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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
Made this tonight and just loved it. I may have to try doing just the garlic sauce and noodles by themselves one of these days! It was out of this world and a nice extra layer of flavor. Thanks so much
Thank you shiny! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
WOW this was so delicious and simple! The flavours come together so well. This will definitely be a new staple in my house. Thank you!
Thank you so much Lucy! xTieghan
This was DELICIOUS! Had to sub cardamom for ginger because I ran out, but still great. However it took me an hour ? very impressed by anyone who can do this in 25 minutes. Thank you!!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you Megan! Thank you! xTieghan
Hi omg this was amazing!!!!!!! I made it tonight and my husband who does not like Thai food absolutely loved it too. I have made a few of your other recipes too and they have all hit the spot. Keep up the amazing work. A big fan
Aw thank you so much! That is so amazing to hear! I hope you both continue to enjoy the recipes I create! xTieghan
Just made this!!! So delicious!!!! Wish I could post a pic bc it even looks pretty.
Thank you so much Renae! I am so glad you enjoyed this one! xTieghan
This is unbelievably good! We didn’t have noodles so I used rice instead. Rice worked great tossed in the sauce! My 5 year loved it too! Thanks for a great recipe! I can’t wait to try more!
Thank you so much Ellie! I am really glad this recipe worked so well for you! xTieghan
I made this vegetarian by using tofu instead of chicken (tossed pressed cubed tofu in the cornstarch/spice mixture and then fried it like you would the chicken, then took it out of the pan before adding veggies to keep it crispy) and it was phenomenal! The flavor profile of this really hits all the notes. Great recipe from HBH once again, as always! ❤️
Hi Alex! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you Alex! Thank you for trying this! xTieghan
We made this tonight and I can already tell that this is going to be in our weekly rotation. We’ve been doing a lot of cooking in quarantine and my husband and I agree this is by far our favorite thing we’ve eaten in the past two months! ? I didn’t have soy sauce or broccoli so I used tamari and red bell peppers (I threw in some scallions because I had some I needed to use) and it turned out great. I feel like this recipe is really flexible if you have to make substitutions which is a must in quarantine cooking ?
Wow that is so amazing Jen! I am really glad you enjoyed this recipe! xTieghan
Made for my family of 6 tonight. Everyone loved it! Thank you!
Thank you so much Kimberly! xTieghan
This recipe has the bones of a delightful dish, but my first attempt ended up with something tasty but gooey. The broccoli cooked down into a a green smear, the chicken was not crispy, and the noodles were gooey. Here are some observations and questions:
1) Chicken: the flavor was great no crispiness in sight. I don’t now how anything could remain crispy after being boiled in the sauce while it’s reducing. Maybe we shouldn’t be expecting crispy, because it did turn out nicely otherwise?
2) Broccoli: At medium heat, I could not char the broccoli at all. A large 14″ pan with the chicken in it and a big mount of broccoli ends up steaming the broccoli in its own juices. It got soft instead of charred. Then when the sauce was added, it cooked down into a green paste.
3) Sauce: I think less water would lead to less cooking time which would lead to crispier veggies. I used warm water which was an inspiration since it melted the honey and allowed the sauce to mix up nicely.
4) Noodles: At Denver elevation, if you start soaking the noodles when you start cooking the meat and stick to recipe cooking times, they aren’t soft enough by the time you need them. I started them before the meat and they ended up too soft. Then, after draining them, I put them back in the pot and added the noodle sauce. Oops! there was too much water left in the noodles and they got mushier. Next time, I’ll soak the noodles for less time and immediately rinse them with cool water, then let drain longer before adding the sauce. I think they will keep until serving once they have the sauce on them, since otherwise it’s a bit scary thinking they might stick together.
Hi Eric! Thank you for trying this recipe! I am sorry it did not turn out as well as you had hoped! xTieghan
This was SO delicious!!! Definitely company worthy. We’ll be making this again for sure!
Thank you so much Karen! xTieghan
My family loved this recipe! I’ve seriously never seen them eat dinner so fast. My kids can be fairly picky and dont like a lot of spice. This was flavorful and just plain delish. I’m so glad I found you Tieghan. Your recipes have made quarantine bearable!
Wow that is os amazing to hear! Thank you so much Lauren! xTieghan
This recipe was super flavorful but my sauce never thickened the way yours appears on the chicken – any advice on what went wrong? I definitely added the cornstarch to the chicken at the beginng.
Love your recipes!!
Many thanks,
Taylor
Hi Taylor,
So sorry you had issues with the sauce. Next time try letting it simmer for a bit longer to allow it to thicken. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Just when I thought I couldn’t have another favorite meal, I made this! You outdid yourself on this one! The flavor was AMAZING. I’ve been asked to add this into our weekly meal rotation. I’ve been cooking your HBH Super Simple (best Xmas gift ever) and blog recipes during quarantine and we look so forward to dinner time. Thanks for keeping us well fed with delicious meals during this time!
Wow that is so amazing! Also, I am so glad you are loving my cookbook! Thank you so much Laura! xTieghan
Made this for dinner and my husband and I loved it! I almost exclusively use your recipes for dinners and they are a hit every time. ?
Thank you so much Cece! xTieghan