Chicken Pad Thai

Name: Chicken Pad Thai
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 3 tbsp Tamarind paste prepared concentrate; adjust if very strong; 3 tbsp Fish sauce; 3 tbsp Palm or coconut sugar finely chopped; 2 tbsp Water; 8 oz Flat rice noodles Pad Thai width; 12 oz Boneless chicken thighs thinly sliced; 2 Eggs lightly beaten; 4 oz Firm tofu small cubes, optional; 3 cloves Garlic minced; 2 cups Bean sprouts divided; 1 cup Garlic chives or scallion greens cut into 2-inch pieces; 1/2 cup Roasted peanuts coarsely chopped; 3 tbsp Neutral oil; 1 Lime cut into wedges; Crushed dried chili to taste

ผัดไทยไก่ — Pad Thai Gai

Weeknight-friendly Pad Thai with juicy chicken, chewy rice noodles, tamarind, peanuts and lime.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 15 min
Serves: 4
Heat: mild

Chicken Pad Thai is the version to make when you want the familiar sweet-sour-salty balance of Pad Thai without juggling shrimp, dried shrimp and three different proteins at once.

This one keeps the technique that matters — properly softened rice noodles, a tamarind-forward sauce, high heat and a quick finish — but makes chicken thigh the star because it stays juicier in a hot wok than breast meat.

EAT IT LIKE A LOCAL

Ingredients

3 tbsp Tamarind paste (prepared concentrate; adjust if very strong)
3 tbsp Fish sauce
3 tbsp Palm or coconut sugar (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Water
8 oz Flat rice noodles (Pad Thai width)
12 oz Boneless chicken thighs (thinly sliced)
2 Eggs (lightly beaten)
4 oz Firm tofu (small cubes, optional)
3 cloves Garlic (minced)
2 cups Bean sprouts (divided)
1 cup Garlic chives or scallion greens (cut into 2-inch pieces)
1/2 cup Roasted peanuts (coarsely chopped)
3 tbsp Neutral oil
1 Lime (cut into wedges)
Crushed dried chili (to taste)

Directions

Soak the rice noodles according to package directions until flexible but still noticeably chewy. Drain well. They finish cooking in the wok, so soft noodles now mean mush later.
Warm tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar and water just until the sugar dissolves. Taste it. You want obvious sourness, salt and sweetness — none of them should be running the whole show.
Heat a large wok over medium-high to high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and stir-fry the chicken until just cooked through. Remove to a plate so it doesn't dry out while everything else catches up.
Add another tablespoon oil. Fry the garlic and tofu briefly, push them aside, then pour in the eggs. Let the egg set into soft pieces before breaking it up. We want pieces of egg, not yellow wallpaper on every noodle.
Add the drained noodles and sauce. Toss and lift rather than aggressively stirring. Cook until the noodles absorb most of the liquid and turn tender but still pleasantly chewy. Add a splash of water if they need more time.
Return the chicken to the wok and toss until hot. Add half the bean sprouts and the chives, cooking only 30 to 60 seconds so they keep some crunch.
Fold in half the peanuts, turn off the heat and taste. Adjust with a tiny splash of fish sauce or tamarind only if the balance genuinely needs it. This is not the moment to panic-season.
Divide among four plates. Add remaining bean sprouts and peanuts, lime wedges and dried chili on the side so everyone can tune the plate themselves.

Notes

Use chicken thigh and cook it separately first. It buys you enough margin that the chicken stays juicy while you focus on getting the noodles right.

Substitutions

Chicken breast works but dries faster. Scallion greens can replace garlic chives. Brown sugar can rescue you if palm sugar is unavailable, though palm or coconut sugar gives a rounder sweetness.