How to Cook Pad Thai

Recipe suggestions and helpful tips for cooking this popular Thai dish.

By: Sue Stigleman

Rice Noodles
You can use fresh or dried, ranging from 1/8 to 1/2 inches in width.  Dried noodles must be soaked in water to soften.  Recipes usually call for soaking in cold, lukewarm, hot, and boiling water for anywhere from 7 minutes to 2 hours. I like to put mine into warm tap water and let them soak while I'm preparing everything else. Just before I start cooking, I dump them into a colander to drain. One recipe suggests cellophane noodles as an alternative to rice noodles, I've never tried that variation.

With or Without Meat
The most common meat called for is shrimp, with chicken and/or pork use in addition to, or in place of the shrimp. Some recipes add bean curd; some substitute it for the meat. Jeff Smith's recipe uses deep fried bean curd. My own variation is to substitute various veggies (asparagus, red bell pepper, broccoli, snow peas, or whatever else looks good.) As Nancie McDermott says, “Thai cooks blithely tinker with the classic formula to create signature variations and you can too."

Oil and Seasoning
Cooking Pad Thai starts with vegetable or peanut oil. Most versions add garlic and sometimes shallots, shrimp paste (be prepared for the smell!), onions, fresh red chilies and/or preserved sweet white radish.

The Sauce
What makes Pad Thai in addition to the rice noodles is the sauce. The general mix of flavors is sweet salty sour and hot. Typical ingredients are: fish sauce (sometimes soy sauce is used in addition or in place of the fish sauce for vegetarian versions), sugar (sometimes palm sugar is suggested), vinegar (various kinds specified; tamarind sauce or lime juice are sometimes used instead), "red stuff", which may be paprika, tomato paste, catsup, chili powder, hot chili sauce, chili paste with garlic, tomato sauce, or cayenne pepper depending on the recipe.  Other possible additions: salt, black pepper, chicken stock, and dried shrimp powder. One recipe calls for boiling the sauce before using.

Eggs
Anywhere from 0 to 6 eggs. Some recipes call for beating the eggs before adding; others suggest breaking the yolk after adding the egg to the pan. Various techniques are suggested for manipulating the egg while cooking. One recipe calls for cooking the egg before starting the Pad Thai, cutting it into strips and then adding the egg strips back at the end of the cooking process. I haven't tried this myself, but have had it in restaurants.

Bean Sprouts and Scallions
These are usually added last in cooking or added to the finished dish without cooking.

Garnishes
Various items can be added to the finished dish as an edible garnish: lime or lemon wedges, ground roasted chilies, ground roasted peanuts, dried red chili flakes, fresh coriander leaves, cucumber slices, dried shrimps, fried basil leaves, cherry tomatoes, and mint sprigs. Experiment and enjoy!