How to Make Authentic Pad Thai in 5 Minutes + Pad Thai Sauce Recipe

Pad thai made from scratch isn't exactly a quick meal—there's a LOT of ingredients to prep. But how do restaurants get your freshly-made pad thai done in 5 minutes? Good news: they're not doing anything you can't do at home! So read on and I'll show you all the restaurant hacks you can follow so that you too can have pad thai on a Tuesday night in 5 minutes!

Aside from the prep hacks, I'm sharing the recipe for making pad thai sauce in bulk, which is the main thing you need. Once you have the sauce, here's my authentic pad thai recipe that you can use it in!

Level 1: Pre-Make the Sauce

There are "4 levels of preparedness" when it comes to pad thai prep, depending on how fast you want day-of cooking to go. But having the sauce done is the most important, especially because you can make it in bulk once for many batches of pad thai, and then it will last indefinitely in the fridge. Check out the recipe for the sauce in the recipe card below!

If you only have the sauce done, you will have pad thai on the table in 30 minutes (with the emergency noodle-soaking trick below.) Keep reading for level 4 where it can be done in 5!

What NOT to Put in the Sauce?

You might be tempted to add as many things as possible for max efficiency, but some things are better left out:

Dried shrimp. After sitting and infusing their flavour into the sauce for a while, the final dish was permeated with too much shrimpiness. Yes, things can be too shrimpy, even for me!!

The same goes for the sweet preserved radish if you're using it (totally optional).

Tofu would absorb too much flavour from the sauce, and will likely shorten the shelf life of the sauce as well.

Peanuts lose their crunch in the liquid.

Level 2: Pre-Soak the Noodles

This is arguably as important as the sauce, because it takes a while. Dry noodles will take about 1 hour to soak in room temp water before they're ready to be cooked, so it is best to do this ahead of time. Drain them well and store in a well-sealed container for up to 3 days.

*This timing is for medium size Erawan Brand dry rice noodles; if you're using a different size or brand, you may need to adjust.

Emergency Noodle Soaking Forgot to soak the noodles? Don't panic! You can soak them in hot off-the-boil water for only 3 minutes. But it is critical that you actually time this and drain them promptly or they will become too soft.

If you have time, say 30 mins, a safer way is to use warm water and soak for longer. The exact time depends on how warm the water is, so keep an eye on them, and once the noodles are completely pliable (they don't resist you bending them) they are ready.

Level 3: Pre-Cook the Protein

This is an incredibly useful tip not only for pad thai but for all sorts of dishes, especially stir-fries. Whether you're using seafood, meat, or tofu, you can cook them all in advance! Once in the fridge, they should last you the whole week.

If using seafood, there is no need to season them. But for chicken, pork or beef, it is a good idea to marinate or season them with fish sauce or soy sauce since they will not get a chance to absorb much flavour from the dish.

My super tasty, all-purpose meat marinade for stir fries:

For 8oz (225g) of thinly sliced pork, chicken or beef, add 2 tsp (10 ml) soy sauce, ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) sugar and 1 Tbsp (15 ml) water. Mix well and let it sit for at least 15 minutes.

Level 4: Pre-Cut Veggies

You better believe restaurant chefs are not cutting your vegetables to order. They may not have een cut them today ... or yesterday. Washed and cut veggies will last in the fridge for several days, depending on how sturdy the veggies are.

In pad thai, you can pre-chop the garlic chives, pressed tofu, and peanuts. If using the preserved radish (and they're not the pre-chopped kind), you can chop them too.

Tofu storage tip: If cutting tofu in advance and not using the next day, I recommend keeping them submerged in water to extend their shelf life. Change this water out every few days.

Watch Me Cook Pad Thai in REAL TIME in Less Than 5 mins!

To prove that I'm not exaggerating, watch the video below to see how fast you can cook pad thai once all your ingredients are ready to go!

*One note: if your pre-cooked protein is fridge-cold, add them a bit earlier than I did in this video to give them time to heat up. I would toss them with the noodles once the sauce has been absorbed, and before you add the eggs.

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