Kwitiaow Phad Thai (Thai-Fried Noodles & Sauce)

This is Pad Thai built from scratch, tamarind sauce and all. Rice noodles get soaked until pliable, then stir-fried in a screaming hot wok with shrimp, diced tofu, preserved radish, shallots, and cracked eggs. The sauce, reduced from tamarind juice, palm sugar, soy sauce, and water, gets tossed in at the end along with chopped peanuts, bean sprouts, dried shrimp, and spring onions.

The tamarind-palm sugar sauce is what separates real Pad Thai from the ketchup-sweetened versions. Boiling the sauce down to ⅔ cup concentrates that sour-sweet tang until it coats the noodles in a glossy, caramelized layer. Make this ahead and let it cool before adding to the wok.

Preserved sweet radish (chai poh) adds a salty, slightly sweet crunch that most home versions skip. It’s the ingredient that makes restaurant Pad Thai taste different from yours.

Chef Tips

• Soak dried noodles in cold water, not hot. Hot water makes them gummy and they’ll fall apart in the wok.
• Add the chicken stock with the noodles to help them soften evenly without sticking.
• Break the eggs directly into the wok and scramble them with the prawns and tofu before adding noodles. Don’t pre-scramble separately.
• Serve with traditional condiment saucers: chopped peanuts, dried chili flakes, sugar, and lime wedges so each person adjusts to taste.

Variations

• Use chicken instead of prawns for a Pad Thai Gai version.
• Swap palm sugar for coconut sugar if you can’t find it at an Asian grocery.
• Add a tablespoon of fish sauce for a more pungent, traditional flavor.