extra chopped coriander/cilantrospring onions, chopped peanuts and chilli flakes
Instructions
Boil a large pan of water and add the noodles. Turn off the heat and leave to stand for 3-4 minutes. Drain, then rinse with cold water until cold. Drizzle on the sesame oil and toss together - to prevent the noodles from sticking.
Heat a large wok over a high heat. Add the potted shrimp in butter, vegetable oil, salt, and garlic salt. Fry for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden.
50 g (1.75 oz) pot of potted brown shrimp (the teeny tiny shrimp in butter), 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil, 1/4 tsp salt, pinch garlic salt
Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl - leaving the oil in the wok.
Add the king prawns, garlic, and dried chilli flakes to the oil in the wok. Fry for 2-3 minutes until the king prawns just start to turn pink.
20 large raw king prawns, 3 cloves garlic, ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
Whisk the eggs together and add to the prawns.
2 eggs
Fry, stirring often with a spatula until the eggs are just scrambled.
Turn down the heat to medium and add the noodles, potted shrimp, fish sauce, tamarind paste, sweet chilli sauce, sugar, shrimp paste, and soy sauce/tamari.
2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp tamarind paste, 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce, 1 tbsp soft brown sugar, 2 tsp shrimp paste, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
Toss everything together, heating for about 5 minutes, until the noodles are hot. Keep the noodles moving around the wok to stop them sticking, and ensure any pieces of shrimp paste are broken up.
Add the preserved radish, peanuts, spring onions (scallions), beansprouts, and coriander (cilantro).
1 tbsp Thai preserved radish, 40 g (1/3 cup) roasted peanuts, 4 spring onions (scallions), 100 g (3.5 oz) fresh bean sprouts (mung bean sprouts), 2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander/cilantro
Toss together and cook for a further 1-2 minutes, until the beansprouts are just heated through.
Serve with lime wedges and top with fresh red chillies. You can also sprinkle on extra coriander/cilantro, spring onions, chopped peanuts, and chilli flakes if you like.
2 limes, 1 fresh red chilli, extra chopped coriander/cilantro
Video
Notes
*Note 1 Potted shrimp is not an authentic ingredient in Pad Thai. If you prefer you can replace the potted shrimp with 30g (1 oz/3tbsp) of dried shrimp (available from Asian supermarkets). Add an extra 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil when frying them up. I find dried shrimp a little too chewy and pungent. The potted shrimp are small and juicy.Can I make it ahead?This Pad Thai tastes best when made and eaten right away, so I wouldn't recommend making it ahead.However - if you do have leftovers, then you can save and reheat. Noodles tend to go a little stickier and drier upon reheating, and prawns will be less tender, but it still makes a good leftover lunch. Quickly cool, cover and refrigerate (for up to a day) any leftovers. The best way to reheat is covered, in the microwave. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of water, then reheat in 30 second bursts on the highest heat. Every 30 seconds agitate the noodles a little with a fork or some chopsticks. Continue to heat until piping hot throughout, which should take 3-5 minutes per portion.Can I freeze it?As per the info above, Pad Thai tastes much better when fresh. However you can freeze leftovers. Quickly cool, cover and freeze leftovers. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat as per the reheat instructions in the 'Can I make it ahead?' question above.Pad Thai Sauce:The noodles are coated in a number of different ingredients. I add these in one at a time, but you can stir them together to make a sauce, and pour it directly on the noodles during cooking if you prefer. The sauce would include:
Garlic
Dried chillies
Fish sauce
Shrimp paste
Tamarind paste
Chilli sauce
Sugar
Gluten Free Pad Thai:I often use tamari instead of soy sauce, so the Pad Thai is naturally gluten free. However, it is worth checking the particular brands you use to ensure they're gluten free.Rice noodles are usually gluten free - but check your brand.Also check your brand for fish sauce, tamarind paste, chilli sauce and shrimp paste. Again they're often gluten free, but it really does depend on the brand.Vegetarian Pad Thai:You can swap out the shrimp and prawns for mushrooms and tofu. You won't get the flavoured oil from the shrimp, but it will still be tasty. Swap the fish sauce in this case for a vegetarian fish sauce (Thai Taste do one) or soy sauce/tamari. It's difficult to replace the shrimp paste, but I've heard that a good alternative is miso paste - as it's got that nice salt, umami flavour.Can I scale this recipe up or down?Scaling down: You can halve the recipe to make it for two people by halving all of the ingredients and cooking in the same way.Scaling up: You can double the recipe to make it for up to 8 people by doubling all of the ingredients. It will take a little longer to cook everything through and you will have to be careful when frying the noodles in the wok as the longer cooking time can cause the noodles to break up if they're agitated in the wok too much.Recipe inspiration:This recipe is inspired by Rick Stein's Pad Thai recipe from his book Far Eastern Odyssey. Nutritional Information is approximate and is per portion.