Shrimp Pad Thai

Shrimp Pad Thai is full of silky rice noodles, tender shrimp, fresh veggies and a peanut-y sauce to bring it all together. This version uses familiar ingredients and is ready in just 20 minutes!

I recently took my kids to my favorite local Thai place so they could get a taste for some authentic Thai dishes. 

(It’s a year-long plan I have to try different restaurants with them and hopefully continue to expand their palates.)

But of course, I also love making some of our favorite restaurant dishes at home.

My go-to in the Thai realm is my easy chicken pad Thai, which is ready in just 30 minutes and a great takeout fakeout meal.

But I’ve been on a shrimp kick recently.

I’ve shared lemon garlic shrimp and garlic butter shrimp with you.

And stay tuned because I have another delicious shrimp recipe coming up for you soon.

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And today it’s shrimp pad Thai, which is full of silky rice noodles, tender pieces of shrimp, fresh veggies and a peanut-y, flavor-filled sauce to coat everything well.

Each bite is just a little punch of flavor in your mouth. You’ll be happily digging in for forkful after forkful.

Plus, it’s ready in about 20 minutes! Can’t beat that for a quick dinner.

Let me be clear though that this is this is not a traditional or authentic pad Thai.

This is not how they make it street-side in Thailand and not how most restaurants will make it. We’re not using tamarind pulp or garlic chives.

And that’s fine with me cause I don’t want to have to try and track some of those ingredients down. 

Instead, we’re using more readily available and familiar ingredients that you can find at your regular grocery store.

So let’s get cooking.

Now, I’ve got some notes and substitutions coming up on how to make shrimp pad Thai. Just tryin’ to be helpful.

If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.

First things first.

And today’s version is all about the shrimp.

Here are a few details and subs on the ingredients.

Ingredient Notes:

• Shrimp: I love the small shrimp (size 71-90) for this recipe because they are easier to eat with all the veggies and noodles. Mine are frozen and already cooked and that works great. (But you have to thaw them first!) If you are using raw shrimp, add them with the carrots and snow peas and cook on both sides until almost cooked through before you add the eggs.
• Rice noodles: I recommend the vermicelli or angel hair rice noodles for this; the delicacy seems to go well with the shrimp. If you’re using a larger noodle, like the linguine style, you’ll want to use 8 oz. (For the brand at my store, it’s half the package of either one.)
• Peanuts: Peanuts are a traditional ingredient in pad Thai and I’m making life easy by using peanut butter in the sauce (and optional chopped peanuts for topping). You could substitute almond butter if you need this to be peanut-free.
• Fish sauce: The fish sauce adds an extra dimension of flavor, but I get it, you may not have any or want to buy a whole bottle. In that case, just substitute extra soy sauce.
• Chili garlic sauce: Spicy Asian chili-garlic sauce is one of my favorite condiments to use in Asian dishes and it’s easily found in most grocery stores, in the international aisle. You could also substitute some extra minced garlic and some hot sauce or sriracha or red pepper flakes to approximate these flavors. (As is, the amount used here does not make this a spicy dish.)
• Veggies: I’ve included a red bell pepper, matchstick carrots and sliced snow peas in this recipe. They add great color and crunch. Plus, I love adding vegetables. You could omit them, however, if you prefer.
• Bean sprouts: I use these in my chicken pad Thai but not usually in my shrimp version here. Feel free to add some if you’d like!

Whichever way you go with the shrimp - raw or cooked - they do need to be thawed for this recipe.

How to thaw frozen shrimp:

1. You can place frozen shrimp in the refrigerator (in a well sealed container) overnight to thaw.
2. You can thaw frozen shrimp quickly by placing them, frozen, in a colander and rinsing them in the sink with cold water for 2-3 minutes, until they are completely defrosted.

So if yours are in the freezer when you go to start cooking, like mine often are, no worries.

I’m almost always using that second method to do a quick thaw and it works great every time.

OK, let’s get ready to serve this up. And that of course means, fun toppings!

Topping Ideas:

• Chopped peanuts
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Sliced green onions
• Extra soy sauce
• Sriracha or hot sauce for some heat

Pick your favorites.

Finally, let’s talk about any leftovers you may have.

This is best served immediately, but leftover Pad Thai will keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. You can reheat it in the microwave or in a small skillet over medium low heat.

I usually add an extra few splashes of soy sauce to sorta wake up the sauce part. (Most of the sauce will soak in to the other ingredients as it sits in the fridge.)

I hope you give this a try for a way to bring a Thai favorite into your kitchen.

Enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn