Chicken Pad Thai – one of the best ways to eat rice noodles with tons of vegetables and chicken. What makes these pad thai noodles my absolute favorite is the homemade sweet and spicy sauce. Ready in just 30 minutes, it is a true delight for the noodle lovers.
Perfect for a busy weeknight family dinner! I was tempted to eat these noodles right out of the skillet. If you’ve never tried a chicken pad thai recipe you should try this one, you’ll love it.
Pad Thai Sauce…
The secret of any delicious pad thai noodle is the – delectable sauce. It has to have a real outburst of flavors – sweet, spicy, tangy and sour.
No readymade sauce can deliver all those flavors in one dish. That is the reason I stick to my homemade pad thai sauce. It is super simple to prepare and takes the flavor of noodles to just another level of deliciousness.
The best part of this sauce is it can be stored in the fridge for a week. The magical ingredient of this finger-licking good pad thai sauce is – tamarind paste.
The sourness of tamarind is balanced by the sweetness of brown sugar and the heat of red chili sauce. Together these flavors create a delectable sauce that you would be tempted to lick while making itself.
Pad Thai Noodles…
Unlike, other Asian noodles variety, pad thai noodles need to be handled with care. Rice noodles are gluten-free and have a delicate texture. Hence, they cannot tolerate any kind of vigorous cooking process. For many of us, dealing with rice noodles can be a bit tricky in the first attempt.
The best way to soften the rice noodles to make pad thai is to soak in boiling water for 5 – 10 minutes. The soaking time depends on the quality of the noodles. Also, while soaking the noodles just make sure to cover the pan with a lid.
Many times, instructions on the pack of rice noodles says, ‘soak in cold water’. Sorry! But that never ever worked for me. And please don’t even try to expedite the softening process by adding rice noodles to a pot of boiling water like pasta. It will be a total disaster!
Everything about this chicken pad thai screams deliciousness. Though it takes me 30 minutes to get it on the table it’s gone in less than 15 minutes. We all need such quick and comforting recipes in our life. This pad noodles recipe is also easily customizable as well:
√ for vegetarian pad thai – skip chicken and fish sauce
√ for vegan pad thai – add tofu instead of chicken and skip the fish sauce
√ for seafood pad thai – add plenty of shellfish (prawns, squids, shrimps)
Also, I’m not picky about the veggies you use, add whatever you’ve got – bok choy, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, carrot, seaweed. Anything you love, just dump it in the wok and combine with the sauce and noodles.
A hearty bowl of pad thai noodle is ready for you to devour. It has noodles, veggies, meat, and lots of peanuts, what not to love about it.
If you love Asian flavors, then try these recipes:
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Chicken Pad Thai Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 gram dry pad Thai noodles/sticks
- 100 gram boneless chicken, cut into thin strips
- 1 red bell pepper cut into thin strips
- 1 yellow pepper cut into thin strips
- 1 medium-size onion thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves fine chopped
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
Ingredients For Pad Thai Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon tamarind pulp/paste
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon red chilli sauce
Ingredients For Garnishing Pad Thai:
- 2 tablespoon roasted and crushed peanuts
- Juice of one whole lemon
- 1 tablespoon chopped spring onion greens
- 1 tablespoon mung (moong) bean sprouts
Instructions
How To Prepare Rice Noodles:
- Place rice noodles in a large flat bowl. Pour boiling water over the noodles. Cover the bowl with a lid. After 5 minutes, open the lid and gently soak the noodles in water and cover the bowl once again. Open the lid exactly after 5 minutes.
- Transfer the softened noodles into a colander. Drain all the liquid. Quickly rinse with cold/running water.
How To Make Pad Thai Sauce:
- Combine all the ingredients for sauce in a bowl. Whisk nicely until well combined. Taste and adjust the amount of sugar/red chilli sauce as per your preference. Set aside.
How To Make Chicken Pad Thai:
- Toss chicken strips in 2 tablespoons of pad thai sauce and mix nicely. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a wok or stir-fry pan. Add chopped garlic. Stir-fry for a minute.
- Add sliced onion and fry them for a minute or so. Keep the gas flame from medium-high.
- Next, add the marinated chicken strips. And stir-fry till the chicken is tender and cooked. This does not take more than 5 – 10 minutes.
- Add remaining vegetable and stir-fry for another 2 – 3 minutes. Add rice noodles, remaining pad thai sauce, half of the roasted peanuts and gently combine the ingredients.
How To Serve Chicken Pad Thai:
- Transfer chicken pad thai to a serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining roasted peanuts, spring onion greens, mung bean sprouts and lemon juice.
- Serve Chicken Pad Thai warm immediately.
Recipe Notes:
- Do not leave the rice stocks/noodles in the warm water for a very long time. Approximately 10 – 15 minutes is the good enough time or keep on checking them for doneness.
- Do not toss the noodles vigorously else they will break apart.
- For a more intense flavour, chicken can be marinated 1 – 2 hour before and kept in the fridge.
- Chicken Pad Thai is best enjoyed fresh and warm. It may not taste the same after a few hours.
- Always, taste the pad thai sauce and add more sugar/sauces/salt accordingly.
2 comments
Thanks for this simple recipe 🙂
Yum..yum Am Joining 🙂