Thai🍜 Noodles & pasta

Sen Chan Pad Pu (Chanthaburi Fried Rice Noodles with Crab)

Name: Sen Chan Pad Pu (Chanthaburi Fried Rice Noodles with Crab)
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: ~3-4 dried red chilies; ~4 cloves garlic; ~3 shallots; ~2 tbsp palm sugar; ~3 tbsp fish sauce; ~2 tbsp tamarind paste; ~½ cup water; ~300 g rice noodles; ~150 g shrimp; ~200 g crab; ~1 cup bean sprouts; ~1 cup garlic chives; ~1 cucumber; ~1 lime; ~3 tbsp oil

⏱ 50 min

An authentic Thai dish that looks like pad thai but is simpler and quicker to prepare. This Chanthaburi-style rice noodle stir-fry is centered around a spicy chili paste base combined with palm sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind for the classic sweet, salty, and sour balance. Fewer ingredients than pad thai, but equally satisfying for weeknight cooking.

Adapted from a video by Pailin's Kitchen

Quicker & Easier Than Pad Thai, But Still Authentic!

Watch on YouTube

Ingredients

dried red chiliesa mix of hot and mild varieties; remove seeds to reduce heat and grind more easily~3-4est.
garlic~4 clovesest.
shallotschopped~3est.
palm sugar~2 tbspest.
fish sauce~3 tbspest.
tamarind paste~2 tbspest.
water~½ cupest.

Steps

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1
Remove seeds from dried chilies using scissors. Grind the chilies to a fine powder using a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle.
2
Pound garlic into a paste in a mortar. Add chopped shallots and ground dried chilies, then pound everything together into a rough paste, making sure to bruise and smash the shallots to release their flavor.
3
Combine fish sauce, tamarind paste, and water in a bowl, leaving out the palm sugar for now.
4
Soak rice noodles in room temperature water for 30 minutes to 1 hour until completely limp and no longer holding their shape.
5
Heat oil in a wok or pan, add the chili paste, and sauté over relatively low heat to infuse the oil with flavor and develop the iconic bright orange color. Be careful not to burn.
6
Add palm sugar to the chili paste and let it dissolve mostly (does not need to be completely dissolved).
7
Pour in the fish sauce, tamarind, and water mixture.
8
Increase heat to medium-high and cook the shrimp in the sauce for about a minute until fully cooked, allowing the shrimp flavor to infuse the sauce. Remove the cooked shrimp, leaving the sauce in the pan.
9
Return heat to medium-high and add the drained noodles to the pan. Stir and cook until the noodles absorb the sauce and are tender. As the sauce reduces, taste the noodles for doneness—if still too chewy, add a splash of water and continue cooking. Repeat as needed based on noodle texture.
10
Turn off heat once noodles are done, add the cooked shrimp and crab back to the pan along with bean sprouts and garlic chives, and toss everything gently to combine.
11
Plate the noodles and top with additional crab meat to showcase the seafood. Serve with fresh bean sprouts, garlic chives, sliced cucumber, and a lime wedge on the side.

Sen Chan Pad Pu (Chanthaburi Fried Rice Noodles with Crab)

Ingredients

Steps

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