A very simple chicken pad Thai with spring vegetables that can be easily whipped up in 20 minutes. This recipe is a delicious rice noodle stir-fry that has chunks of tender chicken, crispy asparagus and sugar snap peas. The sauce packs a punch with its classic sweet and sour Thai flavours. Easy and quick to make, this recipe will please anyone who likes southeast Asian food.
It’s finally springtime in Australia and the weather in Canberra is around 20C. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a love hate relationship with this season. Canberra being such a green city, produces so much pollen whenever there is a bit of wind about. And on any day I forget to take my antihistamines… I puff up like the marshmallow man.
Also, dropping Maddy off at day care today, I saw a magpies swooping innocent cyclists and pedestrians. I have said it before and I will say it again… I hate those little bastards. Every springtime, these birds turn into little devils who are just hungry for action. To this day, I still have nightmares of being attacked in my childhood by a whole mob of these pests as I walk home from school.
On the flipside, Spring brings a whole bunch of new vegetables to be enjoyed. Asparagus and sugar snaps are some of our favourites and today we have included them in our recipe.
This chicken pad Thai recipe is not a traditional version. It is an adaptation using seasonal produce. The taste however, is very similar since I have kept the sauce the same. We hope you guys will give it a go and enjoy as much as we have!
My Tips for Success
- It is very important to prep your ingredients before you start cooking.
- After soaking your rice noodles, make sure to rinse them in cold water to stop them from sticking together.
- Roasted peanuts are a must. Please do no skimp!
- I recommend using “Chang’s Pad Thai Noodles” which can be bought from Coles and Woolworths. These noodles are quite resilient and are less prone to breaking up.
Recipe Costing (Australia)
This table shows how much this recipe will cost if you had to go out and buy everything on the ingredients list (“Shop Price”), as well as the value of ingredients actually used in the recipe (“Recipe Cost”).
We haven’t included optional ingredients or small quantities of salt, pepper or sugar as the cost would be negligible. All prices are in Australian dollars and are based off what was published on Coles Online or Woolworths Online as at time of writing.
2 servings
| Ingredient | Quantity Bought | Shop Price | Recipe Needs | Recipe Cost |
| Rice Noodles | 250 gm pack | $1.60 | 125 gm | $0.80 |
| Chicken Thigh | 2 | $4.40 | 2 | $4.40 |
| Brown Onion | 1 | $0.44 | 1/2 | $0.22 |
| Garlic | 1 bulb at $25/kg | $1.50 | 2 cloves | $0.30 |
| Firm Tofu | 500 gm pack | $5.00 | 150 gm | $1.50 |
| Roasted Peanuts (with shell) | 500 gm pack | $4.50 | 30 gm (without shell) | $0.36 |
| Asparagus | 1 bunch | $3.90 | 1/2 bunch | $1.95 |
| Sugar Snap Peas | 150 gm pack | $3.50 | 30 gm | $0.70 |
| Fish Sauce | 300 ml bottle | $2.00 | 2 tbsp | $0.10 |
| Oyster sauce | 320 ml bottle | $2.50 | 1 tbsp (15 ml) | $0.12 |
| Tamarind Paste | 220 gm bottle | $5.35 | 1 tbsp | $1.07 |
| Brown sugar | 1 kg pack | $2.80 | 3 tbsp | $0.13 |
| Total | $37.49 | $11.60 |
You’ll Also Love…
- Chicken and Prawn Pad Thai
- Creamy Thai Green Chicken Curry
- Pad Prik Khing (Thai Dry Red Chicken Curry)
- Easy Chicken and Hokkien Noodle Stir Fry
- Chicken and Rice Noodle Stir Fry
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Scruff
Chicken Pad Thai with Spring Vegetables
Ingredients
- 125 gm dried pad Thai rice noodles (flat rice noodles or banh pho noodles will work)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 small brown onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 150 gm firm tofu, cut into small batons
- 4 asparagus stalks, cut into 3 cm segments then sliced in half
- 8 sugar snap peas (or snow peas)
- 30 gm unsalted roasted peanuts, crushed
- 5 coriander stalks, roughly chopped (optional)
- 1/2 lime cut into wedges
Sauce
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste / puree
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Prepare your rice noodles as per the packaging.
- Prep all your ingredients and make the sauce by combining ingredients in a bowl.
- In a fry pan or wok on high heat, add the oil and wait till it starts smoking. Add the chicken and cook for roughly 1 minute.
- Add the onions and garlic. Cook and stir for 1 minute.
- Add the tofu and cover everything with 3 tbsp of the sauce. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the noodles, half of the crushed peanuts and then pour another 3 tbsp of the sauce over the top. With your tongs, gently combine until the sauce has coated everything.
- Taste check. Add more sauce if the flavour is not strong enough.
- Serve with coriander, more crushed peanuts and a wedge of lime.