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These super-saucy Thai peanut lo mein noodles pair bites of tender chicken with saucy noodles (the sauce is so addictive!) and your choice of crunchy vegetables for the sort of dinner I love: it works with what you happen to have in the fridge, but with one consistent flavor and texture that delivers clear results in under 30 minutes, every single time. They’re Chinese-style noodles, but with the flavor of your favorite Thai take-out!
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Why You Need To Make These Noodles Tonight
- These Thai peanut lo mein noodles are my solution to being unable to decide if I want Thai food or a Chinese for dinner. They have everything you expect from a bowl of lo mein — tender noodles, plenty of veggies, flavorful protein and a glossy sauce — but with amazing Thai flavours from the fish sauce, fresh lime and peanut butter combo that carries the sauce.
- They’re crunchy, creamy and super colorful from all those different veggies. And, because of the peanut sauce they’re a great way to get the kids to eat their vegetables. No one can resist this peanut sauce!
- As they only take 30 minutes to make I often break out these noodles on a weeknight, and I always make the full amount even if I’m cooking for just the two of us as they work well cold as a noodle salad.
What I Learned Testing This Recipe
- Cook the noodles until only just al-dente. Once you add them to the skillet with the rest of the ingredients they’ll continue to cook a little in the sauce, so I found I got the best texture when I allowed for this in the cooking times.
- Not all vegetables cook at the same speed, so I’ve found that cutting vegetables like carrots, bell peppers and pak choi which usually take a bit longer than say, napa cabbage a little smaller and / or thinner it means that everything cooks evenly.
- It doesn’t matter which peanut butter you use. Natural peanut butters (the ones that tend to separate in the jar) are great on toast, but common grocery store brands like Jif are sometimes the only route when you’re baking cookies. But I’ve tested this recipe with both types and they both work! If the peanut butter is too stiff for mixing with the other sauce ingredients, microwave it for 15–20 seconds before mixing the sauce to soften it a little.
- While some of the ingredients like the noodles and chicken are best made fresh, you can easily incorporate this recipe into your meal-prep routine by pre-mixing the sauce and pre-chopping the noodles.
Ingredient Notes
Lo mein egg noodles – If you don’t have any to hand you can also use spaghetti. Or, if you want to change things up this recipe would also work with udon noodles for more chew, rice noodles for a more Thai-style vibe, or ramen noodles for speed.
Sesame oil – Not only is the sesame oil your cooking oil, but it also adds loads of nutty sesame flavor, so for best results don’t substitute this with regular oil.
Green onions – Can you imagine noodles without sliced green onion??
Boneless skinless chicken thighs – I like chicken thighs here as they stay nice and moist when you dice and cook them, but you could substitute chicken breast. But make sure you keep an eye on the pieces as they’re a lot less forgiving and the last thing you want is dry chicken! Or, if chicken isn’t your thing the noodles and sauce would also work with shrimp, tofu or tempeh.
Garlic – Fresh garlic is best here to maximum flavor, but pre-minced will also work fine.
Fish sauce – Fish sauce adds so much Thai-style flavor to this stir fry, but you can also substitute soy sauce if you prefer.
Fresh lime juice – We’re adding lime juice for that essential acidity to balance the stir fry sauce. No substitutes please as lemon won’t quite work flavor-wise and rice vinegar will be too sharp!
Peanut butter – I usually use smooth peanut butter in sauces like this, but if you want to use crunchy it will just add more texture to your noodles. You do you!
Ground ginger – Mincing ginger can be a lot on a weeknight (I find it needs a really sharp microplane and a bit of patience) so we’re using ground ginger here for that warming hit of flavor.
Brown sugar – This won’t make the stir fry taste sweet, it will just provide essential balance for the rest of the flavors.
Cornstarch – I find that adding cornstarch to the sauce helps make a super-glossy sauce for the noodles.
Helpful Storage, Cooking & Serving Suggestions
These peanut noodles are a complete meal, but if you want to add an appetizer I’d recommend some Air Fryer egg rolls, or my simple shrimp tempura.
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Noodles tend to get a but tacky if you try and re-heat them, but they’re great cold enjoyed as a noodle salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Depending on your desired level of heat, you can add either sliced chili peppers to the stir fry, a pinch of dried red pepper flakes or a squeeze of sriracha to the sauce.
Just use gluten-free noodles, and check that nothing that contains gluten has been snuck into your peanut butter. If you don’t want to use fish sauce to make the Thai peanut sauce, substitute tamari instead of soy sauce.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Thai Peanut and Chicken Noodles
Equipment
- Large wok or skillet
Ingredients
- 8 ounces lo mein egg noodles or spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 3 green onions sliced into 1/2” pieces, white and green parts separated
- 3-4 cups julienne cut or chopped vegetables like carrots, red peppers, napa or green cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, or broccoli (prep while tofu marinades)
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs thinly sliced and cut into bite sized pieces
- 3 cloves garlic minced
Sauce
- ¼ cup fish sauce or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice approximately 1-2 limes' worth
- 2 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
Garnish
- sliced green onions
- lime wedges
- fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Set a pot of water on high heat and bring to a boil, then cook your noodles until JUST al dente, which should take a few minutes less than the packet cooking instructions. When done, immediately drain and rinse with cold water.
- Add the fish sauce, lime juice, peanut butter, ground ginger, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, minced garlic, and cornstarch to medium bowl. Whisk well until ingredients are fully combined and cornstarch is dissolved. Set aside.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of the prepared sauce over chicken and toss gently to coat.
- Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in large heavy skillet over high heat. Add chicken and cook, without stirring, 1 minute, then stir and continue cooking 1 minute or until browned on sides and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- To cook the vegetables, add the remaining 1 tbsp sesame oil in a large wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the white parts of green onions and veggies and stir fry until tender, this should take about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook stirring constantly 30-60s or until fragrant.
- Add the cooked noodles, chicken, and sauce and toss to coat well, allowing all the ingredients to heat through and the sauce to thicken a little until glossy. Divide into serving bowls then top with sliced green parts of green onions, chopped cilantro, and with a lime wedge on the side of each bowl.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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