Classic Pad Thai with Shrimp
Thailand's most famous street food — stir-fried rice noodles tossed with plump shrimp, crunchy peanuts, and a tangy tamarind sauce. Ready in 30 minutes.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Steps
Soak the noodles
Place the rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with room-temperature water. Let them soak for 20–30 minutes until pliable but not fully soft. Drain well and set aside.
Make the pad thai sauce
In a small bowl, whisk together the tamarind paste, fish sauce, and palm sugar until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust the balance of sweet, salty, and sour to your liking.
Cook the shrimp
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok over high heat until smoking. Add the shrimp and stir-fry for 1–2 minutes until pink and just cooked through. Remove and set aside.
Scramble the eggs
Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok. Crack in the eggs and scramble them quickly, breaking them into small pieces. Push them to one side of the wok.
Stir-fry the noodles
Add the remaining oil and the drained noodles to the wok. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss constantly with tongs for 2–3 minutes until the noodles absorb the sauce and become tender.
Combine everything
Return the shrimp to the wok. Add the bean sprouts and green onions, tossing everything together for another 30 seconds. The residual heat will slightly wilt the sprouts while keeping them crunchy.
Serve
Transfer to plates and top with crushed peanuts. Serve immediately with lime wedges, extra bean sprouts, and chili flakes on the side for garnish.
Soak the noodles
Place the rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with room-temperature water. Let them soak for 20–30 minutes until pliable but not fully soft. Drain well and set aside.
Make the pad thai sauce
In a small bowl, whisk together the tamarind paste, fish sauce, and palm sugar until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust the balance of sweet, salty, and sour to your liking.
Cook the shrimp
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok over high heat until smoking. Add the shrimp and stir-fry for 1–2 minutes until pink and just cooked through. Remove and set aside.
Scramble the eggs
Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok. Crack in the eggs and scramble them quickly, breaking them into small pieces. Push them to one side of the wok.
Stir-fry the noodles
Add the remaining oil and the drained noodles to the wok. Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss constantly with tongs for 2–3 minutes until the noodles absorb the sauce and become tender.
Combine everything
Return the shrimp to the wok. Add the bean sprouts and green onions, tossing everything together for another 30 seconds. The residual heat will slightly wilt the sprouts while keeping them crunchy.
Serve
Transfer to plates and top with crushed peanuts. Serve immediately with lime wedges, extra bean sprouts, and chili flakes on the side for garnish.
The Story Behind the Dish
Pad Thai was created during the nation-building era of Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram in the late 1930s. As part of a campaign to promote Thai nationalism and reduce Chinese cultural influence, the government promoted a new national noodle dish using local rice noodles instead of Chinese wheat noodles.
The government distributed the recipe to street vendors across Bangkok and eventually the entire country. The dish was designed to use ingredients that were abundant in Thailand — tamarind, fish sauce, dried shrimp, and peanuts — creating a uniquely Thai flavor profile that distinguished it from Chinese stir-fried noodles.
What started as political propaganda became one of the most beloved dishes in the world, now found on virtually every Thai restaurant menu from Bangkok to New York.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Pad Thai became Thailand's de facto national dish because it perfectly balances all five Thai flavors — sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and spicy — in a single bite. Its portability as street food and quick cooking time made it the perfect representation of Thai culinary culture abroad.
💡 Fun Fact
The original government recipe didn't include shrimp — it was a simple vegetarian noodle dish. Shrimp was added later by street vendors to make it more appealing and nutritious.
Bangkok, Thailand
13.76°N, 100.50°E
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