Thai · Lunch or dinner

Pad Thai

Rice noodles, tamarind, shrimp, peanuts and lime.

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Pad Thai, plated, photographed from above.
Prep
20 min
Cook
15 min
Makes
4 servings
Skill
Comfortable
Heat
Mild, adjustable
Contains peanuts Contains shellfish Contains eggs Contains fish Contains soy
Maui says

Soak the noodles in warm water (not boiling) - boiling water turns them sticky before they hit the pan. Drained-firm-but-flexible is what you want; they finish cooking in the sauce.

Ingredients

Everything below makes 4 servings.

  • 8 ozdried flat rice noodles (pad thai noodles, 1/4-inch wide)
  • 12 ozlarge peeled shrimppeeled, deveined, tails on or off
  • 3 tbsptamarind paste (concentrate)
  • 3 tbspfish sauce
  • 3 tbsppalm sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 1 tbspsoy sauce
  • 2large eggslightly beaten
  • 4garlic clovesminced
  • 1 mediumshallotthinly sliced
  • 2 cupsfresh bean sprouts
  • ½ cupgarlic chives (or scallions)cut into 2-inch lengths
  • ½ cuproasted unsalted peanutscoarsely chopped
  • 1limecut into wedges
  • 1 tspchile flakes (Thai or red pepper)for serving
  • 3 tbspneutral oil

In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.

Nutrition

Per serving, as written.

  • 580calories
  • 28gprotein
  • 72gcarbs
  • 18gfat

Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.

Instructions

Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.

Before you start
  1. Soak rice noodles in warm tap water 30 min while you do everything else - they should be pliable but still firm. Drain.
  2. Whisk tamarind paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, and soy sauce in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. This is your pad thai sauce.
  3. Peel and devein shrimp. Beat eggs. Mince garlic; slice shallot.
  4. Cut garlic chives into 2-inch pieces. Chop peanuts. Wedge lime.
1

Heat the wok

Heat the wok over high heat 1 minute. Add oil; swirl. Add shrimp, stir-fry 90 sec until pink and just opaque. Transfer to a plate.

2 min · hands on
2

Aromatics and egg

Add remaining oil. Add garlic and shallot; stir-fry 30 sec. Push to one side. Pour beaten eggs into the empty space, let set 20 sec, then scramble loosely with the spatula.

1 min · hands on
3

Noodles in the sauce

Add drained noodles and the sauce. Toss constantly with tongs over high heat 3-4 min - noodles will absorb the sauce and turn glossy and brown in spots. Add a splash of water if they look dry before they soften.

4 min · hands on
4

Finish

Return shrimp to wok. Add bean sprouts and garlic chives; toss 30 sec - you want the sprouts to barely warm through, still crunchy.

1 min · hands on
5

Plate

Divide between plates. Top with chopped peanuts and a pinch of chile flakes. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.

1 min · hands on

Make it yours

Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.

Instead of shrimp Chicken breast

Slice chicken thin; stir-fry 4 min in step 2 before adding noodles. Adds about 2 minutes.

Instead of shrimp Extra-firm tofu

Press 10 min, cube, fry until golden in step 2.

Instead of shrimp Chicken and shrimp combo

Cook chicken first 3 min, push to side, add shrimp 90 sec. Adds about 2 minutes.

Gluten free Tamari for soy sauce

Check label - many soy sauces contain wheat.

What keeps

Pad thai goes gummy on day 2 - the noodles soak up the sauce and seize. Best cooked fresh.

Mise everything in advance and the actual stir-fry takes 6 minutes.

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