Made using simple ingredients, these easy Vegan Pad Thai Noodles come together in under 30 minutes. You can customize this recipe and add your choice of protein to suit your preference.

About Pad Thai Noodles

Pad Thai Noodles is a popular Thai stir-fry dish made using flat rice noodles, various vegetables, meat or seafood, garlic, bean sprouts, and crushed peanuts.

These ingredients are sauteed in a wok over high heat and tossed in a spicy, sweet, tangy sauce with an umami kick.

Also known as Phad Thai Noodles, this dish is commonly sold on the streets of Thailand and in Thai restaurants worldwide.

Pad Thai noodles are super easy and flavorsome, taking 30 minutes to come together.

The homemade version of these noodles is as good as the ones you might have tasted on the streets of Thailand. And the best part about making these at home is that you can customize them per your taste preferences and dietary regulations.

In this post, I am sharing a vegan version of these noodles, but you can add your choice of protein, like cooked chicken, shrimp, beef, pork, etc, and make a non-vegetarian version.

Serve these super comforting Thai noodles for brunches, get-togethers, and potlucks, or enjoy it on a lazy weekday night with your favorite glass of wine.

Here are a few more Thai recipes lined up for you

• Thai Red Chicken Curry
• Thai Fried Rice
• Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
• Thai Peanut Sauce
• Thai Watermelon Salad

Ingredients

You will get all the ingredients to make this noodle recipe at regular grocery stores or in an Asian market.

Noodles – Pad Thai is traditionally made with ¼-inch wide rice noodles (rice sticks). You will find these in the Asian section of grocery stores or online.

Vegetables – Vegetables add a nice crunch to these noodles. I like to use red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, onions, and bean sprouts, but other veggies such as napa cabbage, snow peas, mushrooms, broccoli, carrot, zucchini, etc can also be added.

I made the vegan version of these noodles but you can add cooked chicken, shrimp, beef, pork, eggs, or tofu for variations.

Pad Thai Sauce – To make this spicy, sweet, and tangy sauce, you will need dark soy sauce, vegetable stock, brown sugar, red chili paste, tamarind paste (tamarind pulp), salt, and water.

You can replace vegetable stock with chicken stock and add a little fish sauce if you are okay with these ingredients.

Tamarind pulp is the star ingredient here, so do not miss it.

Traditionally, palm sugar is added to this Thai stir-fried noodle dish, but I replaced it with brown sugar. You can also use coconut sugar or maple syrup.

Oil – Use toasted sesame oil for an authentic taste. If not, then use any cooking oil.

Others – You will also need garlic, Thai red chilies, cilantro, green onions, and lime. Thai red chilies add a spicy kick to these noodles. Adjust the chilies as per your liking.

Peanuts – Crushed peanuts give a lovely crunch to these noodles.

How To Make Pad Thai Noodles

Prepare The Noodles

Soak 10 oz (300 g) flat rice noodles in boiling hot water for 10-12 minutes until tender, or cook them according to the package instructions.

Drain the water and toss the noodles with a few drops of oil. Set aside.

Make The Pad Thai Sauce

In a saucepan, stir together

• ¼ cup vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 3 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
• 1 teaspoon red chili paste
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup water.

Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.

Reduce the heat to low and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring a few times.

Remove the pan from heat and set it aside.

Make The Noodles

Heat 2 tablespoon sesame oil in a wok over high heat.

Once the oil is hot, add 2 teaspoon chopped garlic and 1 teaspoon chopped Thai red chili and saute for 4-5 seconds.

Add

• ¼ cup sliced onions
• ½ cup sliced red bell pepper
• ½ cup sliced yellow bell pepper
• ½ cup mung bean sprouts

and saute for a minute.

Now add the cooked noodles and the sauce to the wok and toss well to coat the noodles. Cook for a minute, and then switch off the heat.

The noodles will be watery at this stage but will soak up the sauce in another 3-4 minutes and become darker in color.

Transfer the noodles to the serving bowls and top with

• ¼ cup crushed roasted peanuts
• 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onions
• 5-6 lime wedges

Serve hot.

Pro Tips By Neha

Rice noodles are very delicate and get overcooked and mushy very soon, so keep checking them while soaking or cooking.

The best way to cook the rice noodles is by pouring boiling water over them and letting the noodles cook in the heat of the water.

If you feel they are not cooked perfectly, keep them on heat and cook until they are just cooked (Al Dente).

If you like the noodles saucy, double the sauce ingredients.

Add some creamy peanut butter to the sauce for creamier noodles.

Replace tamarind paste with rice vinegar and lime juice, but only if it is not easily available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Variations

Add in Preferred Protein – Vegetarians can go for tofu, and non-vegetarians can choose from egg, chicken, shrimp, beef, pork, etc. Make sure to cook the protein separately before adding it to the noodles.

Make it mild/spicy – If you want it to be spicier, increase the quantity of red chili paste, or add an extra red chili and vice versa.

Veggie Loaded – Add in as many veggies as you want. It is a great way to use up all the leftover vegetables.

Vegan – This recipe is vegan-friendly.

Gluten-Free – Use gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce. All the other ingredients are gluten-free.

Serving Suggestions

This recipe is a meal on its own. However, these Thai noodles can be enjoyed with Thai Red Chicken Curry and Thai Green Papaya Salad on the side. 

You can also serve some Momos, Dimsums, or Potstickers on the side with these spicy yummy Noodles.

Storage Suggestions

These noodles will last in the fridge for 3 to 4 days when stored in a clean, dry air-tight container. Reheat it in a pan or microwave before serving.

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