Tofu Pad Thai Recipe

This crispy tofu pad thai recipe is a stir-fried rice noodle dish made with eggs, vegetables and tofu. The noodles are tossed in a flavorful sauce made with tamarind, fish, garlic, red pepper and sugar. The resulting flavors are a balance of sweet, tangy, sour, and spicy. 

Pad thai is unique because you can taste 4 different flavors at once: salty, sweet, sour and spicy. Some even insist there is a hint of the 5th flavor, which is bitterness. This unique flavor profile makes it a favorite dish in our family. I will also share some great garnishing side dish ideas to have with your pad thai.

This pad thai recipe is made with tofu, which makes this dish vegetarian-friendly. It is delicious and filling as is. However, you can easily substitute tofu for beef, chicken, or shrimp, or any combination to your liking. 

This dish is a perfect weekday dinner, and a great late night snack for if you’ve been busy all day. Just have all the ingredients ready to toss in.

Authentic Pad Thai vs. Americanized Pad Thai

A lot of pad thai restaurants serve tofu alongside another protein of your choice. However, usually the tofu is not fried or crispy especially if it’s been sitting in the sauce for a while. I find that crispy tofu adds texture and flavor to your dish. As a bonus, the crispy tofu shell absorbs the flavors of the pad thai sauce. I will show you how to prepare the tofu to showcase this protein in your dish.

There are so many variations in Thai restaurants and online recipes, and once you add the condiments like lime and chili sauce, it’s easy to mask the natural flavors of the pad thai. Long story short, you can easily disguise bad pad thai as a good one. 

I find that the best pad thai doesn’t need extra garnishes. It tastes amazing by itself, and is even better when you throw in extra toppings. I’ve had many pad thai dishes in northern and southern Thailand and will help you reproduce the authentic flavors of Thailand at home.

The secret ingredients

Extra-firm tofu. The density of this tofu will hold its shape during the frying process. The reason why I say not to use softer tofu is because you risk breaking it during the frying process if you’re unable to hold it.

If you are experienced with frying tofu, you can use medium firm tofu. This gives the inside of the tofu a softer texture that also tastes very good. Just make sure the heat is high to get a nice crisp. 

Tamarind paste or tamarind concentrate. It’s usually found as a solid block at the Asian grocery store. You’ll boil this with some water to turn it into a puree. Then you’ll strain it to keep the tamarind water for your sauce. Learn how to prepare tamarind water here.

Oyster sauce. This gives it a sweet and savory taste.

Dark soy sauce. This adds color and saltiness to the dish.

Brown sugar. This is a popular alternative to palm sugar, a popular Asian sweetener, and is much easier to find.

Paprika or red food coloring for the food coloring (mom’s recipe). This is not for taste or spice, but adds a brightness to this dish.

Special techniques

Prepare the tamarind water

I usually use 2 parts water to 1 part tamarind pulp concentrate.

For this recipe, mix 1 tablespoon of tamarind concentrate and 2 tablespoons of hot water.

Strain the tamarind puree and keep the water only. You’ll use the tamarind water for the sauce.

Prepare the rice noodles

Soak the noodles in hot water until it reaches an al dente texture, about 5 minutes.

Place rice noodles on top of a skillet or wok in a single layer and let the steam of the food start to slowly cook the noodles.

Add a couple drops of sesame oil on top of the noodles and stir, to prevent the noodles from sticking to each other. It also adds aroma.

I’ve made the rice noodles in different ways, but now I prefer to prepare it first, then add to the dish.

Prepare the tofu

To get the tofu crispy, you want to fry it separately. I like to fry the tofu as the last step so it’s nice and hot. Then I’ll top it on the dish and toss it lightly in the noodles. There are 2 options to fry: deep fry and air fry.

To deep-fry the tofu

1. Cut firm tofu into small cubes, pat dry with paper towels.
2. Season with a pinch of salt, pepper. Roll it a thin coat of potato starch.
3. Deep fry in vegetable oil for 2-3 minutes, depending on size of cubes. The tofu is ready when it has a crispy light yellow exterior.

To air-fry the tofu

1. Alternatively, dab the tofu with vegetable oil and air fry for (400’ for 5-10 minutes), depending on size of cubes. Look for the yellow color to indicate done-ness.
2. You don’t need to use the potato flour here, unless you want. If you use it, coat the tofu pieces with flour before basting with oil.

*Note: For uncrispy tofu, you can always omit frying the tofu. The texture will be softer but it still tastes good in this dish. The advantage to this method is it saves time and is a little cleaner than frying.

To do this, just add the tofu after you cook all the other ingredients, and give it a toss let it heat up and mix it with the sauce.

Equipment needed

Slotted spoon to scoop out the fried tofu pieces

Air fryer, optional, if you don’t want to deep fry.

Well-seasoned wok. This makes the pad thai even more delicious because you get the wok hei, or a little of that smoky taste.

Large skillet. Nonstick is easier to use, but I always rely on my All-Clad stainless steel pan or All-Clad wok.

What to serve with pad thai?

The most popular toppings are red chili pepper (sambal oelek), lime wedges and peanuts. However, here are my favorite options to make this dish special to you.

