Noodles
Pad Thai ผัดไทย · phàt thai
Thailand's signature stir-fried rice noodles with tamarind, egg, tofu and peanuts.
- Spice
- Mild
- Also called
- Phad Thai, Thai Fried Noodles, ก๋วยเตี๋ยวผัดไทย
- Virtual price
- ฿70
What it is
Pad Thai is thin rice noodles stir-fried with a sweet-sour tamarind sauce, egg, firm tofu, dried shrimp and bean sprouts, finished with crushed peanuts and a wedge of lime. It is the dish most foreigners meet first and the most famous Thai food worldwide.
How it tastes
A careful balance of sweet, sour and salty from tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce, with smoky wok flavour, chewy noodles and crunchy peanuts and sprouts on top.
Where it comes from
Promoted nationally in the 1930s–40s as a Thai national noodle, adapting Chinese rice-noodle stir-frying with Thai seasonings. Now everywhere, but Bangkok and central Thailand are its heartland.
Ingredients
- Thin rice noodles (sen lek)
- Tamarind paste
- Palm sugar
- Fish sauce
- Egg
- Firm tofu
- Dried shrimp
- Bean sprouts
- Garlic chives
- Crushed peanuts
- Lime
How it's made
Soaked rice noodles are stir-fried with tamarind sauce until they soak up the flavour, pushed aside to scramble an egg, then tossed with tofu, shrimp and sprouts and served with peanuts, chilli flakes and lime on the side.
Variations
- Pad Thai Goong (prawn)
- Pad Thai Gai (chicken)
- Pad Thai Woon Sen (glass noodles)
- Pad Thai Hor Kai (wrapped in a thin omelette)
- Vegetarian / jay
Where to eat it
Dedicated Pad Thai carts, night markets and noodle shops nationwide — Thipsamai in Bangkok is the most famous.
