Say good-bye to takeout when you can make it better, more flavourful, and faster at home. Cook restaurant-style, chicken Pad Thai at home in just 10 minutes! It's sweet, savoury, sour, spicy and nutty, and will stimulate all of your senses.
What is Pad Thai?
Pad Thai is a popular Thai stir-fry noodle dish. It is a one pot dish made with rice noodles, eggs, tofu, garlicky chicken or shrimp, fresh chopped chives and tossed in a Thai sauce with peanuts and bean sprouts. It is the ultimate summer comfort food.
Ingredients in Chicken Pad Thai
To make this flavourful noodle stir-fry dish, here is what you will need:
- Pad Thai sauce - traditional Pad Thai sauce is made with tamarind sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Tamarind sauce is hard to find, so we mimic it using a combination of lime juice, soy sauce, and sriracha.
- noodles - dry rice stick noodles or vermicelli noodles.
- oil - for stir-frying the dish.
- chicken - one boneless, skinless chicken thigh, diced into small pieces. You can also substitute with ½ to 1 cup shredded chicken. Once you add it, immediately add the noodles and continue with the recipe as written. You do not have to spend extra time cooking the chicken as it is is already cooked.
- garlic - lots of garlic
- eggs
- firm tofu - must be firm tofu, or else it will disintegrate into the dish.
- chives - cut into 2-inch long pieces
- bean sprouts
- peanuts - chopped
How to Make Chicken Pad Thai
- Prepare the sauce: Combine lime juice, fish sauce, sriracha, soy sauce and brown sugar in a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Prepare the noodles: Soak the dry noodles in water for 10 minutes until soft.
- Stir-fry the ingredients. Preheat oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add chicken and garlic and cook. Then, add noodles, and cook. Add the eggs and cook until they have thickened and then mix into the noodles. Add in prepared sauce and continue to stir. Turn heat down and add tofu, chives and bean sprouts.
- Serve. Sprinkle in chopped peanuts and serve immediately.
Tips for Making the Best Noodle Stir Fry
- Prep your ingredients. Have all your ingredients prepped and ready before you begin. Cooking Pad Thai is a very fast process and by having your ingredients prepped and within hands reach, this will ensure that everything goes smoothly.
- Continuously stir. You will need to continuously stir throughout the cooking process to ensure even distribution of heat and even cooking. I use 2 spatulas to mix everything evenly and quickly.
- Do not overcook the noodles. Cook the Pad Thai until the sauce dries. The noodles should still be firm and not mushy. Fully-cooked noodles will change colour from transparent to white. If you are new to stir-frying noodles, I would recommend turning down the heat while cooking, as things move fast.
- Serve hot. Pad Thai is best served immediately. Once the noodles turn cold, they will start to lose their texture and flavour. I also like to serve these noodles with a side of bean sprouts and lime wedges.
More Quick and Easy Better than Takeout Meals
Looking for more quick and easy, better than takeout meals? Check out my favourites below, or browse all of my better than takeout meals.
- 10-Minute Vegetarian Fried Rice
- Spicy Dan Dan Noodles
- Chicken and Cilantro Potstickers
- 10-Minute Wonton Soup
- Healthy Miso Ramen
- Tiger Prawns in Garlic Ginger Soy Sauce
Did you make this recipe? I would greatly appreciate a comment and rating below, letting me know what you thought of the recipe. You can also snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @aheadofthyme or share it on the Pinterest pin so that I can follow along.
Don't forget to sign up for my email newsletter so that you don't miss any recipes. You can also follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok, and Facebook for more recipe updates.
Recipe
Chicken Pad Thai
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 servings
Description
No more takeout when you can make flavourful, restaurant-style, authentic chicken Pad Thai at home in just 10 minutes. It's sweet, savoury, sour and nutty.
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 lime)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Pad Thai:
- 200 grams dry rice stick noodles (large size) or vermicelli noodles (about 8 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken thigh, diced into small pieces
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup firm tofu, diced
- 1 cup chives, cut into 2-inch long pieces
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- ¼ cup peanuts, chopped
Instructions
- Combine fish sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, sriracha, and brown sugar in a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Soak the dry noodles in water for 10 minutes until soft.
- Preheat oil in a large pan over medium high heat (about 2 minutes). Add chicken and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add noodles into the pan and stir continuously for 1 minute.
- Shift the noodles to one side to make some space in a pan to crack the eggs. Add the eggs and cook until they have thickened and there are no visible liquid parts remaining. Stir into the noodles and continuously mix the ingredients together for one minute.
- Add in prepared sauce and continue to stir to combine together. Turn heat down to low and add in tofu, chives and bean sprouts. Continuously stir for another minute.
- Sprinkle in chopped peanuts and serve immediately.
Notes
How to cook with rotisserie chicken: You can also substitute with ½ to 1 cup shredded chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken. Once you add it, immediately add the noodles and continue with the recipe as written. You do not have to spend extra time cooking the chicken as it is is already cooked.
Prep your ingredients. Have all your ingredients prepped and ready before you begin. Cooking Pad Thai is a very fast process and by having your ingredients prepped and within hands reach, this will ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Continuously stir. You will need to continuously stir throughout the cooking process to ensure even distribution of heat and even cooking. I use 2 spatulas to mix everything evenly and quickly.
Do not overcook the noodles. Cook the Pad Thai until the sauce dries. The noodles should still be firm and not mushy. Fully-cooked noodles will change colour from transparent to white. If you are new to stir-frying noodles, I would recommend turning down the heat while cooking, as things move fast.
Serve hot. Pad Thai is best served immediately. Once the noodles turn cold, they will start to lose their texture and flavour. I also like to serve these noodles with a side of bean sprouts and lime wedges.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Noodles
- Method: Stir-fry
- Cuisine: Thai
Tara says
Tried this for supper tonight. So easy, so quick and soooo tasty.
Erin says
This pad thai recipe could not be easier to make! I whip it up and then I have enough for a few days of lunches.
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Right? It's such a quick and easy meal to make, and great to have for lunch the next day!
toby says
love your site! so many recipes I want to make! thank you for sharing! stay awesome!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much Toby!
Marcel Corbeanu says
I never had Thai food before and I want to tell you that this recipe looks great. Love it!
I bet it tastes and smells amazing too 🙂
Sam | Ahead of Thyme says
Wow you really need to try it! It's such a unique and delicious flavour! 🙂