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Pad Korat

  • SERVES: 4
  • PREP: 10 minutes
  • TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes

Pepper's most requested dish!

My hometown of Korat is about three hours east of Bangkok. Some people call it “the gateway to Isaan” because it’s one of the biggest cities in the northeastern part of Thailand. Farming is popular there, so all around you’ll see lush green fields where they grow rice. Even my grandpa was a rice farmer. The famous noodle dish in Bangkok is pad thai, of course, but in Korat we have our own style, pad Korat—it’s a little more on the spicy, savory, and saucy side. I cooked pad Korat all the time for the kids growing up. If there was meat or seafood tossed in, that meant Daddy had some money, but if it was getting near the end of month, sometimes it would be made with just vegetables. Either way, it reminds me of home.

These days, I cook Korat noodles for Chrissy, Luna, and Miles at least twice a week and my claim to fame is that I can make it with just about anything we have in the fridge—chicken, beef, tofu, eggs, vegetables. All I need are some pad ai rice noodles and my cupboard of sauces. The possibilities are endless. Instead of soaking the dried noodles beforehand, I add them to the wok with the sauce, so they soak up all the sweet and savory goodness in the pan. At the very end I toss in scallions and bean sprouts so they stay fresh and crunchy, then serve the noodles with lime wedges and chile powder so everyone can tweak the spicy-sour flavor to their own taste.

Reprinted from The Pepper Thai Cookbook Copyright © 2021 by Vilailuck Teigen. Photographs copyright © 2021 by Jenny Huang. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tablespoons minced shallot

  • 1 teaspoon Roasted Chile Powder (recipe below)

  • ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (2 to 3 thighs), cut into bite-size pieces (see Note)

  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce

  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce

  • 2 tablespoons Thai soybean paste, or 4 teaspoons brown miso paste mixed with 2 teaspoons water

  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar

  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or the brine from any jar of pickled vegetables)

  • 8 ounces dried vermicelli (thin rice stick noodles)

  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

  • 1½ cups bean sprouts

  • 4 scallions, green parts only, cut into 1-inch pieces

For serving

Lime wedges

fish sauce

Roasted Chile Powder

Shop this recipe

Pepper's Wok & Tool Set
Pepper's Wok & Tool Set
$74.00

This is the ultimate set for creating clean-out-the-fridge meals. Aside from just stir-frying, the Teigen-Legend fam uses the wok and spider strainer for deep-frying and big-batch sautéing. Big enough for a pound of noodles Bundled with wooden tongs and a spider strainer Steam, serve, and store, all using a tempered glass lid

The Pepper Thai Cookbook
The Pepper Thai Cookbook
$28.00

Through these 80 recipes, Pepper teaches you how to make all her hits––influenced by Thailand, California, and everywhere in between. No one loves this book more than Chrissy: “I’m SO proud of Yai and all of the hard work she put into making this book come to life. It has all of my favorite recipes that mom used to make for us growing up, like chicken satay and papaya salad, as well as modern twists on classic Thai food like pad thai Brussels sprouts and nam prik moo sloppy joes!

Wood Serve Bowls, Set of 2
Wood Serve Bowls, Set of 2
$68.00

A do-it-all duo of two handmade wooden serving bowls (with handles!) that nest together for easy storage. Each one-of-a-kind piece is made from a single piece of wood and features unique variations. Fill them with your favorite salads, guacamole and dips, or taco fillings to pass around the table.Set Includes: One 12.6" x 9.75" Bowl One 14.4" x 11.75" Bowl

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