Pad Thai Noodles

This popular Thai noodle dish has a delicate balance of spicy, sweet, salty, and sour flavors. This recipe is based on a traditional Bangkok-style version of the dish. It is not swimming in sauce like many Western versions found in restaurants. The dish is full of flavor with a light coating of delicious sauce in every bite. Serve with lime wedges, fish sauce, sugar, white pepper or pepper flakes, and vinegar on the table so guests can individually adjust tastes.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Calories: 536 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 ½ tablespoons white sugar
• 1 cup bean sprouts (Optional)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced, or more to taste
• 2 tablespoons tamarind paste
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper, or to taste
• 7 ounces 1/4-inch thick rice stick noodles
• 2 tablespoons raw peanuts, or more to taste
• 6 Thai chile peppers, seeded and minced, or more to taste
• 1 shallot, minced, or more to taste
• 1 pound boneless chicken, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• ⅓ cup extra-firm tofu, cut into matchsticks
• ¼ pound large shrimp - peeled, deveined, and tails removed (Optional)
• 1 cup chopped fresh chives (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside until noodles are flexible but still firm, about 10 minutes. Drain.

Step 2

Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke. Add oil; heat until it shimmers. Add peanuts; cook and stir until roasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from wok.

Step 3

Stir chile peppers, shallot, and garlic into the oil; cook and stir until garlic just begins to brown, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and tofu; cook until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 4 to 5 minutes. Add noodles, stirring quickly to mix in and prevent them from sticking. Add sugar, tamarind paste, fish sauce, and white pepper together; cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.

Step 4

Push noodle mixture to one side of the wok; crack egg into the empty space. Stir until scrambled, 1 to 2 minutes; fold into noodles. Stir in shrimp; cook until opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Add roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, chives, and lime juice; cook and stir until flavors combine, 1 to 2 minutes more.