Recipe · Thailand · The Herbal Chilli Storm
Pad Cha (ผัดฉ่า)
Clams through a screaming wok under a storm of fingerroot, green peppercorns, kaffir lime and fresh chillies — the seafood shop's loudest dish.
Clams through a screaming wok under a storm of fingerroot, green peppercorns, kaffir lime and fresh chillies — the seafood shop's loudest dish.
ผัดฉ่า is the ahan tam sang dish with the biggest herb count per spoonful: กระชาย fingerroot, พริกไทยอ่อน green peppercorns on the stem, ใบมะกรูด kaffir lime leaves and two kinds of fresh chilli, all thrown through the wok in the final seconds. The TrueID roundup carries twenty-five versions of it — clams, prawns, squid, chicken, frog — because the dish is really the herb technique; the protein is whoever the shop has that day.
The base starts coarse: garlic, shallots and red Jinda chillies pounded together and fried until the wok smells, then the clams go in to open in the steam. Seasoning stays minimal — fish sauce, a little sugar, pepper, a splash of water — because the herbs are the flavour, not the sauce.
The Aroifin seafood version makes the point about order: the aromatics join after the protein is nearly done, so the fingerroot and peppercorns arrive at the table still bright. Overcooked, the herbs fade; timed right, the dish is a nose-hit of kaffir before the chilli lands.
| Thai | English | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| หอยลาย | Clams | 500 g |
| กระเทียม / หอมแดง | Garlic / shallots | 30 g each |
| พริกแดงจินดา | Red Jinda chillies | 30 g |
| กระชาย | Fingerroot, sliced | 50 g |
| พริกไทยอ่อน | Green peppercorns | 20 g |
| พริกชี้ฟ้าแดง | Red spur chilli, sliced | 20 g |
| ใบมะกรูด | Kaffir lime leaves | 5 g |
| น้ำปลา | Fish sauce | 2 tbsp |
| น้ำตาล / พริกไทย | Sugar / ground pepper | 1 tsp / ¼ tsp |
| น้ำ | Water | 30 ml |
Swaps (TrueID's 25 variants): prawns, squid or chicken for the clams. The Lemon8 home version fries a spoon of curry paste in the oil before the aromatics and adds holy basil at the end.
The protein. TrueID runs twenty-five versions — clams, prawns, squid, chicken, frog. The herbs are the dish; the protein is interchangeable.
Central or southern. The central style is fingerroot, green peppercorns and kaffir on a garlic-shallot base. The southern style (Phol Food Mafia, Chef Sujet Saenkham) builds a paste of turmeric, lemongrass, bird's-eyes and black peppercorn — no fingerroot — and stirs in Thai and pea aubergines. Two regions, two herb sets, one name.
Curry paste or none. The Lemon8 home version fries a spoon of red curry paste in the oil first for a deeper base; the TrueID clam version is paste-free, pure herbs. Both are pad cha.
Basil. The southern version finishes with sweet basil (โหระพา); the central herbal set is fingerroot, green peppercorns and kaffir. The central version stays basil-free.
Seasoning. TrueID keeps it to fish sauce, sugar and pepper; the home versions reach for seasoning powder and oyster sauce. The shop version trusts the herbs.
Chilli count. Two kinds of fresh chilli in TrueID's version; the Lemon8 version adds a third heat through the curry paste. The dish's default is hot.
This recipe is translated from the following Thai-language sources. Where they disagree, we've said so.
1. TrueID — "สูตรอาหาร 25 เมนูผัดฉ่า หอมกลิ่นสมุนไพร กับแกล้มก็ได้กับข้าวก็เด็ด!" (the clam recipe used here) — food.trueid.net
2. Aroifin — "วิธีทำ ผัดฉ่าทะเล เผ็ดร้อนถึงใจ หอมสมุนไพร กุ้งเด้งหมึกกรอบ" (the seafood version, Dec 2025) — aroifin.com
3. Lemon8 (mingy40) — "ผัดฉ่ากุ้งเครื่องถึงๆ ใส่อะไรบ้าง?" (home version with curry paste and holy basil) — lemon8-app.com
4. Phol Food Mafia (สูตรโดย เชฟสุเจตน์ แสนคำ, from Bouchon SPICE I AM) — "Southern Style Goong Pad Cha (กุ้งผัดฉ่าแบบใต้)" (the southern turmeric version) — pholfoodmafia.com