A few pantry staples and a couple of minutes is all it takes to recreate the authentic flavors in Pad Thai Sauce without tamarind. Use this sauce to make this Easiest Pad Thai, but it can be also used with any Pad Thai recipe.
The sweet and tangy flavors that you love in authentic Pad Thai sauce come from tamarind, a tropical fruit with a tart, slightly sweet taste. But even if you don’t have tamarind, there’s a good chance you already have everything you need in your kitchen to make a really great, and really quick Pad Thai!
This recipe recreates those mouthwatering flavors with a simple blend of fish sauce, tangy lime juice, soy sauce, honey, and spicy garlic-chili sauce. The sauce perfectly coats Pad Thai’s delicate rice noodles, crunchy bean sprouts, and tender green onions.
This combination of easy sauce and easy Pad Thai is a great entry point to this dish that I first fell in love with during the five years I lived in Thailand.
And if you’re looking for the full, authentic version of this dish, check out Authentic Pad Thai, made with my Pad Thai Sauce (which includes tamarind).
If you love authentic Pad Thai, you’ve likely heard of tamarind, which is a fruit that is the key ingredient in Pad Thai sauce. The tamarind tree produces little pods of sweet and sour fruit that can be made into a paste and used in dishes like noodles, curries, chutneys, and soups.
TAMARIND SUBSTITUTION Although ketchup is a common replacement for tamarind paste, we prefer this tasty mixture: 1/4 cup (50 mL) tomato paste, 2 tbsp (30 mL) rice vinegar or freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice, 2 tbsp (30 mL) Worcestershire, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 1 tbsp (15 mL) brown sugar and 1 tbsp (15 mL) water.
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How to Make Easy Pad Thai Sauce
- In a small mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Taste the sauce and adjust as needed, add more honey if you like a sweeter sauce, more soy sauce or fish sauce if you prefer a saltier sauce.
- Store the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Honey – Honey has two roles here. It adds both the sweetness and thickness to the sauce that would typically come from tamarind paste. A slightly thick sauce is perfect for coating Pad Thai noodles.
- Lime Juice – For tanginess. Limes can vary in the degree of sour flavor, depending on the variety and how ripe they are.
- Soy Sauce and Fish Sauce – These combine to add savory, umami flavor to the dish. If you’re sensitive to gluten, use Tamari.
- Chili-Garlic Sauce – Traditional Pad Thai is typically not served spicy (though spicy ingredients are sometimes added at the table), but in this easier version, the sauce benefits from the added dimension of spice and garlic flavor from chili-garlic sauce. If you don’t want any spice in the dish, you can skip it.
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- Make ahead – Save time on a busy weeknight by making this sauce a week or two ahead of time. Just pull the jar from the refrigerator, and start making your Pad Thai.
- Taste and adjust – You may notice that I say this throughout the recipe, but it’s super important. The limes may throw off the sour level in the sauce, and you also might have personal flavor preferences that you should take into account. Don’t hesitate to adjust the sauce if you feel like it needs a bit more of something.
Try to stay away from using ketchup and Worcestershire sauce in your Pad Thai. These two popular condiments will produce a sauce that may look a bit like Pad Thai, but will taste nowhere near the real thing.
How spicy, or not, you like your Pad Thai is all a matter of preference. In Thailand it is often completely mild, but you can add spice at the table.
How to use Tamarind Paste for PAD THAI | EASY VEGAN RECIPES
FAQ
What is a substitute for tamarind?
What flavor is tamarind similar to?
What is tamarind used for in Thai cooking?
Do you need tamarind pulp/paste in pad Thai?
Tamarind: Tamarind pulp/paste is a sticky, sour product that’s called for in authentic Pad Thai recipes. For our family though, it’d be a single use ingredient and we wouldn’t have a need for it outside of this recipe. Furthermore it seems the product can vary taste-wise depending on the brand/source.
What is the healthier substitute of tamarind paste?
Tamarind paste can be a concentrated source of sugar but overall tamarind is a healthy legume. No sugar versions of tamarind paste are available so you can control the amount and type of sweetener that is added. This would be a healthier option for those trying to limit their sugar intake. Otherwise, pomegranate molasses is a delicious substitute for the sweet and sour characteristics of tamarind paste or concentrate. It is also rich in antioxidants, polyphenols, and other health promoting compounds.
What is a good substitute for tamarind?
Substitution Ratio: Replace tamarind paste with an equal amount of dried tamarind pulp paste. 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp paste = 1 tablespoon tamarind paste . These tamarind substitutes taste just as good as the real thing! From pomegranate syrup to rice vinegar, these are the best tamarind alternatives around.
Can you make pad Thai sauce without tamarind?
A few pantry staples and a couple of minutes is all it takes to recreate the authentic flavors in Pad Thai Sauce without tamarind. Use this sauce to make this Easiest Pad Thai, but it can be also used with any Pad Thai recipe.