When it comes to Asian noodle dishes, a simple Pad Thai (with Chicken) is always at the top of our list. It’s quite easy to prepare and doesn’t require too many exotic ingredients… Asian cuisine often uses a lot of different spices and sauces that are not very common in cooking recipes of Western countries. At least the traditional cooking recipes. ;P

If you enjoy cooking Asian food, you won’t have a problem with having an arsenal of spices and seasoning sauces in your kitchen cupboard. If you cook a lot, you’ll use them a lot. For everyone else who is cooking stuff like that only once in a blue moon, this might not make a lot of sense. Though, having some basic ingredients at hand is never wrong. Soy sauce, fish sauce, or sesame oil, for example, can be used in many recipes – even outside Asian cuisine.
Other typical Asian spices/ingredients are a little more difficult to include in everyday cooking, I guess. For this Pad Thai you also need palm sugar and tamarind paste, for example. Something you probably won’t find in a small supermarket. That stuff is normally only available in large supermarkets or Asian markets. Well… or online, of course. Links for those things are included in the ingredients list, for example. If you like Pad Thai, it’s definitely worth getting that stuff. ;P

Pad Thai is actually a really simple dish. If you have all the ingredients ready, the noodles can be on the table in about 5 minutes. Theoretically. In practice, however, you have to do some preparation work in advance. ;P This means the Pad Thai sauce has to be cooked first, the noodles have to be soaked in water, and all other ingredients should also be ready for cooking.
Making some Pad Thai sauce at home is very easy and can be done days in advance. If you are felling lazy, you can use store-bought sauce, of course. Then you won’t need palm sugar and tamarind. It might not taste as good as homemade, but who knows… maybe you can find a really good sauce.

We have eaten many Pad Thai dishes – here in Germany and other European countries but also in Thailand, of course. Each Pad Thai tastes a little different, because everyone prepares it according to their own preferences. Pad Thai can be served with tofu alone, with chicken or shrimp and other seafood. We like all versions. As long as they are prepared properly. Overly greasy noodles are not so great… something that can happen when ordering Pad Thai in a restaurant or street food cart.
This here is OUR favorite version of Pad Thai, the way we like to prepare it. This version isn’t necessarily 100% original – we did not grow up in Thailand, we can only judge from what we like. And our Pad Thai is very tasty. ;) We use some ingredients that may not be used in authentic recipes – sesame oil, for example, spring onions instead of garlic chives or chili flakes… but that’s how we like it.
If you like Asian noodle dishes, you might also want to check out our Stir-Fry Singapore Noodles with Pork – also very delicious! If you prefer fewer veggies in your diet, we recommend preparing our Dandan Style Szechuan Noodles with Minced Beef. That’s mostly nooodles and meat. Plus a few spices. Also a really nice dish to make. ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(2-3 servings)
For the Pad Thai sauce:
some cooking oil or sesame oil* for frying
1 red onion (or shallot), finely diced
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1.8 oz. (50g) palm sugar*, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. tamarind paste*
1/2 cup (120ml) water
2 tbsp. fish sauce*
some chili flakes* (optional)
For the Pad Thai:
some cooking oil or sesame oil* for frying
7 oz. (200g) rice noodles* (soaked in water)
7 oz. (200g) chicken breast, thinly sliced
3.5 oz. (100g) tofu, diced
1-2 tbsp. water
2 medium eggs, whisked
3.5 oz. (100g) mung bean sprouts, plus some more
2 spring onions, chopped
1.8 oz. (50g) roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
several lime slices for serving
some chili flakes* for serving (optional)
(2-3 Portionen)
Für die Pad Thai Sauce:
etwas Bratöl oder Sesamöl* zum Anbraten
1 rote Zwiebel (oder Schalotte), fein gewürfelt
3-4 Knoblauchzehen, fein gehackt
50g Palmzucker*, grob zerbrochen
2 EL Tamarinde Paste*
120ml Wasser
2 EL Fischsauce*
einige Chiliflocken* (optional)
Für das Pad Thai:
etwas Bratöl oder Sesamöl* zum Anbraten
200g Reisnudeln* (in Wasser eingeweicht)
200g Hähnchenbrust, dünn geschnitten
100g Tofu, gewürfelt
1–2 EL Wasser
2 Eier (M), verquirlt
100g Mungobohnen Sprossen, plus etwas mehr
2 Frühlingszwiebeln, in Ringen
50g geröstete Erdnüsse, grob gehackt
mehrere Limettenscheiben zum Servieren
einige Chiliflocken* zum Servieren (optional)

DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. For the Pad Thai sauce, peel the onion and garlic and dice/chop finely. Roughly chop the palm sugar and set aside.
2. Heat up a small saucepan with some sesame oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft and glossy – takes several minutes. Take everything out of the saucepan and set it aside. Add the palm sugar and cook until completely melted and slightly darker in color. Remove from the heat, add the tamarind paste and stir in. The sugar and paste might bubble up, be careful. Place the saucepan back on the stove and deglaze with the water and fish sauce. Add the onion and garlic back to the sauce and let it cook for 2-3 minutes, so the sauce can reduce and thicken a bit. Add chili flakes to your liking (optional). Remove from the heat and let the sauce cool down. You can use the sauce right away or store it up to 3 days in the fridge – for the recipe here you will only need half of the sauce.
3. Let the rice noodles soak in warm water – the ones linked in the ingredients list require 10 minutes, for example.
4. Heat up a large wok* or frying pan with some sesame oil. Add the thinly sliced chicken breast and fry until cooked through and nicely browned. To get to that point, don’t move the meat for some time. Remove the chicken from the wok/frying pan, set it aside and keep it warm.
5. Add some more oil and let it heat up again, then add the tofu and stir-fry until nicely browned from all sides. Next, add the soaked (and drained) noodles, half of the Pad Thai sauce you made earlier and 1-2 tablespoons of water. Stir-fry the noodles until softer and almost all the liquid in the wok/frying pan is gone. Move the noodles and tofu to one side, add a bit more oil, if needed, then add the eggs to the empty space in the wok. Push the noodles over the eggs and let them cook for 20 seconds or so, without moving anything. You want the eggs to have set and maybe even brown a bit on the bottom. Mix everything. Next, add the mung bean sprouts, the chopped spring onions, and the cooked chicken. Mix everything and let it cook for a moment, then remove the wok/frying pan from the heat and add the chopped peanuts.
6. Serve the Pad Thai with additional bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, and lime slices. If you prefer it hot, also sprinkle some chili flakes on top (optional).
Note: If you can get hold of garlic chives, use those instead of the spring onions – that’s more commonly used for Pad Thai.
1. Für die Pad Thai Sauce die Zwiebel und den Knoblauch schälen und fein würfeln bzw. hacken. Den Palmzucker grob hacken/zerbrechen und zur Seite stellen.
2. Einen kleinen Topf mit etwas Sesamöl erhitzen. Die Zwiebel und den Knoblauch dazugeben und glasig andünsten – dauert nur wenige Minuten. Alles aus dem Topf nehmen und zur Seite stellen. Den Palmzucker in den Topf geben und so lange köcheln lassen, bis der Zucker komplett geschmolzen ist und auch etwas Farbe bekommen hat. Den Topf vom Herd ziehen, die Tamarinde Paste dazugeben und unterrühren. Vorsicht – Zucker und Paste können hier stark aufblubbern. Den Topf wieder auf den Herd stellen und dann mit Wasser und Fischsauce ablöschen. Die Zwiebel und Knoblauch zurück in den Topf geben und alles etwa 2–3 Minuten köcheln lassen, damit die Sauce ein wenig eindicken kann. Nach Belieben noch einige Chiliflocken dazugeben (optional). Die Sauce vom Herd nehmen und abkühlen lassen. Man kann die Sauce sofort verwenden oder bis zu 3 Tage im Kühlschrank aufbewahren. Für das Rezept hier benötigt man nur die Hälfte der zubereiteten Sauce.
3. Die Reisnudeln in warmem Wasser einweichen lassen – die in der Zutatenliste verlinkten Nudeln benötigen beispielsweise 10 Minuten.
4. Einen großen Wok* oder eine große Bratpfanne mit etwas Sesamöl erhitzen. Die dünn geschnittene Hähnchenbrust dazugeben und scharf anbraten. Das Fleisch nach der Zugebe erst einmal nicht bewegen, damit es auch etwas Farbe bekommt. Das durchgegarte Fleisch dann herausnehmen, zur Seite stellen und warm halten.
5. Noch etwas Öl nachlegen und erneut erhitzen. Den Tofu dazugeben und so lange anbraten, bis er von allen Seiten schön Farbe bekommen hat. Die eingeweichten (und abgetropften) Reisnudeln, die Hälfte der Pad Thai Sauce und etwa 1–2 Esslöffel Wasser dazugeben und alles unter ständigem Rühren erhitzen. Die Nudeln sollten weicher werden und die Flüssigkeit im Wok/der Pfanne sollte fast komplett verkochen. Nudeln und Tofu auf eine Seite des Woks/der Pfanne schieben, ggf. noch etwas Öl nachlegen und dann die Eier dazugeben. Die Nudeln über die Eier schaufeln und alles etwa 20 Sekunden so liegen lassen, wie es ist und nicht bewegen. Das Ei sollte stocken und idealerweise etwas Farbe bekommen auf der Unterseite – wie bei einem Spiegelei oder Omelette. Dann einmal alles durchmischen, die Mungobohnen Sprossen, Frühlingszwiebeln und das Hähnchenfleisch dazugeben und untermengen. Das Pad Thai vom Herd ziehen und die gehackten Erdnüsse untermischen.
6. Das fertige Pad Thai mit weiteren Sojasprossen, gehackten Erdnüssen und Limettenscheiben servieren. Wer es lieber scharf mag, kann optional noch einige Chiliflocken darüber streuen.
Hinweis: Wer Knoblauchschnittlauch (chinesischer Schnittlauch) bekommt, kann diesen anstelle der Frühlingszwiebeln verwenden – dieser wird üblicherweise für Pad Thai verwendet statt Frühlingszwiebeln.


