Pad Thai

pad thai
Few days ago, we had invited our friends for dinner. Our friend Jyoti told us, she makes this delicious Pad Thai atleast once a week to take in her lunch box. What interested me most was the fact that she told me, she does not use any kind of sauces in it. Though I have used Soy sauce, fish sauce etc in the past, I am making a conscious effort not to use them now due to various reasons. The only sauce I have on hand these days is hot sauce. I asked Jyoti for her recipe. I made some minor modifications and absolutely loved the end result. This is not a traditional Thai recipe, but I can safely say it is a healthy and easy version of the classic.

Read more about Pad thai. Check Nupur’s version.
I don’t have exact measurements for this. I used whatever vegetables I had on hand instead of buying specially for the dish.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Pad Thai noodles
1 Egg
1 tea spn garlic
1 tea spn red chilli flakes
1 tea spn red chilli sauce
2-3 tbl spn brown sugar
3 tbl spns coarse peanut powder
1 tbl spn coriander leaves
2 tbl spns lemon juice
Oil
Salt
Vegetables –
Green beans cut into thin long pieces
Carrot cut into thin long pieces
Snow peas
Zucchini
Extra firm Tofu (did not use these)
Bean sprouts (did not use these)
Broccoli (did not use these)

Method:
Cook noodles according to packet instructions.
Heat 2 tbl spns water, sugar and red chilli flakes till it thickens a bit.
Heat oil in a big wok and add tofu. Stir fry them for few minutes. With a spoon, push them to a side of wok and add eggs in the remaining space. Scramble the eggs.
Now add all the vegetables, garlic and fry them for few minutes. Let them cook for a bit.
Add cooked noodles, salt and the prepared sugar-red chilli sauce. Add the red chilli sauce(if using). Mix everything well. (Taste it at this point and add more chilli flakes or sugar if necessary).
Add lemon juice, peanut powder and mix well.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Serves : 1-2

28 thoughts on “Pad Thai”

  1. nice recipe shilpa… looks yummy!
    shilpa, do u have recipes for chicken franks (chicken meat in a thick roll form, available in any super market)
    these franks are good for easy and fast cooking, esp. for children.
    pls post the recipe for chicken franks/frankies if u can.

  2. Hi, This is a very interesting recipe. I will surely try it soon. But I have a question: Are eggs an optional ingredient? Can I skip the use of eggs? Or are eggs the part of a crucial flavour of the dish?

  3. hi shilpa here is a suggestion when i make this i use lightly sesame seeds as a garnish gives a nice crunch also the bean sprouts.
    when we had visited thailand,they used to give a lot of accompaniments ike lime , brown sugar ,vinegar-soya sauce,oyster sauce,sprouts,peanuts tasted yummm
    also i make a non veg version with prawns.which are stir fried initially then removed , later tossed in agai

  4. Very tasty,easy and a wonderful recipe…. Made it yesterday and planning to make it over and over 🙂

    Thank you for this simple and mouthwatering recipe

  5. Hey Shilpa,

    Can you pls share the various reasons of not using soy sauce??
    I didn’t know earlier. Coz i use it in lot of dishes.
    Will be great if you could enlighten us.

    Thnx.

    1. I read in many places it is one of the triggers for migraine. So I avoid using it. Also, it has a high sodium content (I don’t know if there are any low sodium versions, I haven’t done more research on it). You can read more about it here. I am not saying it is bad for everyone, but I found it was not suitable for us, so I stopped using it.

  6. Pad thai is a reliable staple when we go to Thai restt. As for the various sauces I would say occasional use is fine but it is a personal choice.

  7. Hi Shilpa.

    Lovely post. I don’t want to gross out anyone, but wanted to share one info regarding soya sauce. In China, they discovered that hair protein has the same effect as that of soya sauce. So the cheaper soya sauces are made from human hair.. in the ingredients I think it says artifically engineered. So Japan had banned soya sauce from China for some time. Once I read about this, I couldn’t take any soya sauce. Now I check the ingredients carefully and buy it only if it has soya in it. Isn’t it just disgusting.. I am really sorry for grossing out anyone.. but I found this information useful

    Thanks,
    Anu

  8. Even among Thai cooks there are so many ways to make Pad Thai- there really isn’t just one authentic way! I’ve seen both lime/lemon juice or vinegar used for souring, and many different ways to get the red-chile/garlic flavour…and bean sprouts aren’t necessary; I often use shredded cabbage and carrots- whatever is on hand! 🙂 Fish sauce is traditional, but there seem to be a growing number of vegetarians in Thailand, so plain salt is just fine. Therefore, you are right on and authentic and it really looks yummy! 😀

  9. Hey Shilpa,

    This is a fantastic recipe. Its a keeper !!! Though I omiited using egg, it still came out too good.

    Thanks for this lovely and healthy version.

  10. Hi Shilpa, I was wondering if you could tell me where I can get peanut powder? Do you get it in any grocery stores or do you make it at home?

  11. Soy sauce is kind of fermented stuff. Better to avoid it. Look for some other alternatives to substitute the taste of soy sauce. Fresher vegetables, fruits have high Prana value than the fermented stuff. Give it a try.

  12. Thx Shilpa… for all these recipes….

    I was searching for an easy Pad Thai recipe, n ur space completed my hunt 🙂

    Me n my hubby both love Pad Thai n i’ll definitely try ur version very soon..

    thx agn

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