Sweet and spicy sauce makes these Chicken Pad Thai noodles my favourite! Ready in 30 minutes, they are perfect for family dinners.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Jump to:
If you’ve never tried a chicken pad thai recipe, you should try this one, you’ll love it.
Pad Thai, or phad thai, is a stir-fried rice noodle dish from Thailand. It is made with flat rice noodles, vegetables, chicken, seafood, egg, peanuts, mung bean sprouts, and loads of fresh herbs. All tossed together on a wok to make a delicious bowl of stir-fried noodles.
In recent years, Thai Cuisine has become quite popular among food lovers. It is a delectable combination of delicious aroma, brilliant colours, fresh herbs, local spices and a lot of coconut milk.
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)
The Rice Noodles
Unlike other noodles, pad thai noodles must be handled with care. They are flat rice noodles with a flavourless, delicate texture. Hence, they cannot tolerate vigorous cooking processes.
- The best way to soften the rice noodles for making pad thai is to soak them in hot water for 10 minutes. The soaking time depends on the quality of the noodles. Also, while soaking the noodles, cover the bowl with a lid.
- Many times, instructions on the pack of rice noodles say, ‘soak in cold water‘. Sorry! But that never worked for me.
Other Ingredients Required
- Chicken: Use boneless, skinless, bite-sized chicken pieces.
- Bok Choi, Red Bell Pepper or vegetables of choice
- Egg
- Sesame Oil or groundnut oil
- Shallots or thinly sliced red onion
- Garlic
- Brown Sugar or jaggery powder
- Salt & White Pepper
- Mung Beans Sprouts
- Crushed Peanuts
- Chives, Spring Onion or cilantro
Homemade Pad Thai Sauce
The secret of any delicious chicken pad thai is the – delectable sauce. It is – sweet, spicy, and sour with a perfect balance of flavours. No readymade bottled sauce can deliver all those flavours in one dish. That is the reason I stick to my homemade pad thai sauce mix.
The sourness of tamarind paste is balanced by the oyster sauce’s sweetness and the red chilli sauce’s heat. The best is you can store it in the fridge for a week.
To make Pad Thai Sauce, you need:
- Tamarind Paste/Concentrate
- Red Chilli Paste or sauce
- Light Soy Sauce
- Oyster Sauce
- Fish Sauce
- Rice Vinegar or Chinese vinegar
How To Make Chicken Pad Thai
Prep Work:
- Place rice noodles in a large flat bowl. Pour hot water over the noodles. Cover the bowl with a lid. After 5 minutes, open the lid, gently stir the noodles in hot water, and cover the bowl again. Open the lid exactly after 5 minutes.
- Transfer the softened noodles into a colander. Drain all the liquid. Gently rinse with cold/running water. Set them aside.
- Mix tamarind paste, red chilli paste, oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and fish sauce in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Pad Thai sauce is ready!
- Marinate chicken pieces with two tablespoons of pad Thai sauce mix. Set them aside as well for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Whisk an egg in a bowl. Keep it next to the cooking station.
Cook Pad Thai
Step 1) Heat oil in a wok or stir-fry pan. Add chopped garlic and shallots. Stir-fry for 40 – 50 seconds (image 1).
Step 2) Add the marinated chicken, brown sugar, and salt. And stir-fry till the chicken is tender and pale white. This takes 2 to 3 minutes (image 2).
Step 3) Add vegetables and stir-fry for another 1 minute.
Step 4) Shift the chicken and vegetables to one side of the pan. Add whisked egg to the pan and scramble it (images 3 & 4).
Step 5) Add rice noodles, remaining pad thai sauce, mung bean sprouts, and half of the roasted peanuts Gently combine and stir fry the noodles over high heat without breaking them apart. Do not cook for too long.
Transfer chicken pad thai to a serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining roasted peanuts, chives, and lemon juice.
Serve Chicken Pad Thai warm with a bowl of smashed cucumber salad!
My Tried and True Tips
- Do not boil the rice noodles in water. They are only soaked to soften. Rice Noodles have a very delicate texture. Hence, it is best to handle them gently and not cook them too long.
- I’m not picky about the veggies in my Chicken Pad Thai; add whatever you’ve got – bok choy, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, carrot, and seaweed. Dump anything you love in the wok and combine it with the sauce and noodles.
- Tamarind is the key flavouring ingredient in Pad Thai. You can soak the tamarind pulp, strain it, and use the liquid to flavour the sauce. Or use the bottled tamarind puree/concentrate/extract sold in supermarkets.
More Thai Recipes for you
- Thai Red Curry
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Pineapple Fried Rice
- Thai Green Curry Soup
- Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
- Thai Pineapple Chicken Curry
- Peanut Butter Cucumber Salad
follow us on Youtube and Instagram for video recipes
Chicken Pad Thai Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 gram flat rice noodles sticks
- 4 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- ½ Cup sliced shallots thinly sliced
- 200 gram boneless chicken, cut into thin strips
- 1 eggs
- ½ Cup red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Ingredients For Pad Thai Sauce:
- 2 tablespoon tamarind pulp/paste
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon red chilli sauce
Ingredients For Garnishing
- 2 tablespoon roasted and crushed peanuts
- a few lemon wedges
- 2 tablespoon chopped spring onion greens
- 2 tablespoon mung (moong) bean sprouts
- ¼ Cup Thai basil leaves
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. Gently rinse with cold/running water.
How To Make Pad Thai Sauce:
- Combine all the ingredients for the pad thai sauce in a bowl. Whisk nicely until well combined. Set aside.
How To Make Chicken Pad Thai:
- Whisk an egg in a bowl. Keep it next to the cooking station.
- Marinate chicken in 2 tablespoons of pad thai sauce and mix nicely. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Heat oil in a wok or stir-fry pan. Add chopped garlic and shallots. Stir-fry for 40 – 50 seconds
- Add the marinated chicken, brown sugar, and salt. And stir-fry till the chicken is tender and pale white. This takes 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add vegetables and stir-fry for another 1 minute.
- Shift the chicken and vegetables to one side of the pan. Add whisked egg to the pan and scramble it.
- Add rice noodles, remaining pad thai sauce, mung bean sprouts, and half of the roasted peanuts Gently combine and stir fry the noodles over high heat without breaking them apart. Do not cook for too long.
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.
Recipe Notes:
- Do not leave the rice sticks/noodles in hot water for a long time. Approximately 10 – 15 minutes is a good enough time, or keep checking them for doneness.
- Do not toss the noodles vigorously, or else they will break apart.
- For a more intense flavour, chicken can be marinated overnight.
- 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.
- If you do not have flat rice noodles, use any other variety of flat noodles for the dish.
Kokila Gupta says
Thanks for this simple recipe 🙂
Kokila Gupta says
Yum..yum Am Joining 🙂