With the slippery noodles, signature sweet-savoury flavor, sprinkle of peanuts and tang from lime, this is Chicken Pad Thai is a favorite for more than a single reason!
Contrary to what some people may thing, this is a recipe that takes minimal prep time and very easy to find ingredients. Yes, “Chicken Pad Thai” might sound “fancy“, but it’s not hard to put together and the ingredients can be found almost anywhere nowadays.
This dish is also very easy to customize and substitute some of the ingredients, and we even tell you which ingredients you can swap including some suggestions.
Even if you want to make this a vegetarian plate, you absolutely can! We tell you how you can do this right below.
Ingredients
As we said before, these ingredients can be easily found at your local grocery store. Not wanting to make the trip?! No worries, they can be ordered online too!
- Flat rice noodles – You can find these in the asian section of most grocery stores.
- Boneless skinless chicken breast – Should be pounded to ½ inch thickness and chopped into bite-sized pieces.
- Sea salt – Table salt is also an option, but we recommend sea salt because it is usually less processed.
- Ground black pepper – For that final touch of seasoning! Make sure it’s still a high quality one for better results, both on the taste and its nutrition content.
- Eggs – Make sure they come from free range and pasture raised chicken.
- Bean sprouts – You’re going to need one cup of bean sprouts for this recipe.
- Green onions – They should be sliced and you’ll be using about a third of a cup.
- White onions – These should also be sliced and you’ll need about a quarter of a cup.
- Cilantro – For flavoring purposes and you’ll be using about a third of a cup and it should be roughly chopped.
- Peanuts – This is an optional ingredients, but gives it that final touch of look, feel and taste!
- Ketchup – Your favorite one should be okay, and you’ll need just about a quarter of a cup. See the recipe notes for a good ketchup replacement if you prefer.
- Fish sauce – Should be easy to find in the asian section of most grocery stores or online.
- Sugar – Could be brown or white, but make sure is of high quality.
- Minced garlic – Major taste aid!
- Peanut butter – The peanuts are optional, but not the peanut butter because we want it to have the expected tasty result. You could make it yourself or buy a good one from your local grocery store or online.
- Lime – One single lime’s juice is enough.
- Red pepper – About a half teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes will be needed.
- Soy sauce – It might not even be an asian dish without this!
Preparation
You can find the detailed preparation on the “Instructions” section of the recipe card below, but we wanted to give you an overview of what it looks like right here, so check it out…
- Season the chicken with sea salt and black ground pepper to taste.
- Ideally in a large wok (or pan), cook chicken over medium heat for about 7 minutes.
- Whisk all sauce ingredients together and set aside.
- Pour eggs over preheated wok (or pan) and let it fry for a minute.
- Add the white onions and bean sprouts to the wok or pan.
- Add the chicken and the sauce in the wok or pan.
- Mix in the cooked noodles.
- Toss to coat everything altogether.
- Stir in green onions and cilantro.
- Add peanuts.
- Serve and enjoy!
Most Basic Chicken Pad Thai
Main Ingredients
Sauce and Seasoning
Instructions
-
Season the chicken
Season the chicken with sea salt and black ground pepper to taste.
-
Cook the chicken and set aside
- Cook chicken in a large wok or pan over medium heat, stirring throughout until cooked through (about 7 minutes).
- Transfer chicken to a bowl and set aside.
-
Whisk all sauce ingredients together and set aside
-
Pour eggs over preheated wok or pan
- Pour eggs over preheated wok (or pan) and let it fry for a minute.
- Break it up with a spoon.
-
Add the white onions and bean sprouts to the wok or pan
-
Add the chicken and the sauce in the wok or pan
-
Mix in the cooked noodles
-
Toss to coat everything altogether
-
Stir in green onions and cilantro
-
Add peanuts
This is an optional step, if you want to use peanuts. -
Serve and enjoy!
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Servings 4
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 375kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 5g8%
- Saturated Fat 1g5%
- Cholesterol 118mg40%
- Sodium 1144mg48%
- Potassium 419mg12%
- Total Carbohydrate 62g21%
- Dietary Fiber 2g8%
- Sugars 12g
- Protein 19g38%
- Vitamin A 460 IU
- Vitamin C 8 mg
- Calcium 39 mg
- Iron 1 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
Prepare the chicken ahead of time!
Go ahead and cut it into small pieces before cooking. This will ensure it cooks up much faster and also makes sure every piece is just as flavorful as the one before it.
Make it even more authentic!
If you want to make this meal closer to a more authentic chicken pad thai, you could this by replacing the ketchup with tamarind. If you choose to do this, you can find it in the asian section of your grocery store as Tamarind Puree or Paste. We don't recommend you get the concentrate one because it is stronger.
Here's a good option for tamarind paste online (says concentrate, but still a good paste).
Want to make it spicy?
You can add 1 to 2 teaspoons of sriracha sauce or a punch of crushed red pepper flakes to give it that spicy touch you want.
Want to replace the chicken?
This is obviously a chicken recipe, but feel free to replace it with shrimp or steak. You could even replace it with homemade tofu if you feel like taking on the challenge!
Feeling like homemaking more?
You can also make the peanut butter yourself instead of buying it. Should be fun and you can control how to make it!
