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I feel like I have been on a Thai food flavors kick lately along with Greek flavors (just wait for the upcoming recipes). One of the most beloved dishes in the world of Thai food is pad Thai and I knew it must be made.
I first discovered the deliciousness that is good Thai food, when I was in college. One of my favorite dishes to get was pad Thai. What’s not to love? Tender noodles are coated in an exotic sweet, tangy, salty sauce and piled high with veggies and tender chicken or shrimp, then topped with crunchy salty peanuts.
Oh, what glorious a time that was when I would eat at this little Thai restaurant every time I visited my hometown in Wisconsin. We would eat there so much that they immediately knew that my mom and I wanted Thai iced tea the moment we walked in the door. Every single dish on the menu was amazing. And trust me, we tried every single dish. Even the red bean ice cream!!! It may sound weird but it’s seriously so good!
I fell hard and fast for good Thai food. Sadly that restaurant closed soon after I graduated from college. Since then I have been on the hunt for a Thai restaurant that compares and nothing really has. Even though my current favorite Asian restaurants have many good dishes that I enjoy it’s still not quite as good as that little restaurant where they didn’t even have to ask if we wanted Thai iced tea. Maybe that was part of the reason it was so good.
Anyways, they made an amazing chicken pad Thai at that lovely little restaurant and I haven’t found a pad Thai at another restaurant as good. Some places I have ordered it don’t even seem like pad Thai at all.
Of course I had no idea how to make chicken pad Thai at home. With the power of google I now have the knowledge and ingredients I need to make a good chicken Pad Thai!!!
First off: tamarind. That exotic flavor you get from a good pad Thai has tamarind concentrate in the sauce. Tamarind is a plant that is grown in tropical regions, the pulp is used for many dishes. We can’t get fresh tamarind here in the Midwest.
BUT they do make a tamarind concentrate, which is just tamarind extract made into syrupy sauce. And THANK YOU Amazon Prime for supplying me with said tamarind concentrate so that I can make my Pad Thai!!!
Some less authentic Thai restaurants or recipes will call for ketchup or tomato paste as a work around to the tamarind concentrate, but it is seriously lacking that one-of-a-kind exotic tangy, sweet taste that we know to be Pad Thai.
With that being said, yes you do need some tamarind concentrate to make my chicken pad Thai recipe. I try to stay away from ingredients you can’t easily find in a well stocked main stream grocery store…but sometimes we need to go on a taste bud adventure.
Who’s with me?!
Where to find tamarind concentrate?
You may be able to find it at a local Asian grocery store.
Or you can buy it on Amazon. Here is the brand I used (affiliate link) and had success with. I can’t vouch for the quality of other brands, but the main thing is to make sure the only ingredient it has is tamarind extract.
Okay, now that we have the tamarind concentrate squared away let’s discuss what else goes into pad Thai. Don’t worry the remaining ingredients are pretty main stream and easy to find anywhere.
The sauce is simple:
- tamarind concentrate, of course
- soy sauce (gluten free – or use coconut aminos)
- fish sauce
- maple syrup
- coconut sugar
- lime juice
- red chili flakes (if you want)
The other essential ingredients for pad Thai are:
- veggies: I used onions, broccoli, shredded carrots, and shredded cabbage – you can use any kid you like
- scrambled eggs
- Thai rice noodles – a must for pad Thai
- Protein: I used chicken, but shrimp is a popular option too
Toppings:
- crushed peanuts (a classic)
- cilantro leaves
- green onions
- lime wedges
See? We’ve got this!
The best news is that because this is a stir fry dish it comes together pretty quickly, 35 minutes and you’re done!!!
I am pretty proud of this chicken pad Thai recipe. It tastes closest to what I have enjoyed when I have been served a good Pad Thai at a restaurant.
Is it truly authentic? Who knows, but I can feel good about making the sauce as best as I can here in Iowa. Either way, it’s really super delicious and I hope you give it a try. I know you’ll love it!!!
And if you do give this chicken pad Thai a try be sure to comment and rate the recipe below. This really helps my recipes be found by more people in google, and we all know that would be a good thing! 🙂
35 Minute Chicken Pad Thai
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 5 to 6 1x
- Category: entree, chicken, one pan, 30 minutes
- Cuisine: gluten free, dairy free
Description
Chicken Pad Thai is a delicious Thai noodle dish with an exotic tangy, sweet, salty flavor. It is packed with protein, veggies, and healthy carbs. Only takes 35 minutes to make!
Ingredients
- Sauce
- 3 tablespoons tamarind concentrate (See notes)
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce (or sub gluten free tamari or coconut aminos)
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- Juice of 1 lime
- Optional: 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Pad Thai ingredients
- salt and pepper
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage – purple or green (I buy pre-shredded at the store)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots (I buy pre-shredded at the store)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 7 ounces Thai rice stir fry noodles
- Optional Toppings
- crushed peanuts
- lime wedges
- lots of cilantro
- sliced green onions
Instructions
- Make the sauce: In a small mixing bowl whisk all of the sauce ingredients together, set aside.
- Prepare remaining ingredients: After making the sauce prepare all of the ingredients as instructed above and place them in separate bowls. A stir fry cooks fast so it’s always a good idea to have everything ready to go. At this time also heat your water up for your rice noodles (following the package directions).
- Cook the chicken: Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, heat the coconut oil. Add the cut up chicken and sprinkle with a good amount of salt and pepper. Cook 6 to 8 minutes on one side, flip and cook another 3 minutes on the other side. Remove chicken from the pan to a dish and set aside.
- Cook the onions : To the still hot pan add a little more oil, if needed and add your onions, saute for about 3 minutes, or until the onions are tender. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the broccoli and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Cook the eggs: Turn the heat down to low and push the veggies to one side. Add a little more coconut oil to the bare side of the pan. Add the eggs and use a spatula to gently scramble them, once they are cooked mix the eggs with the veggies.
- Finish: Add the sauce and cooked and drained rice noodles – turn the heat back up to medium high and allow the sauce to come to a simmer, mixing everything together. Allow the sauce to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes and then add the shredded carrots and cabbage, stir to combine and remove from the heat.
- Serve: Transfer the pad Thai to individual serving bowls and top with your favorite toppings: crushed peanuts, cilantro leaves, green onion, and a lime wedge – serve immediately.
Notes
Tamarind concentrate: Tamarind concentrate is essential to achieving an authentic taste for pad Thai (some restaurants use ketchup, which has a very different flavor). You may be able to find it at your local Asian grocery store. The only ingredients should be tamarind extract. Here is the brand I used, which I from Amazon. (affiliate link)
Shrimp: Shrimp would also be a great option for this recipe in place of the chicken. Just saute it in the pan for 5 minutes, or until it turns opaque and pink.
Usually pad Thai has bean sprouts, I couldn’t find any at the time that I made this recipe but feel free to add them at the same time you add the cabbage and shredded carrots.
Recipe for the sauce is adapted from Gimme Some Oven
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