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.
I had a go at making this today but my wife is gluten free, and so I substituted rice stick noodles instead. I cooked the noodles beforehand and so i reduced the quantity of chicken stock to compensate, but I don’t think I did it very well! There was more liquid than necessary and by their nature these noodles broke up a lot in the wok once cooked and so it all became more like “satay slop”. Very tasty mind you but not like it was intended to be! Any suggestions on how to better adapt this to be gluten free? Would there be a better noodle substitute, or try cooking them in the stock?
This is great!
Made pretty much as per instructions –
(Had run out of dark soy and had to use regular, ditto coconut milk and had to use coconut cream – both just fine!)
BUT our butcher had packs of chicken mince in 400g batches – and rather than have a silly little amount left after thawing – just used the lot. Ditto the pack of baby spinach. More than required – used the lot.
Which not only worked – but was just as well! – as the recipe doesn’t make a huge amount –
At least not for three, very greedy adults. Who were all disappointed there was nothing left in the pan for seconds… sigh.
But really – very simple – and sooooo good! (And the siracha really adds some flavour contrast and zing! Love it!)
Thanks again Nagi!
I love this but keep getting a bitter taste in it, any suggestions?
Ok regarding last comments, l removed the cider vinegar and add some chop Chilli…
It was perfect
( no more bitterness)
even my husband said it was so good.
I love this but everything l make it their is a slice bitter taste coming through…
Any suggestions
I’ve made this recipe exactly like this twice now, double portion, and both time my family licked their plates clean and there were no leftovers. Absolutely delicious and will be added to our rotation. Quick question, could shrimp be used in this? And if I wanted to throw in some veggies (broccoli or mushrooms) when would be tje best time to add them?
I’ve made this for the family plenty of times and every time it’s been a hit.
It’s such a quick and easy dish and the ingredients are easily interchangeable, add more veggies, change from noodles to rice, whatever you add to this dish it still taste amazing!
Oh my goodness, what a dish I highly recommend this- tasted delicious and restaurant worthy! I love your recipes – thank you Colleen
You are very welcome Colleen! N x
This is the most amazing dish EVER!! It’s a family favourite. Thank you Nagi you are truly to talented and amazing.
I made this tonight, with turkey mince and a Thai paste I made as I had none ready made to hand, next time I’ll use the suggested paste, as perhaps this was why it wasn’t as good as it could have been. Also after trying the instant noodles I definitely wouldn’t use them again. In the two minutes they took to cook they soaked up so much sauce they were bloated and clumpy, definitely will try again but with fresh noodles
I’m sorry it didn’t go well for you. The noodles only need to cook for 45 then 30 seconds each side before adding the last ingredients so be sure to time it exactly so they don’t overcook. Let me know how the fresh noodles work! N x
100% loved this, will absolutely be making it again 🙂
Disaster!
Don’t know what I did wrong, followed the recipe, but all the sauce was absorbed and the noodles became really gluggy and stodgy. My son even tried adding yoghurt to thin it out!
We love your recipes at our house. This is the 3rd new one we have tried this week and we loved it!!!!
So easy and quick.
I added kale carrots and snow peas for extra veg. Worked a treat!
I made this last night for dinner and it was SO GOOD. I added cooked spaghetti, and just reduce the liquid a bit (since I didn’t need to cook the pasta in it) and it worked really well. So so so so good. My toddler also loved it!
That’s awesome Claire, I’m so glad it was a hit!!! N x
Could you use Hokkien noodles? And would green curry paste work?
(Trying to avoid a trip to the shops while in lockdown)
Ps. LOVE this site. It’s our go to and yet to make something that isn’t a big hit
Hokkien noodles – absolutely. And YES I would totally use green curry paste to avoid going out 🙂 N x
Perfect. Thank you!
Made this tonight (with hokkien noodles, green curry paste and chicken breast) and added in some capsicum and carrot. Absolutely amazing!! Another favourite in this household.
I made this last night and, whilst it was delicious, it was the hottest thing i have ever made. My choice of curry paste must have been wrong. I have leftovers – what can i do to cool it down? I ended up adding the rest of the coconut milk which helped slightly – but not enough. I used Mae Ploy red curry paste.
Is there a way to prevent the instant noodle cakes from getting too squishy? 🙁 made this tonight but found the texture wasn’t ideal. Not sure what I did wrong 🙁
I made this for the first time and (as usual) changed a few things. Firstly I used Turkey mince (perfect), added some extra veg including a store bought pack of stir fry vegetables (cabbage based) and used thin rice noodles (cooked separately instead). I also used some amazing Indonesian satay paste as well as the peanut butter. The taste was awesome.
It may be due to using light coconut milk (you did warn us) but for me the dish was too soupy and I could have got away with about 1/3rd of the stock.
I’ll be making it regularly for sure!
Thanks Nagi and Dozer.
Wow this was soooo good! Added to the regulars x
Hey Nagi
Do you think I could sub peanut butter for Almond or Cashew? We have an allergy in our family, but worried it might be too weird without the peanut flavour? Thanks!
This was definitely one of the most favorites. I forgot to buy the spinach but still it was amazing. Will have to make a double portion next time. Thank you, Nagi.
Quick dinner but wow so yummy will definitely going to be a regular. So many delicious recipes on here to try Thanks Nagi