These Thai noodles are easy to make as spicy or non-spicy as you want.
I love recipes like this that are a meal in a bowl and full of flavor.
I have marked this as a gluten free recipe and it is. But if you really need to be absolutely gluten free, please make sure your fish sauce is gluten free.
It should be but some brands may add hydrolyzed wheat protein to their recipe. So I advise always checking the label for ingredients.
Ingredients Needed For This Thai Noodles Recipe
I love cooking with ingredients that are usually on hand in my fridge or my pantry. That way I don’t end up starting a recipe and then noticing that I don’t have everything I need.
If you like cooking Asian style meals once in a while you will have certain ingredients on hand because you will use them over and over again. Like fish sauce for instance. It lasts and lasts so it’s in my cupboard all the time.
The same for sesame oil. Sesame oil adds so much flavor I use it in pretty much any Asian recipe I make.
Of course garlic is used in this recipe and I always have garlic on hand because I use it all the time.
The same for the carrots, bell pepper, dried red chilies and frozen peas.
That said, there are a few ingredients this recipe uses that you may have to remember to buy. Thai basil for instance.
If you can’t find Thai basil you could substitute Italian basil, but it does have a bit of a different flavor. Or choose to just leave it out.
Lemongrass is another ingredient that many of us don’t have on hand.
Lemongrass imparts a specific flavor to a recipe that’s not easily substituted. For that reason, if you can find lemon grass, get a stalk for this recipe.
In most cities and towns nowadays, you can find lemongrass in Asian specialty grocery stores. Sometimes at your local grocery store as well.
If you can’t find it, don’t worry about it. The recipe will still taste great without it.
Can you eat Lemon Grass?
As for lemongrass, a common question that people have is – Can I actually eat it?
Lemongrass is a long stalk that is quite fibrous and seems tough and possibly inedible.
In some recipes, lemon grass is cooked into the recipe, then removed before it’s eaten.
That’s fine, but the truth is you really can eat it, just be careful what parts.
The paler lower stalk of the lemongrass is edible.
Just peel off the outer tough layers of the lower 4 to 6 inches of the stalk and slice it or chop it finely to cook.
The rest of the stalk can be pretty tough and fibrous. It’s best left for making tea, then straining it out before drinking the tea.
The upper, tougher part of the stalk will be tough no matter how long it’s cooked.
By the way, are you noticing that I am using the words lemongrass and lemon grass interchangeably? It turns out you can spell it either way.
Make This Thai Noodle Recipe Vegetarian
The only ingredient in this recipe for spicy Thai noodles that prevents it from being vegetarian is the chicken.
So if you want this recipe to be vegetarian, that’s as simple as can be. Leave out the chicken.
Every other ingredient in this recipe is compliant with a vegetarian diet.
This recipe is also gluten free as long as you use gluten free noodles (plus the reference to the fish sauce above).
How to Make Thai Noodles
This recipe comes together very quickly.
First of all, in a sauté pan, cook the chilies and garlic until they are softened.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the flavorings to the pan – the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, basil and lemongrass.
Pour this mixture over the chopped cooked chicken in a heat proof bowl and let it sit while you prepare the noodles and vegetables.
In the same pan you sued for the flavorings, add the vegetables – carrots, pepper, cabbage and peas and cook for about 5 minutes, until they are soft.
Add the green onion just before the end of the cooking time just to heat them a bit.
Boil rice noodles and drain them.
Pour the chicken and sauce mixture over the rice and serve.
That’s it. Your Thai noodles are ready to enjoy.
Add a sprinkle of chopped peanuts to each serving if you enjoy them. They add a nice layer of crunch to the final dish.
I’d love you to give this recipe for Thai noodles a try. Make them as mild or as spicy as you like
Let me know in the comments section below how you enjoyed it and if you made any changes to the original recipe.
Enjoy.
Thai Noodle Recipe with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 red chilies, crushed or 1 fresh red chili, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 stem lemon grass, chopped (use lower tender part of stem)
- 2 tablespoons Thai basil, shredded
- 2 cups chicken, chopped
- 2 ounces rice noodles
- 1 carrot, cut into matchstick strips
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 3 Napa cabbage leaves, shredded
- 1/2 cup peas, frozen
- 4 green onions, sliced thinly on diagonal
- 2 tablespoons peanuts, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- In a small pan, heat the oil over high heat. Add the chilies and garlic. Cook, stirring, until softened.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, lemon grass and basil. Pour the mixture over the cooked chicken and let stand for 30 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinating in the sauce, heat the pan again to a medium heat. Sauté the carrots, bell pepper, cabbage leaves and peas for about 5 minutes or just until they are tender. Add the green onions to the pan at the end.
- In a separate pot, cook the rice noodles according to package instructions. Drain and rinse them well. Set the noodles aside for a moment.
- Add the chicken and sauce to the pan you made the sauce in and heat it all together. Pour this mixture over the noodles, mix it all together and serve.
- Sprinkle with chopped peanuts to serve if you are using them.
- Makes 4 servings.
Notes
Nutrition
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