Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles is what you make when you’ve got less than 15 minutes to get dinner on the table and you need a Thai fix! Using chicken mince means no meat prep – and you can switch out with literally any ground meat (beef, turkey, pork).
Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles
Firstly, let me be very upfront that this is by no means an authentic Thai dish. Which is why I don’t even classify it as part of the Thai recipes collection. 😂
It’s just a really tasty one-skillet, minimal-prep dinner that’s full of Thai-inspired flavours.
Specifically, Thai Peanut Sauce flavours. All you Thai Chicken Satay fans out there will LOVE it!
What you need for Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles
Note the use of chicken mince and baby spinach here – no chopping involved! 🙌🏻
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 photo of what I think is the best Red Curry Paste, by a long shot. It also happens to be the cheapest, at around $1.50 or so a can compared to $3+ for other brands. I use it for all my authentic Thai recipes as the alternative to homemade Red Curry Paste.
Having said that, as I mentioned above, because this is a quick and easy midweek dinner, do not be too concerned about hunting down Maesri – any brand will do the job nicely.
How to make Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles – in 12 minutes!
One might look at the ingredients above (or how delicious the dish looks!) and think, “this can’t take 12 minutes!!“. The trick here is that the only thing you need to chop is the garlic (and toppings) and there’s a nice work flow so you can measure out the ingredients while you’re cooking.
Oh – and yes, the noodles are cooked in the same skillet the chicken is cooked in. No pre-cooking 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!
This is a dish that’s intended to be a quick meal so you don’t need to worry about adding a side dish or similar to get your greens in. You can be very generous with the baby spinach because it wilts down into nothing.
Also, this is saucier than other quick noodle cake / ramen-based quick meals I’ve shared previous (like this Asian Beef Mince one, Chicken and Vegetable one and Mushroom one). Because, well, you know. Thai Peanut Sauce? We can never have enough!! 😂 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Note: Error in video! Soy sauce is shown added in with the coconut milk. Soy sauce is should only be added with the chicken!
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12 Minute Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 200g/7oz chicken mince (ground chicken) (Note 1)
- 1 tsp curry powder (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tbsp red curry paste , separated (Note 3)
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 4)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium
- 3/4 cup coconut milk (~1/2 a can), full fat for best flavour
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 2 instant ramen or noodle cakes ~70-100g/2.5-3.5oz per cake; any brand (discard seasoning pack, Note 5)
- 2 (big!) handfuls baby spinach
To serve:
- 2 tbsp peanuts , finely chopped
- Roughly chopped fresh coriander/cilantro leaves
- Sriracha or other chilli paste , optional
Instructions
- Sauté garlic: Heat oil in a medium skillet over high heat (not too large, else the sauce will evaporate too quickly). Add garlic and cook for 20 seconds until it turns golden.
- Cook chicken: Add chicken mince and cook for 2 minutes, breaking it up as you go, until it mostly changes from pink to white.
- Add flavourings: Add 1 tbsp red curry paste, curry powder and soy sauce. Cook for 1 minute.
- Cook extra curry paste: Clear a space in the middle of the pan, add remaining 1/2 tbsp curry paste, stir the curry paste for 30 seconds.
- Simmer stock: Add chicken stock, bring to a simmer then reduce to medium-high. Simmer for 1 minute.
- Add noodles: Squish the noodle cakes in, pushing chicken aside so the noodles are as submerged as possible.
- Cook 45 sec, flip, 30 sec: Leave to cook for 45 seconds, then flip noodles. Leave for another 30 seconds, then separate the noodles with 2 wooden spoons.
- Add peanut sauce: Push noodles aside, add coconut milk, peanut butter and vinegar, then give it a quick mix to mostly dissolve the peanut butter.
- Toss with spinach: Add spinach, toss with the noodles for 30 seconds until wilted. Make sure it's still pretty saucy – everybody loves sauce!
- Serve: Transfer to serving bowls, sprinkle with coriander, peanuts and Sriracha or chilli paste if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Dozer on the job.
Loved this recipe. Added a capsicum and green beans plus the spinach. The teenager is eating the leftovers and the hubby is keen to go for round 2
I made this but subbed yellow curry paste for the red, and soy butter for the peanut butter (my kids are allergic). I also used a cup of Thai basil (leftover from making your Thai Basil Chicken recipe the other night – yum!) along with the spinach.
