The most famous classic Thai-style stir-fried rice noodles dish is no doubt the Pad Thai noodles. Served mainly as a street food in Thailand. CNN Go recorded it at number 5 as one of the World’s 50 most delicious foods in 2011. This dish is more popular in the Western country than in Thailand itself. Likewise, they make this noodles with dried rice noodles drenched in hot water. Then stir-fried with sliced firm tofu, eggs, proteins like prawns, chicken, beef or pork. Plus vegetables like bean sprouts, coriander leaves, or garlic chives. In a tangy sauce made up of fish sauce, tamarind pulp, garlic, red chillies and palm sugar. Then garnish with coarsely chopped peanuts and serve with lime wedges. All these ingredients together give this dish its signature tangy, sweet, nutty and fruity flavour.
Gluten Free Pad Thai Noodles
For my gluten free Pad Thai recipe, I am using soaked gluten free Pad Thai noodles. Stir-fried with prawns, firm tofu, beansprouts and garlic chives in a flavourful sauce. Made of sweet chilli sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, tamarind puree, garlic and sugar. Garnished with roughly chopped unsalted roasted peanuts and served with lime wedges. This recipe is not only gluten free, but also dairy free, corn free and refined sugar free.
Check out my other gluten free Asian noodles recipes below:
- Asian Mushrooms and Vegetables Stir-Fry Noodles;
- Hokkien Fried Noodles;
- Singapore Noodles (Sing Chow Mai Fun);
- Char Hor Fun (Rice Noodles in Egg Gravy);
- Easy Prawns Lo Mein;
- Pork and Choy Sum Stir-Fry Rice Noodles;
- Fish Cakes with Rice Noodles; and
- Beef and Zucchini Stir-Fry Noodles.
Origin of Pad Thai Noodles
Many people thought the origin of Pad Thai, a Thailand cuisine is Chinese. Because its full name is kway teow pad Thai. Likewise, Kway teow in Hokkien, a Chinese dialect, means Thai style stir-fried rice noodles. While others alleged it is of Vietnamese origin, brought into Ayutthaya by Vietnamese traders. Besides, it was very popular during the Second World War. Made famous in Thailand by its then prime minister and field marshal, Plaek Phibunsongkhram. Moreover, it is now one of Thailand’s national dishes. No famous Thai restaurants throughout the world will be complete without this much loved Pad Thai dish.
Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 kg king prawns shelled and deveined
- 375 g firm tofu sliced into thick matchsticks about 1 cm/0.4 inch wide and 6 cm/2.4 inch in length
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 400 g gluten free Pad Thai rice noodles
- 40 g garlic chives
- 200 g fresh bean sprouts 1 packet, washed and drained
- 4 large eggs beaten
- 2 lime cut into wedges
For the Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons gluten free light soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 4 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste or tamarind puree
- 2 teaspoons stevia
- 3 tablespoons water
For The Marinade:
- 1 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon medium dry sherry
For The Omelette:
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
For the Garnish:
- 100 g unsalted roasted peanuts coarsely chopped
Instructions
For the omelette:
- Crack all the eggs into a medium mixing bowl, add salt and ground white pepper. Beat all the eggs well with a fork.
- Heat up a non-stick frying pan with some extra virgin olive oil on medium to high heat. Add the beaten egg mixture into the frying pan, turn the heat to medium. Move the frying pan around to distribute the egg evenly, pan-fry for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the bottom of the omelette turn slight brown. Turn the omelette around and pan-fry for roughly the same time. Remove omelette onto a plate.
For the noodles:
- Prepare and mix the sauce ingredients in a separate mixing bowl.
- Marinade the prawns in a mixing bowl with ground white pepper and salt.
- Fill a medium pot half full of water, bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Add the rice noodles into the pot for 2 minutes or until the rice noodles are soft. Separate the noodles, drain the water and set aside.
- Heat up a wok with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, stir-fry the prawns on medium to high heat for 2 minutes or until prawns are just cooked. Remove prawns and juice and set aside. Clean wok with kitchen paper towel.
- Heat up the wok again with 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, add in the rice noodles and sauce prepared, stir-fry for 2 minutes on medium to high heat. Return the omelettes to the wok, break the omelettes into smaller pieces, stirring frequently, toss and combine well until the dish is heated through on medium to high heat. Then add in the firm tofu and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
- Lastly, return the prawns to the wok and add in the garlic chives, and bean sprouts, stir-fry for another 3 minutes or until the noodles and ingredients are mixed through.
- Garnish with coarsely chopped unsalted roasted peanuts and serve with lime wedges.
