Best Pad Thai Recipe with Peanut Sauce (2024)

FAQs

Does Pad Thai always have peanut sauce? ›

It's tangy, sweet, and deeply savory all at the same time. While pad Thai in Thailand might differ in ingredients – some might have eggs, some might have dried shrimp, some might have peanuts, some might have tofu – the thing that stays consistent is the sauce.

Pad Thai Sauce is made with fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar and tamarind. Tamarind is the ingredient that is the heart and soul of Pad Thai sauce, giving the sauce the sour flavour that Pad Thai is known for. It's an ingredient used in South East Asian cooking, like this Malaysian Beef Rendang.

Carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, red peppers, and snow peas are just some of the vegetables that taste great when paired with Thai Peanut Sauce.

Thai Peanut Sauce is made up of peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, a sweetener (I used maple syrup), rice wine vinegar, sesame seeds, a spice and water. In some more traditional versions, coconut milk is used instead of water, but I find this combination to be perfect.

A Note about Pad Thai Sauce:

I also added a big scoop of peanut butter to my sauce, because I think it gives the whole dish an added creaminess and boost of flavor that I love.

The dish is mixed with a tamarind sauce and served with lime. The flavors of this dish are centered around a sweet-savory fusion. Salty, nutty, and with that slightly sweet sauce, it's a treat for tastebuds! Of course, every Pad Thai can be different.

Pad Thai Adaptations

But the backbone of the dish remains the same – rice noodle, eggs, tofu and dried shrimps. As for the all-important sauce, it consists of a balanced nuance of three tastes: saltiness from either fish sauce or soy sauce, sweetness from palm sugar, and sourness from tamarind juice.

It can definitely be a part of a balanced, well-rounded diet. While pad thai includes many nutritious ingredients, its sodium content is considerably high. You can reduce its sodium by requesting the eatery go easy on the sauce and salt-contributing condiments.

Why is Pad Thai so popular? David Thompson says this dish hits all the flavour notes – sour, sweet, bitter, salty and umami. He says, “A good Pad Thai should be made with prawns and deep-fried shallots and when made well, it is damn delicious.”

Peanut sauce is the classic dipping sauce for chicken satay (grilled chicken skewers) and makes a delicious dipping sauce for rice paper rolls, shrimp, potstickers, tempura and fresh vegetables including cucumber slices, carrot sticks and red pepper strips.

What are the 4 condiments of Thai food? ›

Four condiments are usually provided on the table: sugar, fish sauce, chili flakes, and sliced chilies in vinegar.

Satay sauce is a slightly spicy peanut sauce. While it's popularly associated with Thai cuisine, it's enjoyed throughout Southeast Asia and has Indonesian roots. It's best known as the sauce for satay, a tasty appetizer of marinated meat (often chicken, pork, or beef) grilled on a skewer.

Although commonly associated with Thai cuisine, peanut sauce actually originated in Indonesia (source). What Americans know as peanut sauce is more commonly referred to as satay sauce (or bumbu kacang) in Indonesia, because it's most often served with the popular Indonesian dish, satay (skewered, grilled meats).

In Thailand, Peanut Sauce is most often used a as a dip to accompany skewers of barbequed meat (satay), although it is sometimes served as a side dish in its own right as part of a larger meal.

You won't find nuts free restaurants. Peanuts is common to Thailand, however there are only a few dishes that have or added peanuts in it. Peanut oil is uncommon use in Thai cooking due to cost. Most places will use either vegetable for cooking and palm oil for deep fried.

It is often easy to have dishes modified for your allergies. For example, Pad Thai is a dish that almost ALWAYS contains peanuts, but I order it wherever I go because it a legendary Thai dish and can almost ALWAYS be modified to not include peanuts, as the peanuts are usually served on the side or sprinkled on top.

Many Thai dishes are typically peanut-free, including tom yum soup, pad thai, green curry, and mango sticky rice. These dishes are usually made with coconut milk or other nut-free ingredients, so they are safe for those with peanut allergies.