The recipe is very tasty, but the sauce is quite rich and thick for my family’s palate. What do you recommend I do to “lighten” it up? Use less coconut milk, or more chicken broth?
Nagi, we made this tonight and it was AMAZING! The only sub we made was baby bak Choi for the spinach and it totally worked! So, so good! Thank you so much! If…I was straight and if…I was 614 years younger and if…I lived down under instead of up over I’d be begging you to be my everything! Hahaha! Love you Nagi! Thank you again!
Just letting you know I am loving your recipes and this one especially keep up sending us your amazing recipes. Every one that I have tried work perfectly
YUM! Used laksa paste as we don’t care for red (or green!) curry – perfection. Taking a bowl to my friend in hospital today, hopefully it will cheer him up as he’s been missing his Nagi fix!!
Oh that’s great Alimak!! Thinking of your friend – send my well wishes!! ❤️ N x
Sawadee krap Nagi. I just made this and it was delicious. Unfortunately my daughter, who is half Thai, didnt like it. I have no idea why???
Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Gerry, sorry she didn’t like it!! Can’t please everyone! 🤷🏻♀️ N x
Yummy! another winner, thanks Nagi. Quick and easy, great for week night dinner.
Delicious! Roasted chicken thighs and added at the end with extra stir fried veg too. Scrumptious! Thanks Nagi!
Made this tonight and love, love, loved it. My partner and I ate wayyyy too much. Will be cooking this again soon. Thanks for another success Nagi x. Cuddles to Dozer 💕
Hi Nagi. Will this freeze ok, without using some of the ingredients eg. noodles, spinach?
Made your Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles tonight. We thought it was a delicious recipe. I have a different “favourite” red curry paste (Mae Ploy) and I used Nissan Ramen noodles (first time I’ve tried them). I ended up using the whole can of coconut milk because you mentioned there should be plenty of sauce 😉
Loved the heat, loved the texture of the nuts and the freshness of the coriander….and an added bonus, we have enough left over for a light lunch tomorrow.
I love your website and all your demonstration videos
Thank you
Did this one last night it was fabulous. I didn’t have the correct ingredients, so will definitely do it again with all you recomend. Thank you Nagi and Dozer
I wanted to make them but it looks like the nutrition info looks a bit off as it should have only 14g carbs while using about 100g of instant noodles/serving?
Hi Sebastian, yes it’s correct, 2 x 70-100g noodle cakes are used in the recipe, the nutrition is per serving (which the recipe serves 2) N x
Just made this tonight – Huge hit!! And I’m not a lover of Thai food. My Suburban Chicagoland local “international” grocery store had the Maesri red curry paste small can that you show & describe (was ~$2.00 USD)!! I was worried about trying to find one that fit the recipe!! I used small chicken bites vs. ground as that’s what I had. Even tho I forgot to stir the coconut milk, the resulting dish was creamy, flavorful, and filling!! Used low-fat Skippy creamy PB (again, what I have in my pantry.) Mine was way lighter in color as another commenter said too, but I think the flavor was probably spot-on! Hubby & 14-yr old requested this go into rotation!!
I’m so glad you loved it Betsy!! N X
Upon first bite, my initial thought was, “oh hell yeah.” Quadrupled the recipe and shared with my neighbor who has been craving takeout all week. We live in rural Vermont, USA and have extremely limited options for takeout and this hit all the buttons. Thank you!
Made this last night – delicious and sooooo easy. Sadly, my fussy kids didn’t like it because of the peanuts, but its another new staple for me.
They didn’t like the peanuts?! Oh well – more for you 🙂 N x
Absolutely delicious and easy to make
Truly liked ur simplistic approach to getting the ingredients needed for the Thai noodles. Thanks a lot , not bad idea for quick meal for an 80 years old guy having to cook for himself most of the time .God bless !
I made this dish this evening and it was delicious but the colour was def a shade lighter than yours. Is the 1 tsp of dark soy correct? Looks like you add it twice and the amount in the 2nd picture def looks like it’s more than 1 tsp. Thanks.
I made this yesterday and it was yummm 😋 as all of your recipes are. The whole family loved it. I am in the USA and I used Simply Asia Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste. It wasnt spicy at all. Sooo good 🥰