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Weeknight style Thai Black Pepper Chicken and Garlic Noodles. The super fast Thai chicken noodle bowl that looks like takeout, but tastes so much better…and it’s healthier too! Quick-cooking chicken tossed in a sweet, tangy, and spicy Thai style black pepper sauce with plenty of broccoli, cashews, and basil. Serve this chicken over saucy garlic butter rice noodles and top with extra lime juice. Every bite is saucy, sweet, spicy, and hinted with basil. It’s delicious and healthy. Major bonus? This comes together in no time at all (under 30 minutes). Perfect for busy weeknights when you’re looking for something a little more special, but still quick, healthy-ish, and DELICIOUS.
Making Monday night Thai inspired food a thing and so happy about it. I’ve been saying this for weeks, but all I’m craving right now is colorful food, anything fun, and anything different. Any kind of recipe that I haven’t made before. With life in quarantine being much the same every day, I’m thankful to have food as an outlet for spontaneity. Just something different to break up the days, you know?
So yeah, long story short, I’m switching up recipes these days. I’ve made things like a whipped coffee white Russian, Mexican taquitos, and Italian style ravioli. I even ventured towards Cuban with my skillet cheesy Cuban chicken and rice bake and creamy coconut lime mojitos.
Cooking has been the only thing keeping me sane. What’s helping you guys?
Anyway, today we’re stepping into some quick-cooking Thai cuisine, and it’s truly my favorite kind of food.
The inspiration.
I’ve had this dish in mind for a while now. My oldest brother Creighton is here and this week he pushed me to finally create the recipe. He’s been asking for some new quick-cooking Thai inspired chicken dishes, so I obviously had to deliver up something good.
Enter this under 30-minute Thai black pepper chicken. It’s not super traditional, but it was inspired by black pepper chicken. Which customarily, is a mix of chili peppers, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and plenty of black pepper. My take has all these flavors too…but also some additional ones as well.
It’s saucy, spicy, sweet, a touch salty, and just about as delicious as a quick-cooking Thai chicken dinner can get. I really can’t say enough good things about this recipe. It’s one of those dishes that will become a monthly staple.
Why? Well, it’s simple, it’s quick, it’s pretty healthy, and it’s a dinner that most everyone can really enjoy.
The process.
First up, toss the chicken with a little cornstarch, turmeric, and ginger. Tossing the chicken with cornstarch allows it to get extra crispy and caramelize while cooking.
Now make the sauce. It’s simply, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and plenty of chili flakes, plus black pepper.
Pan-fry the chicken in a little oil until it is crisp. Add plenty of broccoli, a handful of cashews. Then pour over the sauce and let it simmer down and thicken over the chicken and broccoli.
As the chicken is cooking, boil some rice noodles and toss them in a hot pan full of butter and garlic. Yes, noodles, butter, and garlic…but then add a touch of coconut milk for a little more sauce and additional creaminess. SO GOOD.
By the time the noodles have cooked, the chicken should be done as well. Now, put it all together…
Spoon the noodles plus the sauce into bowls, then add the chicken and broccoli. Finish each bowl off with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and fresh basil or cilantro.
Enjoy. Immediately.
Yes, this is that simple and that quick-cooking. Honestly, this will take you no more than thirty minutes to make and uses a good amount of pantry staples too!
Notes and substitutions…
For the broccoli, while I love it with this dish, you can really use whatever vegetable you have on hand. Bell peppers would be my top pick, then asparagus, but you could also use mushrooms, bok choy, carrots. Really, use whatever you’ve got.
Now, let’s talk about the noodles. I like to use vermicelli rice noodles, but you could use any variety of rice noodles or even angel hair pasta. The noodles are meant to be saucy, so once you toss them with the garlic butter sauce, make sure to serve right away.
And you guys…that’s it. Takes less than 30 minutes to make and it’s not only delicious but fun too. We might not be able to travel around the world right now, but at least we can create fun ethnic-inspired recipes at home any night of the week.
I’m all about that. So, Monday night Thai food?
