Pad Thai

Allergens at a glance

• UsuallyPeanutsCrushed roasted peanuts on top or beside the noodles, sometimes tossed in the wok.
• UsuallyCrustaceansDried shrimp in the stir-fry, and fresh prawns in the popular prawn version.
• UsuallyFishFish sauce in the tamarind sauce.
• UsuallyEggsEgg is scrambled into the noodles.
• OftenSoyPressed tofu in the classic recipe; some cooks add soy sauce.
• SometimesGlutenRice noodles are wheat-free, but some batch sauces use soy or oyster sauce.
• SometimesMolluscsOyster sauce in some restaurant and bottled pad thai sauces.

Usually in the standard recipe. Often in many versions. Sometimes in some kitchens, or a cross-contact risk.

Diets

• Not vegetarian as standard: fish sauce and dried shrimp go in even when you order tofu.
• Coeliac (celiac) diners: the noodles are rice, but ask about soy sauce and oyster sauce.
• Asking for no peanuts may only remove the garnish: say it's an allergy so the wok is clean.

Recipes change from kitchen to kitchen. If you have an allergy, confirm every ingredient with the restaurant before you order.

What is pad thai?

Pad thai is stir-fried rice noodles in a sweet, sour and salty sauce of tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce, finished with egg, bean sprouts and peanuts. It was promoted as a national dish in the mid 20th century, a cheap noodle plate with a distinctly Thai identity. Today you'll find it at street carts, food courts and nearly every Thai restaurant abroad.

What's in it

• Thin flat rice noodles (sen lek), soaked, then stir-fried
• Sauce: tamarind pulp, palm sugar and fish sauce
• Egg, pressed yellow tofu, dried shrimp, sweet preserved radish, garlic chives and bean sprouts
• On the side: chilli flakes, crushed peanuts, lime wedges and more raw bean sprouts
• Protein: prawns, chicken or just tofu

Restaurants outside Thailand often cook from a batch or bottled sauce, which can include ketchup, soy sauce or oyster sauce. Some Bangkok vendors wrap the noodles in a thin omelette.

Allergens and diets

Assume four allergens are present unless the kitchen tells you otherwise: peanuts, crustaceans, fish and egg. Peanuts aren't always just a garnish. Some cooks toss a handful into the wok, so "no peanuts" can mean only the pile on the side disappears. Dried shrimp is part of the classic stir-fry even when you order chicken or tofu, and fish sauce is in the sauce itself.

Soy comes from the tofu and, in some kitchens, a splash of soy sauce. The noodles are rice, so the base is wheat-free, but soy sauce and oyster sauce usually contain wheat, and oyster sauce adds molluscs. At busy stalls the wok is wiped, not washed, between orders, so cross-contact with peanuts and shellfish from the last dish is likely.

For a vegetarian plate, ask for no fish sauce and no dried shrimp. Many kitchens will use soy sauce instead, which brings wheat back in. If your allergy is severe, say so plainly rather than asking for an ingredient to be left off, and confirm with the restaurant.

On the menu

In Thai it's written ผัดไทย (phat thai), usually with the protein after it.

เจ (che) is the Chinese-Thai vegan label: no meat, fish, egg or dairy, and traditionally no garlic or onion. Street portions are small and cheap; restaurant plates abroad are bigger and usually sweeter.

Last checked 1 November 2026. Spotted something wrong? Email support@inventum.com.au.