Make restaurant quality chicken Pad Thai with peanut sauce in under 30 minutes with this easy recipe that uses only fresh ingredients.
Pad Thai at Home
For so many years the thought of making Thai food at home was truly intimidating. My fear of ingredients I wasn’t familiar with and a process that seemed complicated always stopped me in my tracks.
It was a proud moment when I finally sat down after making Pad Thai for the first time and realizing that not only was it possible, but it was so quick and easy that I could make this any night of the week.
What is Pad Thai
Pad Thai is a common street food in Thailand that has become one of the more popular menu items at your local Thai restaurants. It can be customized with a variety of proteins including shrimp, chicken or tofu. Served with rice noodles, peanuts, scrambled eggs and bean sprouts, all brought together with a delicious flavorful peanut sauce.
Traditional Ingredients in Pad Thai
Pad Thai traditionally includes fish sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce and tamarind paste or concentrate. Tamarind can be a difficult item to find at your local market. If you are unable to find it you can easily substitute 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar in place of the tamarind in this recipe.
Find your Level of Heat
This is a perfect recipe to make your own depending upon your preferences. If you like more heat, add a little more Sriracha sauce. If you want a more peanut forward flavor add a little more peanut butter. Some Pad Thais have a heavy fish flavor from the fish sauce. That is something I do not care for, so in my recipe I used a little less. But again, make this your own. The possibilities are endless.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of flat rice noodles
- 1 ½ tbsp oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ small onion sliced thin
- 8 ounces chicken cut into small squares
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
- 3 green onions sliced in half lengthwise and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 cup dry roasted peanuts smashed slightly
- 1 limes quartered
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
Pad Thai Sauce
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 4 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp tamarind chutney see note
- 1 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
- 3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Prepare the noodles according to the package instructions, rinse under cold water and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix all of the ingredients together for the Pad Thai sauce and set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add your onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add your chicken to the garlic and onion mixture and continue to cook over medium-high heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.
- Pushing everything in your pan to one side, add ½ tbsp more of the oil along with the beaten eggs. Scramble the eggs, breaking them into small pieces.
- Then to your pan add the noodles, sauce, bean sprouts, green onions and ½ cup of your smashed dry roasted peanuts. Carefully toss to combine.
- Serve immediately garnished with the cilantro, remaining peanuts and lime wedges.