Deutsch Spice up your meal with Pad Ped Chicken (Pad Ped Gai), an enticing Thai Stir-Fried Chicken with Red Curry. This simple yet scrumptious dish is a fantastic companion to steamed rice, making your mealtime a breeze.
🙋♀️ What is Pad Ped Gai?
Pad Ped Gai (Phat Phet Gai, Pad Phet Gai, or Pad Phet Chicken) is a delectable Thai dish that literally translates to “Stir-fried Spicy Chicken.” In my view, it can be likened to a drier version of Kaeng Phet, the Thai Chicken Red Curry.
Drawing similarities with Vietnamese Gà Xào Sả Ớt (Stir-fried chicken with lemongrass and chili) , Pad Ped Gai stands out with its bolder and fierier flavors.
With its swift and simple preparation, combined with its perfect match with steamed rice, this Pad Ped Gai is my savior when I crave for a quick and easy yet delicious dinner.
More easy-peasy recipes for your quick dinner:
🍗 Ingredients
- Chicken: Thai people typically use bone-in chicken pieces. I opted for chicken wings since I just love them. Feel free to use boneless chicken thighs or chicken breast (chicken breast could dry out easily, remember to adjust the time of cooking).
- High-quality red curry paste: homemade red curry paste is always the best. A decent store-bought version still works wonders for lazy home cooks like me. Thai branded red curry paste tends to yield the best results (as Western branded ones may not be as authentic).
- Holy Basil (Or Thai Basil): The original recipe calls for Holy Basil, but as I can’t find it in Germany, I substitute with Thai Basil, which works just fine.
- Kaffir leaves: A well-known herb in Thai cuisine that adds a distinct flavor.
- Finger root: Also known as Chinese ginger, Krachai in Thai, or Ngải Bún in Vietnamese. It’s a popular ingredient in Southeast Asian cuisines, particularly Thai and Khmer ones.
- Yardlong beans: These beans contribute to both the texture and color of the dish. They are commonly used in stir-fried dishes across Southeast Asia. If not available, you can substitute with green beans or snap peas.
- Chilies (Thai, Jalapeno or Goat’s horn): The choice of chili depends on your preferred level of spiciness.
- For seasonings, you’ll also need fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and a bit of MSG (optional).
What does finger root taste like?
Finger root is milder and earthier than regular ginger, with a slight medicinal note. It is often used in fish and curry dishes to reduce the fishy smell and enhance the overall flavor.
📝 Instructions for Pad Ped Chicken
- Separate the drumettes and wingettes of wings. Prick them with a knife or fork to enhance their flavor while cooking. If you’re using boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut them into bite-sized pieces.
- Remove the strings of yardlong beans and trim both ends. Cut the beans into 5-cm (2-inch) pieces.
- Heat a pan and add 3 tbsp of cooking oil. Put in the red curry paste, julienned finger roots, and sliced chili. Stir-fry the mixture until they release their fragrant aroma.
- Add the chicken to the pan and stir-fry it with the red curry paste for about 3 minutes, allowing it to absorb the flavors. Then, add the yardlong beans and stir-fry for an additional minute.
- Pour 240 ml (1 cup) of water into the pan and season the mixture with fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and MSG (optional).
- Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the chicken until the sauce thickens.
- Once the sauce has thickened, add the holy basil (or Thai basil) and julienned Kaffir leaves. Mix everything well.
- Serve the dish hot alongside steamed rice.
🌟 Helpful Tips
- Finger root is optional but highly recommended for this recipe.
- Yardlong beans could be substituted with green beans or snap peas.
- Use Thai-branded red curry paste instead of Western branded one.
- Find more recipes to enjoy with steamed Jasmine rice.
- Or you could make your quick steamed Jasmine rice with your microwave (15 minutes only).
- Taste your dish at the final step as the flavor of each curry paste varies.
- More epic Thai recipes you can’t miss:
If you’ve tried this recipe or any others from my blog, please share your creations with me on Instagram by tagging #savour_thepho or mentioning me in your stories with @savour_thepho . I would be thrilled to see what you’ve made and it would definitely brighten my day! Don’t forget to stay in touch with me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube 🥰.
Pad Ped Chicken (Thai Chicken & Red Curry Stir-fry)
Equipment
- 1 Pan
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken wings (boneless chicken thighs) (670g)
- ½ cup yardlong beans (60g)
- ¼ cup finger roots (20g) (optional, julienned)
- 1 handful holy basil (or Thai Basil)
- 2-3 kaffir leaves (stems removed, julienned)
- red chili (Thai,Jalapeno or Goat’s horn) (thinly sliced)
- 3-4 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (to your taste)
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (to your taste)
- 1.5 tbsp sugar (to your taste)
- 1/4 tsp MSG (optional)
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 cup water (240ml)
Instructions
- Separate drumettes and wingettes of chicken wings. Prick them with a knife or fork to enhance flavor. For boneless chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Remove the strings and trim both ends of yardlong beans. Then, cut them into 5-cm (2-inch) pieces.
- Heat 3 tbsp cooking oil in a pan. Stir-fry red curry paste, julienned finger roots, and sliced chili until fragrant.
- Add chicken and stir-fry for 3 minutes to absorb flavors. Then, add yardlong beans and stir-fry for 1 more minute.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the pan, season with fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and MSG (optional).
- Cover the pan with lid and simmer until sauce thickens.
- Add holy basil (or Thai basil) and julienned Kaffir leaves. Mix well.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
Notes
- Finger root is optional but I highly recommend it for this recipe.
- Yardlong beans can be replaced with green beans or snap peas.
- Opt for Thai-branded red curry paste over Western ones.
- Explore here more recipes to enjoy with steamed Jasmine rice.
- Or check out this post for a quick way to make steamed Jasmine rice in your microwave (only takes 15 minutes).
- Taste your dish at the end as the flavor of each curry paste varies.
