  67. Abigail Louise says

    May 26, 2010 at 5:04 pm

    Pad Thai is my favourite Thai dish. I travelled to SE Asia in Easter and the Pad Thai out there was incredible!

    Blog impressive as always, I'm just starting up have a look and maybe you could drop me some hints :-p

    Abigail x

    Reply

  68. DestinedBridesmaid says

    June 18, 2010 at 1:00 pm

    Pad Thai is my favorite dish! I have also run into not having everything ready to go at the right time. I am going to give this a shot, maybe this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes! 🙂

    Reply

  69. Anna says

    July 20, 2010 at 8:09 am

    I'm always browsing the recipes on your blog and I finally got around to trying this recipe today. OMG. It worked out perfectly!!

    Keep it up :]]

    Reply

  72. ToothFairy623 says

    December 31, 2010 at 2:42 am

    This looks sooo delicious! I'm definitely going to have to try your recipe out. I love the photos that you take of your food. What kind of camera do you use? It's sad to say but I am secretly becoming a stalker of your blog recipes. LOL! Keep them coming!

    Reply

  74. Anonymous says

    February 20, 2011 at 12:08 am

    I tried this one for supper tonight, and my husband absolutely loved it. He actually said that it has become his new favourite dish. That's quite the accomplishment.
    I made the sauce with actual Tamarind paste, once I figured out how to use and apply it in the recipe, it actually came out very well. I added thinly sliced carrots, sugar snap peas cut on the bias, as well as celery and left out the bean sprouts. Gotta do what works for you. Anyway, thanks for another winner. I think this is recipe number 15 I have tried from your blog. Keep up the great work Kevin.

    Reply

  80. Anonymous says

    June 7, 2013 at 9:40 pm

    I don't cook my rice noodles..I soak them in warm/hot water for 25 minutes…drain and continue with the recipe.

    Reply

  82. Tami (Pixeltrash) says

    June 9, 2013 at 12:12 am

    Mmmm… I love Pad Thai. I will try your recipe for sure. I just made your Chinese Pork Dumplings tonight (again)! They are sooo good and I've actually made extras to give away as gifts. They are that good. Everyone wants me to make them for them. So thanks for the recipe! They will be a great Father's Day gift because my FIL loves them.

    Reply

  88. Anonymous says

    August 17, 2013 at 10:54 pm

    Thank you for a fairly easy delicious Pad Thai recipe! Loved it! My rice noodles were over-cooked but I am fairly sure now that I shouldn't have boiled the water first, just made it hot. The taste was awesome & authentic!
    -Kim

    Reply

  89. kevin says

    August 18, 2013 at 2:23 am

    Kim: Glad you liked it! Cook the noodles as directed on the package but pull them out when they are just pliable, ie. 'undercooked', as they will finish cooking when stir-fried.

    Reply

  90. Anonymous says

    September 10, 2013 at 1:31 pm

    I cooked this last night and my dinner was a sticky mess. I didn't over soak my noodles. I followed the recipe completely and still my dinner was horrible. I think my Pad Thai days are over.

    Reply

  91. kevin says

    September 10, 2013 at 1:40 pm

    Anonymous: When you say sticky do you mean that the noodles were mushy or that the were al-dente tender but they stuck to each other horribly?

    If you mean that they were mushy, it does sound like the noodles were over cooked. How long were they in the pan for stir-frying? In total they should be in the pan for no more than 3-5 minutes.

    If you mean that they stuck together horribly, then a good trick is to lightly rinse the noodles swishing them around in a bit of water before adding them to the pan. After you remove the noodles from soaking in the water they will start to dry and get sticky. Ideally you would like to get them into the pan as soon as possible but if they do get sticky, then rinsing them in a bit of water will quickly un-stick them.

    Reply

  94. Elina says

    March 21, 2014 at 2:41 pm

    Kevin, what fish sauce do you use? I made pad thai another day but it had this nasty fish sauce after taste. I was wondering if I need to buy different fish sauce. Your recipe looks great! Thanks.

    Reply

  95. kevin says

    March 21, 2014 at 4:03 pm

    Elina: I use 3 Crabs and I like it, though I do not have a lot of selection here so I have not really been able to compare it. You can cut back on the amount of fish sauce and replace some or all of it with soy sauce to reduce the fish flavour. You can also use more lime juice which helps cut through the fish flavour.

    Reply

  96. Elina says

    March 22, 2014 at 4:04 am

    Thank you Kevin. I will try your suggestions. I couldnt find 3 crabs today though..may need to check other asian stores or online.

    Reply

  98. Anonymous says

    August 4, 2014 at 8:13 pm

    Thanks for listing a substitute for the tamarind concentrate. I haven't been able to find it and every recipe I've seen calls for it. Can't wait to try this.

    ~Michelle

    Reply

  99. Monet Zelaya says

    July 31, 2015 at 2:05 am

    We just finish our dinner and it was delicious and easy to make, I just add an extra chili sauce because we like spicy food.
    This Pad Thai recipe is a keeper, thank you.

    Reply

  101. Kellie Trudel says

    July 18, 2017 at 5:41 pm

    Kevin…I'm stopping by today to compliment you on an awesome Pad Thai recipe which I made last night…the flavours were spot on! Made mine with tofu (meatless Monday) and the hubby and I totally enjoyed it with leftovers for lunch today. This is the standard for me. Thank you!

    Reply

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