Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles is what you make when you have less than 15 minutes to have dinner at the table and you want some Thai food. Using ground chicken means no meat preparation is required, literally any ground meat (beef, turkey, pork) can be used.
Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles
First let me be frank that this is by no means authentic Thai food. As such, we do not even classify it as part of our Thai recipe collection.
A one-pan dinner packed with Thai flavors, minimal prep, and absolutely delicious.
Special flavor of Thai peanut sauce. All Thai chicken satay fans out there will love it!
What you need for Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles
- Noodle cake (instant noodles) – Use any instant or ramen noodles you can get your hands on. We’re discarding the seasoning packet and making our own sauce. Using instant noodle cakes is ideal because the crinkly nature of the noodles captures the chicken mince bits. Also, it’s indestructible ;
- Thai red curry paste – Our flavour shortcut. There is a time and place for homemade red curry paste. But tonight is not it! (PS. Regular readers who know I’m a bit snobby about my favourite red curry paste brand: Maesri. For this dish, I’m a little more relaxed because … well, you know. Quick ‘n easy midweek meal and all. Anything will do.
- Chicken mince (ground chicken) – Pork and turkey make perfect substitutes, though actually beef works really well too. I’m not convinced about lamb, but then again, Lamb Satay is darned delicious!
- Curry powder – While you might think this looks out of place, curry powder is an ingredient in Thai Chicken Satay. So adding a touch here adds more authentic flavour into this totally non-authentic dish . Plus, it’s a good way to get flavour into chicken mince;
- Peanut butter – It’s not peanut sauce without peanut butter! Commercial spread is fine here, though you do get more intense peanut flavour using natural peanut butter (ie. no salt, sugar or oil added);
- Soy sauce – For a touch of extra salt in the dish. I like to use dark soy sauce because it stains the white chicken mince, giving it a nice colour. But light, all-purpose soy sauce, tamari or even mushroom soy will work just fine. Just no sweet soy;
- Vinegar – For an essential touch of sour for balance (yes, it’s used in real Thai Peanut Sauce too). I use cider vinegar here although normal white vinegar will work fine too;
- Coconut milk and chicken broth/stock – Together, these make the sauce for these noodles. Full fat for coconut milk please. If you opt for low fat, do not complain if you are disappointed with the sauce flavour!
- Baby spinach – Takes mere seconds to wilt, and an easy way to up the veg quot. No chopping required, just throw into this dish.
Here’s a picture of what I consider to be the best red curry paste ever.It’s also the cheapest at about $1.50 per can compared to $3+ for other brands. I use it in all my authentic Thai recipes in place of my homemade red curry paste.
However, don’t worry too much about cornering Maesri, as this is, as mentioned, a quick and easy weekday dinner.
How to make Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles – in 12 minutes!
Looking at the ingredients above (or how delicious the dish looks), you might think, “This takes less than 12 minutes!!” It’s just that you have a great workflow that allows you to measure and cook ingredients.
Oh yes, the pasta is cooked in the same pan as the chicken. No preparation required!
- Garlic first, then cook the chicken, breaking it up as you go;
- Red curry paste and soy sauce next, sautéed with the chicken to give it good flavour and colour;
- Chicken stock/broth next, simmered for a bit to take the raw flavour out of it;
- Then squish the noodle cakes in, submerging them as best you can;
- Cook noodle cake 45 seconds on one side, flip, cook another 30 seconds, then break them up;
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients: coconut milk, peanut butter and vinegar. Then give it all a good toss;
- Finally add the baby spinach right at the end. It won’t take much longer than 30 seconds or so to wilt; and
- Serve it up! NB. You can either garnish with peanuts and fresh coriander/cilantro before or after serving. I’ve been known to do both. Also, a good squirt of Sriracha chilli sauce won’t go astray!
It is an easy-to-eat dish that does not require the hassle of adding side dishes and vegetables. Baby spinach doesn’t fall apart, so eat plenty of it.
