Easy Chicken Pad Thai

A few months ago for date night my husband and I went out to a local Thai restaurant.  We totally loved it!! Well I knew my husband already did, but I was smitten.  It was fresh and delicious and so flavorful. I ordered one of their most popular dishes, Thai Basil Chicken, and my husband ordered his standby at any Thai restaurant, Pad Thai.   All so yummy!

Since discovering that I love Thai food, my husband has been begging me to make it at home.  I've made this dish a few times and have improved upon it along the way.  I love adding the fresh herbs and veggies and all those brilliant colors! It definitely makes it taste better!

Make this Pad Thai at home and you won't be missing your usual take out.

Easy Chicken Pad Thai
serves 4-6
for the sauce:
1/4 cup tamarind paste
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. hot chili sauce 

for the noodles:
6 oz. rice noodles
*2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 cups fresh bean sprouts
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 eggs
1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
1 cup carrots, julienned
1 cup red pepper, julienned

for the garnishes:
peanuts, roughly chopped
fresh basil, chopped
fresh mint, chopped
fresh cilantro, chopped
fresh lime wedges

To make the sauce, whisk all sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.  Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook rice noodles 2 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Made sure everything is chopped and ready to go.  Once the cooking gets going, it goes pretty fast.

The key to making this work well is to only cook 1-2 servings at a time.  Heat 1-2 tablespoons light olive oil (or vegetable oil) in a wok or frying pan over high heat. Add about 1/3 of the chicken and stir-fry until half cooked. Add 1-2 tablespoons of sauce and one garlic clove, minced. Stri-fry about 30 seconds.  Add about 2 ounces of noodles  (a large handful), and 1/4 cup sauce to the pan and stir until the noodles soften and are well-coated.  Add a little water if it starts drying up. Push noodles to the side and crack an egg in the pan.  Let it cook about 10 seconds then toss it around in the noodles to finish cooking.  Add 1/2 cup of bean sprouts to the pan along with a couple tablespoons of chopped peanuts. Stir-fry another minute then remove from heat and slide out onto a serving plate.  Top with veggies and garnishes.  Serve warm.

Repeat two more times with the rest of the ingredients.  For the pan I used, I found it helpful to deglaze the pan in between batches.  Simply add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and bring it to a boil.  Scrape anything off the inside of the pan then pour it out and wipe it off. 

*Feel free to add one more chicken breast if you're feeding more people or like more meat.  I tend to load up on the veggies and use less meat.


SOURCE: Adapted from Use Real Butter