If you’re seeking more noodle inspiration, consider my recipes for egg noodles with ground beef, easy vermicelli noodles for a one-pan dish, sweet and sour chicken noodles for your weekly rotation, or shrimp with ramen noodles that can be prepared in under 10 minutes!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One-Pan Meal: Enjoy the convenience of preparing everything in one pan. Cook the chicken, create the sauce, and prepare the noodles—all in one place!
- Tasty: Experience a delightful combination of freshness from the coriander and garlic, spice from the Thai red curry paste and chilli oil, and creaminess from the coconut milk.
- Easy: With minimal ingredients, this dish yields a delectable, restaurant-quality noodle experience.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken Breasts: I prefer using chicken for this recipe, but tofu, beef, aubergine, or tempeh would be excellent alternatives.
- Garlic: Use fresh garlic cloves or substitute with garlic granules.
- Thai Red Curry Paste: A good quality brand, like Mae Ploy, will provide the best flavor, while supermarket varieties may be milder.
- Peanut Butter: Crunchy peanut butter works beautifully, but smooth is okay too.
- Soy Sauce: Light soy sauce is ideal for balancing flavors in the dish.
- Coconut Milk: Full-fat coconut milk adds a rich creaminess to the noodles.
- Chicken Broth: Use store-bought chicken broth or vegetable stock for a vegetarian option.
- Noodles: I use udon noodles, but ramen, whole grain, or rice noodles also work well.
- Toppings: Enhance with mangetout (snow peas), coriander (cilantro), chilli oil, and lime wedges. Other great toppings include edamame, soft-boiled eggs, sliced carrots, peanuts, or pak choi.
Scroll down for the full ingredient list with measurements and instructions in the recipe card.
Step-by-Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Drizzle with vegetable oil and add the chicken breasts, cooking for 5 minutes on each side until golden. The chicken will still be raw inside; set it aside on a plate.
Step 2: Return the pan to medium heat. Add minced garlic, red Thai curry paste, soy sauce, and peanut butter. Mix well, then add coconut milk and chicken stock. Stir until you achieve a smooth consistency, then bring to a boil before reducing to low heat.
Step 3: Add the chicken breasts back into the pan, cover, and cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Remove the chicken and slice it on a cutting board.
Step 4: Taste the peanut butter curry sauce and adjust seasoning to your liking. Add the udon (or ramen) noodles and cook according to package instructions.
Step 5: Once the noodles are cooked, divide them into bowls and add the peanut butter broth over the top. Garnish with sliced chicken, mangetout, coriander, lime wedges, and a drizzle of chilli oil. Enjoy!
What to Do with Leftovers
Storage: Allow the peanut butter noodles to cool, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Reheating: To reheat, gently place the noodles and sauce in a saucepan, adding about 50ml of water. Heat on low to medium, stirring frequently for 5-10 minutes until everything is piping hot. Serve with any extra toppings!
FAQs
You can easily adjust the spice level! Simply skip the chilli oil, or choose a milder red Thai curry paste. Adjust the quantity to taste as you go along.
Absolutely! Just replace the chicken with extra firm tofu or aubergine and use vegetable stock instead of chicken broth.
Definitely! You can omit steps 1 and 3 if you prefer to keep it simple and just make the peanut butter noodles.
Yes, this recipe can easily be doubled to serve four people.