Chopped crunchy peanuts. More crunch and nuttiness. Very popular in Asian condiments.

Lemon juice. Cuts down the sweet and sourness of this dish. A great alternative to lime.

Sriracha sauce. Adds heat.

Mung bean sprouts. Adds crunch and crisp freshness. Make sure you add this at the very end if you want it super crisp. Otherwise it can get limp and soggy.

Thai basil. A couple leaves add aroma to the dish.

Garlic chives, finely chopped for garnish.

Additional protein stir-fry options

You have the option to add different meats or protein to this dish. I personally love tofu pad thai with sliced beef because the meat adds a savory flavor to the sauce. Because they differ just slightly, I have a delicious recipes for beef pad thai, chicken pad thai, and pork pad thai.

I stir-fry the meat separately in a different pan, then add the cooked meat to the bigger frying pan right before tossing with the sauce.

Season the meat with a little salt and pepper. Add oil to a smaller skillet on medium heat, then stir fry the meat until fully cooked. Remove from heat.

Options for proteins:

• Thinly sliced beef
• Thinly sliced pork
• Chopped skinless boneless chicken thighs
• Whole small shrimp

*All these protein options need to be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be fully cooked. Check with your meat thermometer.

To make this dish vegan or vegetarian

To make this dish vegan, don’t add any additional meats.

Omit

• Chicken bouillon powder
• Eggs

Substitute

• Vegan oyster sauce for oyster sauce
• Vegan fish sauce for fish sauce

*To make this dish vegetarian, you can use everything in the recipe except the chicken bouillon powder. Just add more salt to taste as needed.

Ingredients

Rice Noodles

• 4 ounces fresh pad thai rice noodles (Asian Best)
• Hot water

Crispy Tofu

• 2 cups firm tofu, cut into half inch cubes
• Potato starch, to coat tofu (about 1 cup)
• Vegetable oil, for deep frying

Pad Thai Sauce

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (Kikkoman)
• 2 tablespoon fish sauce (Flying Lyon/Phu Quoc)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon tamarind water (made from tamarind from Pure Organic)
• 3 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon paprika or red food coloring
• 1/2 teaspoon Dasida or Knorr chicken bouillon, optional
• 1 tablespoon red chili (sambal oelek), optional
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Stir Fry

• 3 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
• 1/2 onion, sliced (brown or yellow)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3-4 green onions, chopped, separated white from greens
• 1 1/2 cups of carrots, sliced
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• salt, optional
• 1/2 cup water, more if needed

For Garnish

• 1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts
• 1 1/2 cups of beans prouts
• 1/4 cup garlic chives
• Lime or lemon wedges
• Sambal Oelek or Sriracha sauce

Directions

Prepare the ingredients

1. Prepare the rice noodles. Soak noodles in medium bowl of water for 5 minutes to loosen strands, remove and drain.
2. Prepare the crispy tofu. Cut tofu into small cubes, coat with potato starch, then deep fry in vegetable oil until the outer layer turns a light yellow, about 2-3 minutes. Remove and strain excess oil.
3. Prepare the tamarind water. Mix 1 tablespoon of tamarind concentrate and 2 tablespoons of hot water. Strain the tamarind puree and keep the water only. You’ll use the tamarind water for the sauce.
4. Prepare the sauce. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, tamarind water, brown sugar, paprika/food coloring, chicken bouillon, chili, and garlic clove.

Stir Fry

1. In a wok or a large non stick pan, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, onion, white part of green onion, and carrots. Stir for 30 seconds, then remove from heat and put in a small bowl.
2. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil, let warm for 1-2 min, pour egg in. Scramble, then remove from heat and put in another small bowl.
3. Turn heat to low, add noodles with 1/2 cup of water to let the noodles soak up the water for about 30 seconds and the noodles start to become clear and limp.
4. Add back the ingredients from the two small bowls from Stir Fry step #1 and #2. Add sauce, stir for 1 min. Toss gently for about 1-2 minutes until sauce is absorbed by the noodles and ingredients. Keep stir frying the noodles until it is fully cooked (it should be transparent and soft). This should take 3-5 minutes.
5. If needed, cover with lid for 2 minutes. The noodles are ready when soft and chewy but not soggy and starchy. If noodles are still uncooked, add water as needed, a tablespoon at a time.
6. Add bean sprouts, crispy tofu, green onion and half the peanuts. Toss through quickly then remove from heat.
7. Serve immediately, garnish with remaining peanuts, garlic chives, lime wedges, and chili sauce of choice.

Storing

Store in airtight container for 2-3 days.

I haven’t tried it frozen, but it won’t taste as good for sure. Rice noodles tend to stick together when frozen and the texture will be goopy and not delicious as fresh noodles.

FAQs

Can I use nutritional yeast?

This is popular for vegetarian and vegan dishes, but I would advise not to use it because it will change the flavor of the noodles and not make it authentic asian.

Can I add peanut sauce or natural peanut butter?

This is not an authentic pad thai recipe ingredient, and will change the flavor of the noodles.

Why is pad thai red?

Food coloring such as paprika and chili and spices give it this color.