The Classic Thai Dish Gordon Ramsay Once Made Totally Wrong On Camera

Gordon Ramsey is a titan of the food game, currently boasting eight Michelin stars across his restaurants, with a grand total of 17 spread across his glittering, decades-long career (although he has also lost some, too). But despite widespread acclaim for his culinary abilities, there seems to be one dish he hasn't yet mastered: pad Thai. 

In an episode of his show, "The F Word," Ramsay was tasked with whipping up a Pad Thai for monks, under the watchful eye of Chef Chang, head chef of the famous (yet unfortunately closed down) Thai restaurant The Blue Elephant, in London, England. Understandably, when you're cooking the national dish of Thailand for a seasoned Thai cook, there are going to be high expectations — and Chang didn't hold back when he tried Ramsay's take on the dish. After pulling a face, he told Ramsay that "this is not Pad Thai at all." Unfortunately for Ramsay, the clip became a viral sensation and frequently makes the rounds on social media sites like X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Instagram, despite the clip being from 2009. If you've ever seen an episode of "Kitchen Nightmares" or "Hell's Kitchen," you'll be all too familiar with the fact that Ramsay doesn't hold back when a dish falls below his standards, so it's fun to see him getting a taste of his own medicine for once! To Ramsay's credit, he took the criticism well, and although Chef Chang did not enjoy his pad Thai, the monks said it was perfectly good.

Gordon Ramsay's pad Thai may not have met expectations — but what did he get so wrong? He initially fried shallots, garlic, and chili with salt and sugar and then added spring onions and king prawns. For the sweet and sour elements, he made a sauce of fish sauce, salt, sugar, and tamarind paste. Then, he beat an egg and added rice noodles and bean sprouts. He finished it off with a garnish of cilantro and crushed peanuts.   

According to Chef Chang, Ramsay's pad Thai wasn't right because it missed the mark on the integral balance between sweet, sour, and salty. Though Ramsay did include all the right ingredients for this, one reply on the video speculated that he got the ratios wrong. The tamarind paste provides the sour, the sweetness comes from the sugar, and the salty, umami-rich flavor comes from the fish sauce. 

We spoke to a Thai chef about what Americans get wrong about pad Thai, and there are several ingredient substitutions you should make — and some you shouldn't. Instead of standard white sugar, which Ramsay used, use palm sugar instead. Palm sugar is less sweet than white sugar and has a richer, more caramel taste, which pairs amazingly with the deep sour and salty flavors, and picks up a real depth and complexity from the "Wok Hei" – when cooking pad Thai in a wok. Another traditional touch is soaking tamarind pulp in hot water, then pressing it through a sieve to make a puree instead of opting for a pre-made tamarind paste to really emphasise those fresh, sour flavors. For added umami, many Thai recipes also add dried shrimp.