Watch the How To Video:
Lastly, if you make this Thai black pepper chicken and garlic noodles, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Thai Black Pepper Chicken and Garlic Noodles
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 823 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons corn starch or flour
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1-2 teaspoons black pepper, using more or less to your taste
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- 2 medium shallots, sliced or chopped
- 2 small heads broccoli, chopped
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup fresh basil or cilantro, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped or grated
- 1/3 cup canned coconut milk
Instructions
- 1. In a medium bowl, toss together the chicken, cornstarch, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and 1 tablespoon oil.2. In a glass jar, combine the honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup water. 3. Cook rice noodles according to packaged directions. 4. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and brown all over, until it becomes crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the shallots, broccoli, and cashews, cook another 2-3 minutes, until the broccoli is charring. Pour in the honey/soy sauce mix. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the sauce coats the chicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime zest, lime juice, and the basil.5. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes, if desired. Cook until the garlic begins to caramelize and turn light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, cooking 3-5 minutes, until warmed through. Remove from the heat and toss the noodles with the sauce. 6. To serve, divide the noodles among bowls and top with chicken. Serve with additional basil and limes. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on April 20, 2020
Damn, this was good. Thanks for the fun recipe! Will definitely make again.
Thank you so much Anneke! xTieghan
So tasty! Made this tonight and everyone is very very happy and eating seconds! It took me a little longer to get it prepped and going but worth it!
Thank you so much Rikki! xTieghan
My sister made this a few times and I became OBSESSED with it so I have to make it myself! The only thing is, my partner can’t eat cashews as she has a nut allergy. I’m not sure if this has been asked already but do you have any substitute suggestions for the cashews? I just love the extra flavour and crunch they bring! Many thanks, will be trying lots more of your recipes in my new kitchen! 🙂
Hi Fiona,
So glad you have been enjoying the recipe! I would just omit the cashews and then adding a crunchy veggie like carrots would be a great idea! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Teigan, this was one of my favorites! I cook A LOT of your recipes and I am quite a fan, buy this is one of the best I’ve made! There are so many flavors and they all work together beautifully. I wouldn’t have put it together on my own, but I trusted your good judgement (as always) and it was phenomenal. Can I praise it more? Thank you, thank you!
You are too sweet! I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Amy! xTieghan
The layers of flavor on this dish are insanely delicious! The whole family (hubby and 3 kids) inhaled this, giving many compliments as they did so. I have made SO many of your recipes and have never been disappointed. HBH is my first, and often only, stop for weekly meal planning. Perfection on this one.
Thank you so much Jodi! I am really glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan
Hi! We made this tonight and loved it! So tasty, the creamy butter garlic sauce on the noodles took it to another level, delicious ?
Thank you so much Claire!! I am really glad you enjoyed this one! xTieghan
So good! Another favorite added! Love making everything by hand versus a bottle sauce!
Thank you Alicia!! xTieghan
This was sooo fab! Incredibly easy, as promised, and completely delicious. I have a very fussy husband and he declared it “the biggest stir fry hit yet!”. Thanks for sharing and adding another favourite to our meal table! Xx
WOW YES!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you, Polly! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
Loved this recipe. Not sure if I’m a slow cook but it took me more like 40 mins. My chicken didn’t brown as nice as yours, how high was your heat? Overall absolutely delicious. Will make this again!
Hi Lucero,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try. I used medium heat and the cast iron skillet is key for nice coloring. I hope this helps! xTieghan
Made this yesterday and it’s DELISH. So flavourful and filling. (Even the leftovers are bright and fresh.) Thanks so much for sharing! I love that your recipes are so yummy but mostly use pantry staples — it’s a big reason why I keep coming back to your blog. I’m going to order you cookbook now 🙂
Thank you Clare!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Also, I hope you LOVE the books!! xTieghan
Made this for dinner tonight. Delicious! Thanks, Tieghan!
Love that!! Thank you Lauren! xTieghan
This is Soo yummy!! Your recipes are a quarantine staple in our house!
I am so glad you have been loving them! Thank you Brittany! xTieghan
This recipe was amazing! My husband said hands down his favorite meal I’ve cooked! Thank you! We love trying your recipes!
Thank you so much Danielle!! I am really happy to hear that! xTieghan
This is absolutely delicious! I was initially skeptical about the variety of spices and flavors mixed together. But one bite and I was in love. It it so so tasty. My family loved it too
That is so great! Thank you Michelle! xTieghan
Made this for dinner last night, last minute, and it was delicious!!! Subbed thin spaghetti noodles for rice noodles and apple cider vinegar for the rice vinegar based on what was in my pantry. Will definitely be making this again!
That is so great! Thank you Trish! xTieghan