Prawns - 300 gms, peeled, deveined and heads removed
Flat rice noodles - 150 gms
Firm tofu - 100 gms
Egg - 2 to 3, beaten
Peanuts - 3 tbsp, roasted & crushed
Garlic - 8 to 10 cloves, minced
Spring onions - 4 stalks
Light soy sauce - 1 tsp
Fish sauce - 1 tsp
Flavorless oil - 4 to 6 tbsp
Salt pepper to taste
For Sauce:
Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp
Fish sauce - 2 tbsp
Oyster sauce - 4 tbsp
Light soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Brown sugar - 3 to 4 tbsp or as per taste
Instructions
Boil a large pot of water and add about a tablespoon of salt to it. When the water comes to full boil, switch off the flame and remove the pot from the stove.
Then carefully drop the dry block of flat rice noodles into the hot water. Cover the pot for 7 to 8 minutes.
Remove the lid after about 8 minutes and using a large fork or chopsticks gently stir the water to open up the rice noodle strands. They would have turned soft enough to bend easily but still retain a slight bite in the center.
Drain the noodles well using a colander and rinse under running cold water to stop the cooking process and prevent them from sticking together.
Wash the prawns nicely and take them in a mixing bowl. Add a teaspoon each of fish sauce and light soy sauce to them and give a good mix.
Set them aside for 15 minutes allowing the prawns to soak up the flavors of the condiments.
Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing tamarind paste, fish sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce and brown sugar. Give a very good mix to dissolve the sugar. Set it aside until needed.
Cut the firm block of tofu into long strips of 2 centimeter thickness. Cut the spring onions by first separating the whites and greens and then finely chop the whites.
Cut the greens into 2 inch long strips. Set them aside till the end of cooking.
Now heat a large wok and add a couple of tablespoons of oil to it. Once the oil is nicely hot, add the prawns and cook them just until they are pink and opaque.
Do not overcook the prawns. Take them out on a plate and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the wok.
Once the oil is warmed up again, add the minced garlic and finely chopped spring onion whites to the wok. Stir fry them on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until they are fragrant and light golden.
Add the tofu pieces and stir fry them for 4 to 5 minutes until they crisp up and become light golden on the edges.
Now push everything to one side of the wok and add a teaspoon of oil if the wok feels dry. Then add the beaten eggs and cook them until they firm up.
Scramble the eggs and mix them with the rest of the ingredients in the wok. Now drop the cooked and drained noodles into the wok.
Give the noodles a good toss using a tong. The noodle strands will start crisping up as soon as they come in contact with heat.
It’s time to drizzle the prepared sauce. Make sure to stir the sauce once before pouring over the noodles.
Toss the noodles using a tong or two stirring spatula until evenly coated with the sauce and let the saucy noodles char up a bit. This will impart a smokiness to your pad Thai enhancing its taste.
At this stage, taste the noodles for saltiness; sprinkle salt only if needed and also add a dash of freshly crushed black pepper. Mix well.
Now switch off the flame and add the sautéed prawns, spring onion greens and crushed peanuts. Mix everything uniformly and your prawn pad Thai noodles are ready!
Serve it in individual bowls and sprinkle more crushed peanuts on top for added crunch.
Squeeze juice of a lime over the bowl and enjoy your restaurant style Pad Thai in the comfort of your home!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://flavorquotient.com/2026/06/classic-prawn-pad-thai-noodles/