Luckily or hopefully I should say, this constant cold is coming to an end soon, but if it is still needlessly cold out there for you, this Thai peanut chicken ramen is packed with flavor and can be made in under 30 minutes.
I’ve realized that I really love peanut in savory dishes. Ironically I’m not a big fan of peanut butter in sweets which I know is sacrilegious. But some of my favorite meals involve peanut butter, like Thai chicken satay, Pad Thai or now… Thai ramen. The combination of peanut butter, coconut and red curry paste just give this dish so much flavor. And yes the ramen puts it over the top. They just soak up the broth.
So recently I was looking at Half Baked Harvest’s most popular recipes in 2018. I was surprised when I saw her 30 minute Thai peanut chicken ramen was by far the most popular. Even more impressive as she didn’t post the recipe until September. I remember seeing it when she posted it, but for some reason it just didn’t catch my eye.
Maybe it was the ramen, as I honestly haven’t had ramen since college. But when I saw it was her number 1 recipe in 2018, I knew I was mistaken for not giving it a further look. As I’ve mentioned multiple times, I’ve never made a bad dish that was inspired by Tieghan so if this was her best, then this Thai ramen must be amazing. And to no surprise it was.
PS fun fact – if you had ramen for every single meal for a year you’d only spend $140. Crazy to think how cheap it is. But really for how simple it is, is there much better than chicken ramen noodles?
What really makes this recipe so great is you can cook it on the stove top, Instant pot or in a slow cooker. Whatever works best for you. For this particular time I threw everything in the slow cooker. So if you want something cozy and tasty, give this Thai ramen a try.
What Ingredients are in this Thai Chicken Ramen Recipe?
- Chicken broth – use low-sodium broth so you can increase salt if needed.
- Coconut milk – full fat coconut milk gives a good mouth feel in this ramen recipe.
- Soy sauce – low-sodium is best so you can adjust seasoning.
- Peanut butter – creamy peanut butter works best.
- Thai red curry paste – this is just the right amount of curry paste, but if you like more or less spice, add 1 tbsp at a time until you get the level you like.
- Fish sauce – gives the chicken ramen a lovely earthly, umami flavor.
- Honey – replace with maple syrup to give some sweetness if needed.
- Sesame oil – adds a distinct, nutty flavor.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – can also use chicken thighs.
- Red and green bell peppers, ginger, garlic, kale, limes, cilantro – gives additional flavor and vegetables for a healthy soup.
- Ramen noodles – use whatever ramen noodles you like.
- Peanuts – for crunch and flavor.
How to Make Chicken Ramen
- In large dutch oven, add chicken broth, coconut milk, soy sauce, peanut butter, curry paste, fish sauce, honey, sesame oil, chicken, peppers, ginger and garlic. Set over medium heat and bring to simmer. Reduce to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Once done, shred chicken.
- Bring soup to boil and stir in noodles, lime juice, kale and cilantro. Let sit for 5 minutes or until noodles are soft. Serve immediately and top with peanuts.
What is Ramen?
Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup dish, with Chinese-style wheat or egg noodles served in a very rich broth along with cooked sliced pork, fresh scallions, and a maybe slightly-more-than-soft-boiled egg.
It is different from Vietnamese pho, which has a lighter broth, rice noodles, and beef rather than pork.
And this Thai ramen dish is a mix of two areas of the world, combining two of my favorite meals – ramen and Thai chicken satay.
What Kind of Noodles Do You Use for Ramen?
Anybody that has had ramen noodles has had Maruchan ramen. For a long time that was the only option, but luckily that’s not the case these days. You can actually get a brown rice ramen that’s made out of millet and brown rice and can be found at most grocery stores. I’m sure there are other healthy options out there as well for this Thai ramen.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Use quality low-sodium chicken broth as it contributes to the flavor. You can also use chicken stock which gives the chicken barley soup more mouth feel.
- You can replace the chicken breasts with chicken thighs if you want a more intense chicken flavor.
- If you can’t find fresh ginger, replace it with 1 tsp dried ginger.
- Store the soup and noodles separately and add the noodles just before serving the Thai ramen. The noodles will soak up the broth and become mushy if you let them sit in the soup.
Similar Recipes
If you’ve tried this Thai Ramen or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I’m up to.
Thai Peanut Chicken Ramen
Ingredients
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (14 oz can) coconut milk
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 squares ramen noodles
- juice of 1 lime
- 3 cups fresh kale
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts for serving
Instructions
Stove Top
- In large dutch oven, add chicken broth, coconut milk, soy sauce, peanut butter, curry paste, fish sauce, honey, sesame oil, chicken, peppers, ginger and garlic. Set over medium heat and bring to simmer. Reduce to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Once done, shred chicken.
- Bring soup to boil and stir in noodles, lime juice, kale and cilantro. Let sit for 5 minutes or until noodles are soft. Serve immediately and top with peanuts.
Instant Pot
- In Instant Pot, add chicken stock, coconut milk, soy sauce, peanut butter, curry paste, fish sauce, honey, sesame oil, chicken, peppers, ginger and garlic. Cover and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes then use natural release.
- Remove chicken and shred. Add back to Instant Pot and set to saute. Stir in noodles, lime juice, kale and cilantro. Let sit for 5 minutes or until noodles are soft. Serve immediately and top with peanuts.
Slow Cooker
- In slow cooker, add chicken stock, coconut milk, soy sauce, peanut butter, curry paste, fish sauce, honey, sesame oil, chicken, peppers, ginger and garlic. Cover and cook on on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- Remove chicken and shred. Add back to slow cooker. Stir in noodles, lime juice, kale and cilantro. Let sit for 5 minutes or until noodles are soft. Serve immediately and top with peanuts.
Notes
- Use quality low-sodium chicken broth as it contributes to the flavor. You can also use chicken stock which gives the chicken barley soup more mouth feel.
- You can replace the chicken breasts with chicken thighs if you want a more intense chicken flavor.
- If you can't find fresh ginger, replace it with 1 tsp dried ginger.
- Store the soup and noodles separately and add the noodles just before serving the Thai peanut chicken ramen. The noodles will soak up the broth and become mushy if you let them sit in the soup.
This sounds really good!
This is really delicious! Two adjustments I would make are to add the peppers to the sauté at the end so they don’t go soggy and fewer ramen noodles. Would be inclined to add in some bean sprouts too for some extra goodness! Also, is the slow release necessary or could you do a quick release?
Bean sprouts sound great! And yes you can do a quick release and it will work just fine.
I have a small jar of red curry paste. Do you really need to add 1/4 cup?
It gives just the right amount of spice but you can use less if needed!