DIY $1.99 Pad Thai

Yep, you read it right. Pad Thai, the standard Americanized sweet noodle dish on every Thai take out menu, can be purchased at Trader Joe's for $1.99. In the time you would have wasted waiting for your greasy version to be delivered from some hole-in-the-wall you've never seen in person, a cheap DIY alternative can be yours.

So, $1.99 is a bit of a stretch. The box comes with just rice noodles and sauce. It's much tastier and resembles actual Pad Thai when you add some vegetables, meat, a drizzle of lime juice and a little peanut butter at the end. I like to add green beans, frozen sugar snap peas, a scrambled egg and chicken. The result easily feeds two and works out to be more like $6 a person.


Soak the noddles in hot water (don't use boiling water - these cook very quickly) while you saute the veggies and chicken. I happen to have a wok but it's not needed. You can get away with using a large pan, just be sure it's big enough to add the noodles and sauce at the end.


Once the noodles are soft, add to the pan with the sauce (I like mine on the lighter side so I usually just use half of the sauce) and cook all of it together for a minute or two. Add crushed peanuts (or a drizzle of peanut butter) and squeeze a lime on top and voila!

Bottom Line: Cheap DIY Pad Thai from Trader Joe's hits the spot!
Trader Joe's
142 E. 14th Street
212.529.4612