Easy Chicken Pad Thai
The easiest chicken pad thai you'll ever make! Not only is it better than take-out or your favorite restaurants version of it, it's also quick and easy and takes just 30 minutes! Simple enough to accomplish on a weeknight!
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
chicken:
- 1 lb. chicken thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
sauce:
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon sambal oelek
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon oil
stir-fry:
- 12 ounces flat rice noodles
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bunch scallions sliced (light greens and darks separated)
- 1 cup carrots
- 3 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water made into a slurry
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/3 cup roasted peanuts chopped (see note)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the sliced chicken, cornstarch and tamari, stir to coat; set aside.
- In a 2 cup measuring cup or larger, combine the fish sauce, tamarind paste, water, tamari, lime juice, chicken broth, sambal oelek, brown sugar, and tablespoon of oil, whisk until the brown sugar dissolves completely; set aside.
- Cook the noodles according to package directions. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Heat a large wok over medium high heat. Add in 1 tablespoon of oil, along with the garlic let cook for 30 seconds, then add the chicken and allow for the chicken to cook through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the light green portion of the scallions along with the carrots and let sauté for 30 seconds before adding in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and the beaten eggs. Scramble the eggs in the pan until they cook, about 1 minute, then add the chicken, noodles, bean sprouts, and the sauce. Pour the slurry into the pan toss the pad thai using wooden spoons so that everything mixes together, let sauce thicken 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately topped with dark greens of scallions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and lots of lime wedges.
Notes
- If you absolutely cannot find tamarind paste, you can replace it with equal amounts of rice vinegar.
- 1 teaspoon of sambal oelek makes this pad thai mild, feel free to increase the amount of sambal oelek to make it spicier.
- I just threw the peanuts into a food processor and gave it a few pulses instead of chopping.
- Chicken can be replaced with shrimp or tofu too if you'd like.
