Beef Pad Thai

This quick and easy take on beef pad Thai gives you juicy beef sirloin, slippery pad Thai noodles, and an incredibly flavorful sauce tied together in a delicious, complete meal in less than 30 minutes.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• First things first, this easy beef pad Thai is based on westernized, Americanized pad Thai, so it’s not what you’d find if you were to eat authentic pad Thai in Thailand. For a truly authentic pad Thai recipe, I recommend checking out Hot Thai Kitchen or RecipeTin Eats.
• My favorite thing about cooking at home, from scratch, is that you are in 100% control over what goes into your meal and how strong (or mild) your flavors are. This beef pad Thai is no different! Feel free to play with the ingredients and quantities to perfect your pad Thai.
• It’s super easy to make, and comes together quick. All you need is 30 minutes to create a full meal that’s perfect for busy weeknights. Skip the drive-through and opt for this instead!

Key Ingredients

Pad Thai Noodles – These medium-ish flat noodles are an important component to pad Thai. If you’ve never had them before, don’t expect an Italian style pasta. Since these are rice flour noodles, they’re cooked differently than wheat flour noodles. They have a different texture once they’re cooked, too. On their own, their flavor is pretty neutral, but they absorb the sauce in the dish so every bite of noodles contains the perfect amount of pad Thai sauce.

Sirloin – Sirloin steak is a juicy, flavorful, lean cut of meat that’s perfect for recipes like this one where you’ll be pan-frying your meat. The cook time will vary a little depending on how thick you slice your sirloin, but only by a minute or two. When you’re slicing it, be sure to slice across the grain.

Chef’s Tips

• No coconut sugar on hand? You can use 3 packed tablespoons of light brown sugar instead.
• Obviously this recipe is for beef pad Thai, but you can use any protein you’d like if you’re not into beef. Chicken, shrimp, tofu, and pork would all be fantastic options!
• Traditional pad Thai sauce uses tamarind pulp or paste to give it its tang, but we weren’t able to find any tamarind paste locally. Instead, we substituted lime juice and rice vinegar. It’s not quite the same flavor, admittedly, but it’s delicious.

Other Asian-Inspired Recipes You’ll Love

• Beef with Garlic Sauce
• Chicken Gyoza
• Slow Cooker Tom Kha Gai Soup
• Instant Pot Orange Chicken
• Chinese Vegetable Soup
• Instant Pot Sushi Rice
• Best Ever Tom Kha Gai Soup (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)
• Beef Chow Mein
• Chicken Chashu