Pad Thai Recipe (with Chicken or Shrimp) - Cooking Classy (2024)

FAQs

What makes Pad Thai taste good? ›

Tamarind is the ingredient that is the heart and soul of Pad Thai sauce, giving the sauce the sour flavour that Pad Thai is known for. It's an ingredient used in South East Asian cooking, like this Malaysian Beef Rendang.

When it's sold in restaurants outside Thailand, the noodles are sometimes bright orange – that's because sauces or spices, like paprika, have been used instead of tamarind. Authentic Pad Thai is a light reddish-brown colour.

Fish sauce is arguably the most important seasoning in Southeast Asian cuisine, and this is definitely true of Thai cuisine. You've probably had it without even knowing it; in your pad thai, or in that orange dipping sauce nuoc cham from your Vietnamese takeout.

Very similar to pad thai, right? The only two differences here are the noodles and using cashews instead of peanuts. Left to right, top to bottom: Garlic chives, beansprouts, mee krob noodles, pressed tofu, lime, shrimp, roasted cashews, egg.

Pile the noodles into bowls then top with more finely minced peanuts (the more the merrier!) plus lots of chopped fresh cilantro, green onions, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. This exact combination – noodles, cilantro, peanuts, green onions, and like, 5 drops of lime juice – makes for the BEST Chicken Pad Thai!

Ingredients. Sauce: Palm sugar, Water, Tamarind, Shallots, Sweet radishes (sodium benzoate), Garlic, Soybean oil, Potassium chloride, Maltodextrin, Miso (soybean, rice), Salt, Hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, Yeast extract, Paprika oleoresin, Citric acid, Alpha-tocopherol, Chili oleoresin.

The name of this establishment refers to the five flavors (ha/ห้า=five, roat/รส=flavors) which are present in a good pad Thai: salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and savory.

You've probably had pad thai in your local restaurant, but what you had may not be anything like the authentic version. First, it should not have ketchup or any tomato product in it. Second, it should not be syrupy sweet. And finally, it shouldn't be just a heavy, soggy clump of noodles with bits of green onions.

Soak the dried rice noodles in cool or lukewarm water for 30 minutes, or until they're limp but still firm to the touch; later cooking in the wok will soften them more. Drain the noodles thoroughly in a colander and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.

Worcestershire sauce

Made of anchovies, molasses, tamarind, vinegar, cloves, onion, and other seasonings, it's a delicious alternative to fish sauce. Since both sauces are made using anchovies and fermented for up to 18 months, they have a similar umami flavor.

What can I use instead of fish sauce in Pad Thai? ›

Soy sauce + rice vinegar

For an even closer substitution, replace the fish sauce with 1/2 soy sauce and 1/2 rice vinegar (or other vinegar). This will give you the salty sour freshness.

Remove about ½ cup of the sauce and discard. Then replace the same amount of removed sauce with either salt-reduced stock, wine or unsalted tomato passata. Adding a liquid high in fat is another great alternative. Try plain yoghurt, coconut cream, cream or milk.

Pad Thai, a Thai dish of stir-fried rice noodles and other ingredients, is one of the culinary heritages of Thailand. In the southern region of Thailand, Pad Thai has different characteristics from other areas because coconut milk and curry paste are used to produce a thick sauce prior to cooking.

A More Authentic Pad Thai

Pad Thais can be both sour and sweet, depending on the region they're made in and who is making the dish! Generally, in Thailand, pad thai will include ingredients like dried shrimp and fish sauce which lends tangy umami to the overall dish.

Kway Teow is a Chinese loan word, based on the southern Chinese [Hokkein] pronunciation of guǒtiáo 粿條 (strips of rice cakes). According to Mr. Ferdman, the name matches the reality. There's really nothing Thai about the dish: not the rice noodles and certainly not the preserved radish.

Thai cuisine achieves this remarkable fusion by incorporating a diverse range of ingredients. From aromatic herbs like basil, cilantro, and lemongrass to spices like ginger, turmeric, and galangal, every bite is a tantalizing mix of bold and balanced flavors.

If there is a will there is a way though. You can either buy a non fish-based fish sauce or simply prepare your own by infusing soy sauce (or tamari) with a bit of seaweed and dried mushrooms. If it sounds like too much effort and you're only after a quick lunch, just use a straight soy sauce instead…

A perfectly cooked pad Thai should have a balance of flavors — tangy, sweet, spicy and salty, Trang says. This comes from a blend of tamarind paste, palm sugar, crushed red chili peppers and fish sauce.