This “5 Minute Instant Noodle Pad Thai” Went Viral. Does It Work? [Review]

The tip for this 5-minute instant noodles hack is really just peanut butter.

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Pad Thai is a sweet and savory Thai dish that includes stir-frying flat rice noodles with shrimp, peanuts, scrambled eggs, and bean sprouts.

Now, this is the normal Pad Thai that I bought at a Thai Restaurant. Just to get a taste of what’s to expect.
Credit: Melissa Suraya Ismail

It is a popular dish in Thailand cuisine along with Tom Yum, Pad Kra Prao, and Som Tam. Most Thai food combines the flavor of sweetness, savouriness, sourness, and spiciness.

Recently, a Singaporean singer, Nathan Hartono has tried making a simple Pad Thai trick to kickstart his first reels on Instagram.

He made the video to promote his song called “Simple” in which the Pad Thai hack was fairly easy to make.

The teenage heartthrob made a simple tutorial by using instant noodles as a substitute for flat rice noodles.

He apologized to his Thai followers saying “Sorry Thai followers, not actually Pad Thai but close enough for a 5 minute one”.

However, as effortless as it is, does it work though? Is it cap or no cap?

I personally tried his simple hack, and here’s how it goes.

Instant 5-Minute Pad Thai Recipe

Now, this is the one that I made from scratch. You could say I’m sort of a chef now. *wink*
Credit: Melissa Suraya Ismail

https://www.tiktok.com/@melsuemail98/video/7028097150517136666?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

Here’s a step-by-step process to accompany the short 30-second video (link above) I made on the recipe.

Ingredients? Fairly simple. You will need :
- One ‘MAMA Shrimp Creamy Tom Yum Flavour’ instant noodle (I can’t find it at the supermarket, so I used the closest flavor I can find)
- A scoop of peanut butter
- An egg
- A fistful of bean sprouts
- One lime
- Chopped spring onions
- Chopped bird’s eye chilies (‘Cili Padi’)

The ingredients are not that much, honestly.
Credit: Melissa Suraya Ismail

2. While boiling the water in a pot, grab a spoonful of peanut butter and mix it evenly with the noodle’s seasoning in a bowl.

3. When it’s ready, cook the noodles for about 3 minutes and then add in the egg after the noodle is soft. You can stir the egg so that the egg yolk will be evenly distributed among the noodles.

4. Drain the cooked noodles, and mix them with the peanut seasoning mixture earlier.

5. Add in the bean sprouts, chopped spring onions, the chilies, and mix them well.

6. Finally, squeeze the lime on top of the dish to give it a tang of sourness to complete the dish.

7. Hey! Don’t forget to take pictures first! You know, one for the gram. 😉 Our followers have to know that we can cook now, don’t we? Sorry, I’m just obnoxious, that’s all.

And cut! We’re done! Roll down the curtains! *cue the credit roll*

Tadaaa! Looks scrumptious, doesn’t it?
Credit: Melissa Suraya Ismail

Now that the 5-minute hack is done, and yes it really took around that little time, except for the photoshoot part of course.

The Verdict

It’s not that awesome, BUT with certain additions, it might actually work.

Great recipe, I applaud the simple steps and how quickly it took to prepare it.

However, it doesn’t taste as mind-blowing as I’d hoped it would be.

There’s just something missing, which may be the crunchiness of the peanuts. You can give it a try with chunky peanut butter if you’d like.

A commercial Pad Thai has a lot of vegetables and sauces to add to the mixed flavor.
Credit: Flickr

Or it might be the spiciness of the normal seasoning. Don’t get me wrong, an occasional bite on the chilies does sting, but it’s just not incorporated well in the dish.

A dash of chili powder or flakes might save the dish. Or maybe paprika. Hey, your dish, your choice, really. Freedom to choose and all sorts.

The bean sprouts are very raw and fresh, yes, but I’d recommend you to cook it by boiling it a bit with the noodles, not too long though. We just wanna get the right amount of vegetable crunch.