Pad Thai Recipe (Ready in 65 Min)

A crowd-pleasing Thai seafood built around rice noodles, fish sauce and tiger prawns — roughly 65 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 7 steps.

You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's pescatarian — fish but no meat.

How to make it

Put the noodles in a large heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over them and leave for 4 minutes, then drain and refresh under cold running water.
Put the lime juice, cayenne, sugar and fish sauce in a bowl and mix well. Have all the other ingredients ready by the cooker.
Heat the oil and fry the prawns until warmed through.
Add the spring onions and noodles and toss around.
Tip in the lime juice mixture, then stir in the beansprouts and half the peanuts and coriander.
Cook for 1 minute until everything is heated through.
Pile into a large dish, scatter with the rest of the peanuts and coriander, and serve with lime wedges and sweet chilli sauce.

You'll use: Frying pan / skillet · Saucepan

Tips & common questions

How long does Pad Thai take to make?

About 65 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 13 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.

What can I use instead of lime?

Try lemon. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.

Can I scale this recipe up or down?

Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.

How should I store leftovers?

Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.