This recipe for the ever-popular Thai delicacy is a rice noodle stir fry with prawns in which the ingredients are sautéed together in a wok and tossed in a tamarind sauce, giving this dish it’s classic sour, sweet and salty notes.
Pad thai goong is the prawn version of Thailand's most famous noodle dish. In Thai, goong means prawn, so pad thai goong is simply pad thai made with prawns. It is a rice noodle stir fry, cooked in a wok and tossed in tamarind sauce, that balances the classic sour, sweet, and salty notes Thai food is known for. This recipe walks you through the full method, from the tamarind sauce to the finishing garnish.
Pad Thai Goong vs Pad Thai
Pad thai and pad thai goong are the same dish with one key difference, the protein. Pad thai is the general name for Thailand's famous stir fried rice noodles in tamarind sauce, and it can be made with chicken, tofu, or no main protein at all. Pad thai goong is specifically the prawn version, since goong means prawn in Thai. Everything else stays the same, the soaked rice noodles, the sweet, sour, and salty tamarind sauce, the egg, beansprouts, chives, and crushed peanuts. If you order pad thai goong, expect the classic pad thai you know, made with plump prawns as the star. Cooks who prefer other proteins can swap the prawns for chicken or tofu and keep the rest of the recipe exactly as written.
Recipe Card
|
Ingredients |
Quantity |
| Prawns (cleaned and deveined, tail on) |
5 pcs |
|
Rice noodles (soaked for at least 40 mins) |
50 g |
| Egg |
1 pc |
|
Set 1 |
|
| Red Onion |
10 g |
|
Sweet pickled radish |
10 g |
| Thai Tofu |
10 g |
|
Set 2 |
|
| Fish sauce |
1 tbsp |
|
Sugar |
½ tbsp |
| Tamarind Sauce |
2 tbsp |
|
For Tamarind Sauce |
|
| Tamarind |
50 g |
|
Water |
75 ml |
| Palm sugar |
25 g |
|
White sugar |
15 g |
| Salt |
5 g |
|
Set 3 |
|
| Crushed peanut |
7 g |
|
Chili Flakes |
3 g |
| Set 4 |
|
|
Beansprout |
5 g |
| Thai chives |
7 g |
|
For Garnish |
|
| Egg net (1 egg beaten and strained) |
1 pc |
|
Carrot carvings |
1-2 pcs |
| Chive stem |
1 pc |
|
Condiments |
|
| Sugar |
As required |
|
Chili flakes |
As required |
| Lime wedge |
2 pcs |
|
Crushed peanuts |
As required |
Method of Preparation:
Step 1: Make Tamarind Sauce by boiling the water and pouring over the tamarind and set aside. Once it has cooled down enough to handle by hand, squeeze out the juice and discard the seeds. To this tamarind juice, now add palm sugar, sugar and salt and simmer until a thick saucy texture is achieved
Step 2: Sauté prawns in a little bit of oil first, until 50 – 60% cooked
Step 3: Add in Set 1 and sauté until onions and radish have softened
Step 4: Move ingredients to one side of the wok and add a little more oil before you crack the egg
Step 5: Wait for the egg to set a little bit, then mix with the rest of the ingredients in the wok
Step 6: Add in the soaked rice noodles and stir fry
Step 7: Once well mixed, add in set 2 and mix well. If you like the pad thai saucier, feel free to add in more tamarind sauce as per your preference, but keep in mind that the tamarind sauce is quite tart.
Step 8: Add in Set 3 and stir fry once again, making sure all the ingredients are well incorporated. Classically, Pad Thai is not served spicy, it is only served with chili flakes on the side as a condiment, but if you like it that way you can add more chili flakes at this stage.
Step 9: Lastly add in Set 4 and stir fry until the beansprout is slightly cooked but still has a crunch and the chives are well distributed in the noodles.**For the garnish:Whisk and strain 1 egg and put it into a squeeze bottle. On a medium-hot nonstick pan, make a crosshatch pattern and take off the heat once the egg has set and is cooked.
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About the Contributor
Srijaenthi Natraj
Chef Srijaenthi Natraj started off her time in the industry as an intern at the acclaimed Michelin starred Jean Georges restaurant. She moved on to working at Dusit Thani Dubai, for their signature Thai restaurant, Benjarong, and then at a mixed Asian restaurant which specializes in 5 Asian cuisines, namely, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Singaporean.
She graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, Singapore campus. While the same degree course in the US is for a period of 4 years, she successfully completed it at Singapore in 2 years with the same curriculum, exams and hours of study since she had completed her IVQ City and Guilds diploma at the ICCA during the course of her 11th grade.
Her dedication for the craft also won her the Gold Award in the Young Chef of the Year category, at the 5th Middle East Hospitality Excellence Awards 2019, organized by Hozpitality Group.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is pad thai goong?
A: Pad thai goong is the prawn version of pad thai, Thailand's famous stir fried rice noodle dish. In Thai, goong means prawn, so pad thai goong simply means pad thai made with prawns, tossed in a sweet, sour, and salty tamarind sauce.
Q: How do you cook pad thai noodles?
A: Soak the dried rice noodles in water for at least 40 minutes until pliable, then stir fry them in a hot wok with the other ingredients. Soaking rather than boiling keeps the noodles springy and stops them turning mushy.
Q: Is pad thai goong spicy?
A: Traditionally no. Classic pad thai is not served spicy, and chili flakes are offered on the side as a condiment so each diner can add heat to taste. You can stir in more chili flakes during cooking if you prefer a spicier plate.
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