Common Ingredients in pad thai Recipes

We researched the most common ingredients in over a dozen popular pad thai recipes and found the top 15 ingredients.

The most common ingredient in pad thai dishes is fish sauce.

Lime, sugar, green onions, bean sprouts, garlic, peanuts, vegetable oil, eggs, cilantro, rice noodles and shallots are also common ingredients in pad thai recipes. Variations include:

• shallots in place of cilantro
• rice in place of rice noodles

Pepper shows up in 35% of pad thai recipes.

The average pad thai recipe has about 16.1 ingredients, with a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 24.

In terms of directions, pad thai recipes have about 4.6 steps on average, ranging from 1 to 10 instructions.

An average pad thai recipe takes about 36 minutes to prepare, ranging from 10 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes.

Ratios of Common Ingredients in Pad Thai

For 1 wedge lime (67 g), the median and average amounts of other significant ingredients are below. Some ingredients are potential substitutes for others, meaning they almost never exist together in a single pad thai recipe, and are marked below.

Ingredient	Median	Average	% of recipes with lime	Potential subsitutions
bean sprouts	1 cup (104 g)	0.78 cup (81 g)	80%
green onions	2 (50 g)	1.8 (46 g)	80%
eggs	1 (56 g)	1.3 (73 g)	70%
fish sauce	1.5 tablespoon (27 g)	1.8 tablespoon (33 g)	70%
peanuts	4 tablespoon (37 g)	3.8 tablespoon (34 g)	70%
rice noodles	6 ounce (170 g)	5.6 ounce (159 g)	50%	rice
garlic	1.9 clove (6 g)	2.5 clove (7 g)	50%
vegetable oil	2 tablespoon (27 g)	1.4 tablespoon (19 g)	40%
cilantro	a quarter cup (4 g)	0.34 cup (6 g)	40%	shallots
brown sugar	1.9 tablespoon (18 g)	1.2 tablespoon (12 g)	20%

Ingredients by Average Weight in Pad Thai

We also found the average content of the significant ingredients by weight in pad thai recipes. This would be: 19% rice noodles, 17% bean sprouts, 13% green onions, 13% eggs, 10% lime, 7% fish sauce, 6% vegetable oil, 6% peanuts, 3% sugar, 3% garlic, 2% shallots and 1% lime juice.

Here are the top ingredients, listed in order of popularity.

fish sauce

Fish sauce is the most popular ingredient in pad thai dishes. In fact, over 85% of pad thai recipes contain fish sauce.

Fish sauce is often included in pad thai dishes in amounts of 2 tablespoons, 1 tablespoon or a third of a cup.

In pad thai recipes that contain fish sauce, it is on average, 3% by weight.

For pad thai recipes, fish sauce is frequently used with green onions, bean sprouts, garlic, vegetable oil and sugar.

lime

Another popular ingredient in pad thai is lime. From the recipes we've sampled for pad thai, over 80% have lime.

Variations of lime include:

• lime juice: 31% of recipes

In recipes for pad thai, lime is often used with bean sprouts, peanuts, green onions, fish sauce and eggs. On the other hand, lime is almost never used with white peppercorns.

lime juice

Lime juice is another common ingredient in pad thai dishes. In fact, over 30% of pad thai recipes contain lime juice.

Common quantities for lime juice in pad thai dishes include 2 tablespoons.

In pad thai recipes that contain lime juice, it is on average, 1.4% by weight.

Sugar, green onions, fish sauce, garlic and bean sprouts are commonly used together with lime juice in pad thai dishes. Conversely, lime juice is not often used with chicken breast and pork loin.

sugar

Sugar is another common ingredient in pad thai dishes. In fact, over 80% of pad thai recipes contain sugar.

Variations of sugar include:

• brown sugar: 25% of recipes

Fish sauce, green onions, bean sprouts, garlic and vegetable oil are commonly used together with sugar in pad thai dishes.

Potential substitutions for sugar in pad thai:

• brown sugar

Also, sugar is not often used with chicken breast.

bean sprouts

Bean sprouts is another common ingredient in pad thai dishes. In fact, over 75% of pad thai recipes contain bean sprouts.

Bean sprouts is often included in pad thai dishes in amounts of 1 cup or 2 cups.

In pad thai recipes that contain bean sprouts, it is on average, 8% by weight.

In recipes for pad thai, bean sprouts is often used with peanuts, lime, green onions, fish sauce and eggs. On the other hand, bean sprouts is almost never used with white peppercorns.

onion

Another popular ingredient in pad thai is onion. From the recipes we've sampled for pad thai, over 75% have onion.

Variations of onion include:

• green onions: 75% of recipes

Green onions, fish sauce, pepper, pork loin and cilantro are commonly used together with onion in pad thai dishes.

green onions

Another popular ingredient in pad thai is green onions. From the recipes we've sampled for pad thai, over 75% have green onions.

