One thing I have an itch for when it comes to food is to experiment in my kitchen and I’d be damned if I was making Tandoori Chicken everyday (even though I totally could) and not venturing over to my beautiful neighboring countries to become, say, Thai for a day. This may or may not be the reason of idling around in the Asian aisle at the grocery store. I have to admit that Asian cooking especially Thai cooking has baffled me for quite a while. A few months ago I picked up a packet of rice noodles because I was in the mood to make Pad Thai. I grabbed a recipe from the internet to get started, altering it along the way. I was left with the smell of fish sauce in my hair and a dry stringy mess at my hands.
Many thanks to a dear friend who only eats Halal food, I can proudly say I have a really good recipe for Pad Thai under my black leather belt! A couple of months ago, she took me to this Halal restaurant in North Hollywood. You may turn down your nose at the shabby, grungy interior that admittedly is decorated rather kitschy but let me tell you guys, this place makes the BEST Thai food hands down. I remember saying to my friend, “I need to get the recipe for everything!” Fast forward to last week, thanks to my quirky, overly excited self that is ready to befriend everybody, I went and stole the recipe for this Pad Thai and a few other favorites–Fried Rice, Beef Chilli Dry, killer Eggplant Basil–right under the nose of the chef who pretty much runs the place by himself with no help. Watch this video to see exactly how I stole this recipe!
Below is the Pad Thai I made at home following the recipe and method I learned from the chef with minor substitutions (all noted in the recipe box) and I am proud to announce that it tasted like straight up takeout! Go make yourself this Pad Thai right now!
The Easiest Pad Thai You Will Ever Make!
The easiest and foolproof, fail-safe Pad Thai you will ever make! This recipe is golden and comes straight from an authentic Thai restaurant!
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup peanut oil
- 1 egg
- 1/4 lb chicken thighs skinless, boneless and cut in very thin strips
- 1/2 a packet of rice noodles I used the wider rice noodles at home
- 5 tbsp vinegar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce thin it out with 2 tbsp water
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- paprika I sprinkle about 3/4-1 tsp for color
- 1 1/2- 2 cups bean sprouts
- peanuts, green onions, and cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- First we're going to cook the rice noodles like pasta until it's al dente, meaning it should not be cooked all the way through but should still have a bite. For this, add your noodles to a pot of water. Place the pot on the stove and on a low heat let the noodles soften for about 10-12 minutes. Once done, drain the noodles.
- When noodles are done, heat up a wok on the highest flame. Once wok is hot, add oil and let it heat up.
- Next, crack in an egg directly in the wok and stir.
- To the eggs, add the chicken strips and stir until no longer pink and cooked through about 5-6 minutes. Make sure the chicken is in small strips so it cooks fast.
- Next, add in rice noodles and stir.
- Add the remaining ingredients: vinegar, lemon juice, fish sauce, oyster sauce, salt and sugar and stir really well. *Just throw it all in. This is why I love this recipe!*
- Sprinkle paprika to give the dish a little color.
- Pad Thai should not have a sauce so dry out the liquid by continuing to stir on the highest heat of the burner. My wok is not restaurant quality so it took me about 10-15 minutes to dry out the sauce. So it is very important that your noodles are not fully cooked in step 1 because they will continue to cook in the wok.
- Lastly add in the bean sprouts and stir for a minute or two because we want bean sprouts to still be a bit crunchy.
- Garnish with crushed peanuts, finely chopped green onions (just the green part) and cilantro and serve!
Can we use prawns instead?
Absolutely, but prawns get really tough when overcooked, so I would fry until half done and then toss back at the end
What type of vinegar did you use?
Hi Linda, I use regular distilled vinegar.
Can this be made without fish sauce and oyster sauce?
Hi Mahima, this recipe calls for oyster sauce and unfortunately I haven’t tried any alternatives.You can use soy sauce but it may not give you the same flavor.
Could this be made with beef strips?
Hey yeah any meat works.
How much is half a packet of rice noodles? Im grams, i mean.
I want to say 8 oz or about 225 grams
This is the best Pad Thai! My husband says it’s a keeper, so I’ll definitely make it very often. Thanks for this recipe and all your hard work. I added some red pepper flakes and broccoli, and your sauce is to die for!
Right? I thank the chef at Barn Rau every time I make this! So glad you liked it.
In the video, it says to boil the chicken, but the recipe says to add it after the eggs..? I’m confused, and I really want to make this recipe!! 😛
Yes.. because we’re going to just transfer the boiled chicken into the wok.. The boiling part is only to expedite the cooking of the chicken. Hope this helps!
Looks great and I will make soon. You say salt to taste…about how much do you generally put in?
Justin, Maybe a tiny pinch because oyster sauce is very salty. So definitely taste and then add salt.