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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Easy Pad Thai (with Chicken)
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 00:20
- Total Time: 00:40
- Yield: 2
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Thailand
Description
We love Asian cuisine and Pad Thai (with Chicken) is one of our favorite dishes! Easy to prepare and really delicious! So good!
Ingredients
For the Pad Thai sauce:
some cooking oil or sesame oil* for frying
1 red onion (or shallot), finely diced
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1.8 oz. (50g) palm sugar*, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. tamarind paste*
1/2 cup (120ml) water
2 tbsp. fish sauce*
some chili flakes* (optional)
For the Pad Thai:
some cooking oil or sesame oil* for frying
7 oz. (200g) rice noodles* (soaked in water)
7 oz. (200g) chicken breast, thinly sliced
3.5 oz. (100g) tofu, diced
1-2 tbsp. water
2 medium eggs, whisked
3.5 oz. (100g) mung bean sprouts, plus some more
2 spring onions, chopped
1.8 oz. (50g) roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
several lime slices for serving
some chili flakes* for serving (optional)
Instructions
1. For the Pad Thai sauce, peel the onion and garlic and dice/chop finely. Roughly chop the palm sugar and set aside.
2. Heat up a small saucepan with some sesame oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft and glossy – takes several minutes. Take everything out of the saucepan and set it aside. Add the palm sugar and cook until completely melted and slightly darker in color. Remove from the heat, add the tamarind paste and stir in. The sugar and paste might bubble up, be careful. Place the saucepan back on the stove and deglaze with the water and fish sauce. Add the onion and garlic back to the sauce and let it cook for 2-3 minutes, so the sauce can reduce and thicken a bit. Add chili flakes to your liking (optional). Remove from the heat and let the sauce cool down. You can use the sauce right away or store it up to 3 days in the fridge – for the recipe here you will only need half of the sauce.
3. Let the rice noodles soak in warm water – the ones linked in the ingredients list require 10 minutes, for example.
4. Heat up a large wok* or frying pan with some sesame oil. Add the thinly sliced chicken breast and fry until cooked through and nicely browned. To get to that point, don’t move the meat for some time. Remove the chicken from the wok/frying pan, set it aside and keep it warm.
5. Add some more oil and let it heat up again, then add the tofu and stir-fry until nicely browned from all sides. Next, add the soaked (and drained) noodles, half of the Pad Thai sauce you made earlier and 1-2 tablespoons of water. Stir-fry the noodles until softer and almost all the liquid in the wok/frying pan is gone. Move the noodles and tofu to one side, add a bit more oil, if needed, then add the eggs to the empty space in the wok. Push the noodles over the eggs and let them cook for 20 seconds or so, without moving anything. You want the eggs to have set and maybe even brown a bit on the bottom. Mix everything. Next, add the mung bean sprouts, the chopped spring onions, and the cooked chicken. Mix everything and let it cook for a moment, then remove the wok/frying pan from the heat and add the chopped peanuts.
6. Serve the Pad Thai with additional bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, and lime slices. If you prefer it hot, also sprinkle some chili flakes on top (optional).
Notes
If you can get hold of garlic chives, use those instead of the spring onions – that’s more commonly used for Pad Thai.
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