The Fruity Ingredient You Need For The Absolute Best Pad Thai

When you want to make a Thai-inspired dinner at home, pad Thai is one of the popular dishes that might make it to your table. You'll certainly have to gather some of the traditional ingredients like rice noodles, protein like beef or chicken, and crushed peanuts. But what you might not know is there's a fruity condiment that should also make its way to the pan to obtain the full flavor: Tamarind paste.

For any home cooks who aren't familiar, tamarind paste is a form of the sweet-and-sour fruit that's used in an array of dishes from Mexican candies to pad Thai. It's actually a rather common addition to foods in Thailand, so it makes sense to put it in your pad Thai. The reason why the ingredient works so well is because it provides those sour and mildly-sweet flavor profiles that you might be used to finding in a bite of the dish. It also helps balance other rich ingredients in the pan like fish and oyster sauces and brown sugar.

Many authentic pad Thai recipes will likely include tamarind, but it's an easy ingredient to add if not. You can start with our tofu pad Thai recipe that actually skips the ingredient as a test to how easy it is to pull off. Or follow our mushroom and chicken pad Thai recipe that already includes the secret ingredient. Either way, start with two tablespoons of tamarind paste for every six servings of the dish — because it's meant to enhance the flavors and not overwhelm the dish. You'll combine the tamarind paste with the vinegar, fish sauce, and sugar and bring it to a boil to create the sauce that will be the base of the pad Thai. Later, you'll mix in the tamarind concoction with the noodles and protein to finish the cooking.

It's important to use tamarind paste or puree and not concentrate, because the latter will not have the strongest flavor. The concentrate is often made with juice rather than the fruit, so it lacks the flavor needed to pull off the dish. If you don't have access to tamarind paste or puree, ketchup is a household ingredient that will certainly give the tangy flavor. You can also combine lemon or lime juice with brown sugar or use Worcestershire sauce in place of the tamarind paste in your next homemade pad Thai.