Pad Thai
Photo: Takeaway · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Pad Thai was rebranded as Thailand's national dish in 1939 by Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram, partly to reduce rice consumption during shortage and to differentiate Thai food from Chinese-Thai noodles. State-distributed recipes pushed pad Thai stalls across Bangkok by the 1940s. Thipsamai opened in 1966 as the canonical wrapped-in-egg version, earning a Bib Gourmand listing when Michelin arrived in Thailand in 2018, and remains the queue-out-the-door reference on Maha Chai Road.

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Common allergens: Shellfish (shrimp), Egg, Peanut, Fish sauce

Make it at home

Yield 2Hands-on 15 minTotal 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 200g flat rice noodles (sen lek), soaked 30 min in warm water
  • 200g raw prawns, peeled
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g firm tofu, diced
  • 2 spring onions, sliced
  • 100g beansprouts
  • 30g salted preserved radish (chai poh), chopped fine
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 3 tbsp palm sugar
  • 30g crushed roasted peanuts
  • Vegetable oil for wok
  • 1 lime, cut in wedges
  • Dried chilli flakes, to serve

Method

  1. Drain the soaked noodles. Whisk fish sauce, tamarind paste and palm sugar together in a small bowl until smooth.
  2. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok over the highest flame. Add tofu and preserved radish; stir-fry 30 seconds.
  3. Add prawns; stir-fry 30 seconds until just pink.
  4. Push to one side. Crack the eggs in the cleared space; scramble briefly then mix into prawns.
  5. Add noodles and sauce mixture. Toss continuously for 90 seconds to coat the noodles and reduce the sauce.
  6. Add beansprouts and spring onions in the last 15 seconds. Plate; top with crushed peanuts, lime wedges and chilli flakes.

Tip from the editors. The fire is the secret. A wok over a high flame in 90 seconds beats a sluggish home stove and 5 minutes.

Where to eat pad thai

Pad Thai in Bangkok

Thipsamai Pad Thai ★ 4.0

฿฿ ThaiUntil 00:00Cash only

Thipsamai in Bangkok's Old Town has cooked the city's most famous pad Thai since 1966 with last orders at midnight, Bib Gourmand since 2018.

TryPad Thai wrapped in egg

TipCash only. Closed Tuesdays. Open Wed-Mon 09:00 to midnight; the wrapped-in-egg pad Thai with shrimp oil is the late-night order.

Directions

Raan Jay Fai ★ 4.7

฿ Street foodCash only

Raan Jay Fai in Bangkok's Old Town is the Michelin-starred street stall where Supinya Junsuta in ski goggles cooks the city's most famous 800-baht crab.

TryCrab omelet, drunken noodles, tom yum

TipWalk-in only with same-day queue numbers from 09:00. Closed Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. Cash only, dishes 800 to 1,200 baht.

Directions

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