Thai Rice Noodles with Vegetables and Egg in Garlic-Lime Sauce Recipe
This simple rice noodle dish is something between pad thai and a vegetable stir-fry. Lots of colorful vegetables, egg, and an aromatic sauce with garlic, lime, and fish sauce make a quick dinner that tastes like it’s from a Bangkok street stall, but without complicated ingredients.
This is a loosely inspired version of pad thai, adapted for home cooking and supermarket ingredients – without tamarind and dried shrimp, but keeping the salty–sour–sweet contrast.
This dish gives you the feel of Thai wok noodles but relies on just a few simple sauces and vegetables you can really buy in a regular corner shop. Thanks to the egg and sprouts it’s as filling as a full main course, yet still light and fresh from the lime and chili. The quick stir-fry time keeps the vegetables crisp and the noodles bouncy.
Chef's tips
Before adding the noodles to the pan, separate them with your hands – if they’re sticking, quickly rinse them with warm water, otherwise you’ll end up with hard clumps. It’s easy to overcook the vegetables: when they lose their vivid colour and start snapping instead of bending, they’re already too soft. The wok or pan needs to be properly hot so the ingredients fry instead of stewing in the sauce and the water released from the vegetables.
How to serve
Serve in deep bowls with extra lime and chili flakes for those who like more heat. Put a simple cucumber salad with rice vinegar or soy sauce on the side. It’s a great dish for a quick “street food” style evening – you can place the pan in the middle of the table and everyone helps themselves.
Watch out for
- Don’t soak the noodles for too long – when they bend easily but still offer slight resistance, they’re ready; if over-soaked they’ll tear and fall apart in the pan.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan with vegetables – if they form a thick layer, fry them in batches, otherwise instead of a stir-fry you’ll get a soft, stewed mix.
- Only fry the garlic until it becomes very fragrant; once it browns it will turn bitter and overpower the fresh lime character of the sauce.
Ingredients
- rice noodles ryżowy wstążki - 150 g
- eggs - 2 pieces
- carrot - 1 pieces
- bell pepper żółta lub czerwona - 1 pieces
- zucchini - 0.5 pieces
- onion dymka - 3 pieces
- garlic - 3 cloves
- fish sauce rybny - 1.5 tablespoons
- soy sauce sojowy - 1 tablespoon
- sugar - 1 teaspoon
- lime juice - 1.5 tablespoons
- oil roślinny - 2 tablespoons
- fresh or dried chili pepper - 0.5 pieces
- mung bean sprouts - 50 g
- roasted unsalted peanuts - 2 tablespoons
Preparation
- Prepare all the ingredients: cut the carrot into thin matchsticks, the bell pepper into strips, the zucchini into half-moons, finely chop the garlic, chili, and spring onion, and roughly chop the peanuts. This way you can work quickly at the stove without burning the garlic.
- Pour very hot but not boiling water over the rice noodles and set aside for 8–10 minutes, until they soften but are still slightly springy. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent sticking.
- In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, lime juice, and 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Crack in the eggs, gently stir as for scrambled eggs, and fry for 1–2 minutes until just set. Transfer to a plate.
- In the same pan, add the second tablespoon of oil. Add the garlic and chili and fry for about 30 seconds, stirring, until very fragrant but not browned.
- Add the carrot, bell pepper, and zucchini. Fry for 4–5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the vegetables soften but remain slightly crisp.
- Add the soaked rice noodles and mung bean sprouts. Pour in the prepared sauce and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes, until the noodles absorb some of the sauce and are evenly coated.
- Add the cooked eggs, gently break them into smaller pieces with a spatula, and mix with the noodles. Add most of the sliced spring onion, reserving some for sprinkling.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining spring onion and chopped peanuts. You can serve extra lime wedges on the side for squeezing over the plate.
Storage
No storage information available for this dish.
I usually make these noodles when I forget to cook rice and there’s a packet of rice noodles waiting in the cupboard “just in case”. I throw in leftover vegetables from the fridge and every time it turns out a bit different, but just as good.
