This Pad Thai recipe is my go-to for an easy and flavorful weeknight meal. This homemade Pad Thai sauce is delicious, packed with umami flavor and can be made ahead of time.
Soak rice stick in room temperature water until soft. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
Pan-fry tofu cubes until golden and set aside.
Pad Thai Sauce
Place chopped palm/coconut sugar in ½ cup of hot water and stir to melt the sugar.
Add the remaining Pad Thai sauce ingredients and mix until well combined.
Set aside until ready or store in a jar and refrigerate for later.
How to cook Pad Thai
In a heated non-stick pan with 1 tablespoon oil, sauté shallots until translucent. Then add preserved radish & continue to cook for another 1-2 mins over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds or so before adding the tofu.
Then, add in the Pad Thai rice sticks and give it a quick stir to spread out the noodles.
Add in the sauce and gently fold to combine the sauce together.
Add Chinese chives, mung bean sprouts, chili flakes, and a handful of chopped peanuts. Toss noodles with the mixture until well combined.
Serve warm with some lime juice, more crushed peanuts, fresh mung bean sprouts, and chili flakes.
Video
Notes
I used dried Pad Thai rice stick which comes in different sizes of S, M, L, XL.
Pad Thai sauce can be made ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Use tamari to replace soy sauce for gluten-free option.
Original Pad Thai recipe: 3 tablespoons tamarind juice (from 1 ping pong ball size tamarind pulp + 1/4 cup [60g] water), 3 tablespoons vegan 'fish' sauce (nước mắm chay), 1 - 2 tablespoons coconut/palm sugar, 1 tablespoon tamari/soy sauce (omit if using store-bought vegan fish sauce), 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon rice vinegar and 1/4 cup [60g] vegetable broth
Preserved radish: You can use either sweet or salted ones and adjust the sauce accordingly.