Skip going out to eat and make this Pork Pad Thai at home for a veggie and protein filled delicious dinner that comes together in just 30 minutes!
I’m so excited to finally share this Pork Pad Thai with you! I made it a few weeks ago and I just kept putting off posting it which I have no idea why because you are going to LOVE it! It’s a complete meal in all its yumminess. 
Starch? ✔ Protein? ✔✔✔ (Pork, peanut butter, peanuts) Veggies? ✔ Crunch? ✔ Pretty garnishes? ✔ Delish? ✔ ✔ See what I mean? Lots going on for this dish. Oh yeah, and Less than 30 minutes? ✔
To be honest with you, this was only the second time I cooked with rice noodles. I was a little weary of them but they are super easy to cook and really soak up the sauce.
When I first made this dish I tried to make it vegetarian by using tofu. Yeah, it was my first experience with tofu and I decided to save like 30 cents and bought FIRM tofu instead of EXTA FIRM. Major mistake you guys. There were probably only 5 cubes left intact and despite my efforts to really season the buggers they just weren’t takin it. I’ll just say, my husband wasn’t too thrilled or impressed with my go at tofu. So the next night with the leftover noodles/veggies I used pork. And it ROCKED! Definitely blog worthy. But if you don’t eat pork, try chicken, and if you don’t eat any meat, you’re on your own with the tofu. Sorry!
Isn’t peanut butter awesome?! You can eat it for breakfast on toast with honey and sliced bananas, as a PB&J for lunch, on apples and celery for a snack, and then in Thai pasta for dinner. Couldn’t live without that stuff! (If you are allergic try substituting almond butter, sunflower butter,… some other nut butter.)
Pork Pad Thai
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 plump cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper
For the Noodles:
- 8 ounces Pad Thai Rice Noodles
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil, or canola oil
For the Pork:
- 1 pound pork, strips (pork stroganoff or I used sirloin chops and sliced into strips)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
For the Veggies:
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 cup carrots, julienned
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1/4 cup green onion, sliced thin
- 1/4 cup peanuts
- 2 tablespoons cilantro
- Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Place all sauce ingredients in an 8 ounce jar and shake until well combined.
- Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Remove from heat and drop noodles in. Stir to separate and cover with a lid. Let them soak for 6-7 minutes until al dente (you don't want them too soft since you'll be stir frying them).
- Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and pork strips and cook until evenly browned on all sides and fully cooked (5-6 minutes). Add the sprouts, carrots, pepper, and noodles in with the pork and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and mix in the sauce, green onions, and peanuts. Top with cilantro and sesame seeds and serve.
Recipe Source: Adapted from The Chew (less peanuts, less sugar, pork instead of chicken, no egg, different methods…)
For more Pad Thai recipes check out this, this, and this.
My family LOVES this recipe! I have made it several times.
To have some leftovers, I double the noodles, pork and veggies and 4x the sauce ’cause I like extra sauce and the rice noodles seem to soak up a lot of it.
Instead of boiling noodles, I let it soak in hot tap water while I cut the veggies and meat and drain it while the meat cooks, then add it to the pan when the meat is done cooking with the veggies.
I’m so happy to hear you make this on repeat! Thanks for the review and sharing your helpful notes! 🙂
This was a lovely recipe. I used pork shoulder as that’s what was on hand and added cauliflower. The only change to improve the recipe was adding a bit of kosher salt to enhance the the flavors. Aside from that it was perfect.
So happy you enjoyed it, Christie! Thanks for leaving a comment! 🙂
This is a great simple, yet flavorful recipe! I marinated the pork with a few teaspoons of Sriracha and it created some unbelievable flavors!
That sounds delicious!
This looks so delicious and your pictures are making my mouth water! I have a vegetarian tofu pad Thai recipe on my blog but now I need to try it with meat!
Thank you Ami! Hope you enjoy it!
try to use pork and infuse it with spices
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it! Pad thai is my favorite but usually calls for so many ingredients, I love that yours only has a few … plus pork is a nice change up!
Thanks Kendra! Yes, the pork is great in there. You could even easily replace the pork with chicken or beef strips too. Hope you get to try this soon!
I love pad thai but have never made it from scratch before! You have definitely inspired me to recreate this recipe. Looks delicious!
It’s the best, right!? And it’s super easy to make from scratch. You’ll love it Thalia!