Name: Pad Thai with Peanut Butter Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil; ¼ cup dried baby shrimp; 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 100g (1⁄2 cup) tofu puffs; 2 skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into small pieces; 2 eggs; 6 jumbo prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined; 2 tsp salted turnip (optional); 200g (7oz) dried rice noodles soaked in bath-hot water for 30 minutes or 400g (14oz) fresh noodles; 5 spring onions (scallions), cut into 5cm (2in) pieces; 150g (11⁄2 cups) bean sprouts, plus extra to garnish; 50g (1⁄4 cup) dry-roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed; 1 tsp chilli flakes; Lime quarters, to serve; FOR THE SAUCE; 10 tbsp (1/2 cup) peanut butter, microwaved for 45 seconds; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 6 tbsp Thai fish sauce*; 2 tbsp sugar; 70ml (1⁄4 cup) tamarind puree or 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate whisked with water; 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice (more or less to taste); 1 1/2 tbsp white distilled vinegar; 2 tbsp sriracha sauce

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Perhaps not authentic pad Thai but this peanut butter version is hugely popular these days!

This is an increasingly popular play on the more authentic pad Thai recipe in my cookbook ‘The Curry Guy Thai’. I really like the addition of peanut butter and soy sauce in the sauce.

About this pad Thai with peanut butter sauce recipe...

Pad Thai, together with Thai green curry and red curry are the most ordered dishes at Thai restaurants around the world.

When dishes become that popular, good chefs like to have a play with them. Over time, this peanut sauce version of Pad Thai has become popular too.

This makes sense. Crunchy roasted peanuts already had an important roll in pad Thai recipes. Peanut butter just took it all up a notch with amazing results.

Special Ingredients...

There are three ingredients that are in most pad Thai recipes that you should source. If you don't have them though, please don't let that stop you from making this pad Thai recipe.

Dried baby prawns: These are available at most Asian shops and online. They have a strong flavour and aroma on their own but once fried into the pad Thai, they give the dish a delicious flavour.

Salted radish: This gives the pad Thai an amazing sour and savoury flavour. It is available at Thai grocers and online.

Step by step photos...

Ingredients for pad Thai with peanut butter sauce — Gather all your ingredients before starting cooking. It makes things a lot easier.

Preparing the peanut butter sauce — Whisk the liquid ingredients of the peanut butter sauce together. Take our three tbsp and set aside. Whisk in the peanut butter and set aside.

Adding dried shrimp and garlic to wok — Heat the oil in a wok or large pan. Fry the dried shrimp for about 30 seconds and then add the chopped garlic to cook for another 40 seconds.

Adding chicken to the wok — Stir in the chicken and tofu puffs (if using) and fry until it turns white. This should take a couple of minutes.

Adding the eggs to the wok — Move everything to one side of the wok and crack the eggs into the other half. Scramble lightly.

Adding jumbo prawns to the wok — Continue frying until the chicken is almost cooked through and then add the jumbo prawns and salted radish if using.

Stirring in the peanut butter sauce — Give it all a good stir to par-cook the prawns and then stir in the peanut butter sauce.

Stirring rice noodles into the pad thai — Stir the sauce into the chicken and prawns to heat. Then add your pre-soaked rice noodles.

Stirring spring onions (scallions) and bean sprouts to the wok — Add chopped spring onions (scallions) and bean sprouts.

My best-selling Thai book is available now on Amazon...

If you like this pad Thai with peanut butter sauce, you might like to try some of these Thai favourites too.

Thai green chicken curry
Thai red curry
Beef Massaman curry
Jungle curry
Panang curry
Thai green beef curry

Yield: 4

Pad Thai with Peanut Butter Sauce

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
¼ cup dried baby shrimp
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
100g (1⁄2 cup) tofu puffs
2 skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into small pieces
2 eggs
6 jumbo prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined
2 tsp salted turnip (optional)
200g (7oz) dried rice noodles soaked in bath-hot water for 30 minutes or 400g (14oz) fresh noodles
5 spring onions (scallions), cut into 5cm (2in) pieces
150g (11⁄2 cups) bean sprouts, plus extra to garnish
50g (1⁄4 cup) dry-roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed
1 tsp chilli flakes
Lime quarters, to serve
FOR THE SAUCE
10 tbsp (1/2 cup) peanut butter, microwaved for 45 seconds
3 tbsp soy sauce
6 tbsp Thai fish sauce*
2 tbsp sugar
70ml (1⁄4 cup) tamarind puree or 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate whisked with water
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice (more or less to taste)
1 1/2 tbsp white distilled vinegar
2 tbsp sriracha sauce

Instructions

Start by mixing all the sauce ingredients except for the peanut butter in a bowl, adjusting to taste as necessary. Transfer 4 tablespoons of this sauce to another bowl for later and then whisk the warmed peanut butter into the remaining sauce until smooth.
Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the dried shrimp and garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add the tofu and chicken and brown in the oil for about a minute.
Push all of these ingredients to the side of the wok and crack the eggs into the empty side. Allow them to cook for about a minute and then stir the par-cooked egg into the other ingredients.
Add the prawns (shrimp) and let them cook with the other ingredients until about half cooked through. This should only take about a minute or two. Then add the peanut butter sauce.
Stir in the salted turnip (if using) and the soaked or fresh rice noodles until the noodles are nicely coated in the sauce mixture. Fold in the spring onions (scallions) and bean sprouts – the hot noodles will cook the sprouts and onions but you are only really steaming them.
Stir in half of the crushed peanuts and continue cooking until the noodles look wet but there isn’t a lot of sauce left. You don’t want the noodles dripping with sauce, they should just be moist from having cooked in the sauce.
Transfer to four heated plates and garnish with the remaining peanuts, the chilli flakes and remaining bean sprouts. You can also drizzle some of the soy sauce mixture over it. Serve with lime wedges.