Sliced is a frequent preparation for green onions in pad thai dishes.

Green onions is often included in pad thai dishes in amounts of 2 green onions, 1 cup or 3 green onions.

In pad thai recipes that contain green onions, it is on average, 6% by weight.

For pad thai recipes, green onions is frequently used with fish sauce, bean sprouts, peanuts, lime and eggs.

garlic

Garlic is another common ingredient in pad thai dishes. In fact, over 65% of pad thai recipes contain garlic.

Chopped and minced are frequent preparations for garlic in pad thai dishes.

Garlic is often included in pad thai dishes in amounts of 4 cloves, 3 cloves or 1 teaspoon.

In pad thai recipes that contain garlic, it is on average, 1.5% by weight.

For pad thai recipes, garlic is frequently used with fish sauce, green onions, bean sprouts, vegetable oil and sugar. However, tofu is almost never used together with garlic in pad thai dishes.

peanuts

Another popular ingredient in pad thai is peanuts. From the recipes we've sampled for pad thai, over 65% have peanuts.

Variations of peanuts include:

• peanut butter: 19% of recipes

In recipes for pad thai, peanuts is often used with bean sprouts, lime, green onions, fish sauce and eggs. On the other hand, peanuts is almost never used with white peppercorns.

vegetable oil

Vegetable oil is another common ingredient in pad thai dishes. In fact, over 55% of pad thai recipes contain vegetable oil.

Common quantities for vegetable oil in pad thai dishes include 2 tablespoons or 3 tablespoons.

In pad thai recipes that contain vegetable oil, it is on average, 4% by weight.

Fish sauce, green onions, garlic, bean sprouts and lime are commonly used together with vegetable oil in pad thai dishes. Conversely, vegetable oil is not often used with cilantro, peanut butter and ginger.

eggs

Another popular ingredient in pad thai is eggs. From the recipes we've sampled for pad thai, over 50% have eggs.

Eggs is often included in pad thai dishes in amounts of 1 eggs or 2 larges.

In pad thai recipes that contain eggs, it is on average, 9% by weight.

For pad thai recipes, eggs is frequently used with bean sprouts, lime, green onions, fish sauce and peanuts. However, peanut butter, white peppercorns and black pepper are almost never used together with eggs in pad thai dishes.

pepper

Pepper is another common ingredient in pad thai dishes. In fact, over 35% of pad thai recipes contain pepper.

Variations of pepper include:

• black pepper: 13% of recipes

In recipes for pad thai, pepper is often used with green onions, eggs, bean sprouts, lime and cilantro.

Potential substitutions for pepper in pad thai:

• salt
• chili powder
• white peppercorns

Also, pepper is not often used with rice, peanut butter, chicken thigh and black pepper.

cilantro

Another popular ingredient in pad thai is cilantro. From the recipes we've sampled for pad thai, over 35% have cilantro.

Chopped is a frequent preparation for cilantro in pad thai dishes.

Common quantities for cilantro in pad thai dishes include a quarter cup.

In pad thai recipes that contain cilantro, it is on average, 0.4% by weight.

Bean sprouts, peanuts, lime, green onions and fish sauce are commonly used together with cilantro in pad thai dishes.

Potential substitutions for cilantro in pad thai:

• shallots

Also, cilantro is not often used with vegetable oil, chicken thigh and white peppercorns.

rice noodles

Rice noodles is another common ingredient in pad thai dishes. In fact, over 35% of pad thai recipes contain rice noodles.

Dried, soaked and drained are frequent preparations for rice noodles in pad thai dishes.

In pad thai recipes that contain rice noodles, it is on average, 19% by weight.

For pad thai recipes, rice noodles is frequently used with bean sprouts, lime, eggs, green onions, fish sauce and peanuts.

Potential substitutions for rice noodles in pad thai:

• rice

Also, rice noodles is not often used with salt, white peppercorns and black pepper.

shallots

Another popular ingredient in pad thai is shallots. From the recipes we've sampled for pad thai, over 30% have shallots.

Pad thai dishes often call for shallots to be sliced.

Shallots is often included in pad thai dishes in amounts of 2 shallots.

In pad thai recipes that contain shallots, it is on average, 1.7% by weight.

In recipes for pad thai, shallots is often used with fish sauce, garlic, vegetable oil, sugar and bean sprouts.

Potential substitutions for shallots in pad thai:

• cilantro

Also, shallots is not often used with brown sugar, ginger, pork loin and black pepper.

Other pad thai Ingredients

Other significant ingredients used in pad thai recipes include:

• shrimp - 30%
• rice - 25%
• tamarind - 25%
• soy sauce - 25%
• chili powder - 25%
• salt - 25%
• chicken thigh - 15%
• tofu - 10%
• ginger - 10%
• white peppercorns - 10%
• chicken breast - 10%
• pork loin - 10%

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