Chicken and Shrimp Pad Thai Noodles

The best Easy Chicken and Shrimp Pad Thai Noodles Recipe is a good, Thai food restaurant quality dinner that tastes like takeout – in under 20 minutes for a meal bursting with Thai food pad Thai flavor that everyone loves! Keto Pad Thai and low carb pad Thai recipe notes included too.

Pad Thai is one of our favorite takeout dishes of all time – we think we survived off it out of every couple meals in our 20's. We always ordered chicken, shrimp, and extra Thai hot noodles when we needed something quick and filling fast. We love pad Thai with shrimp and chicken – and this recipe is like our favorite Thai food restaurant, but fast, easier, and a million times more good!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How to Make Chicken and Shimp Pad Thai Noodles

If you've been following our site for a while, you might know we are *trying* to stick to a low carb, keto diet after our husband lost a ton of weight doing keto. It has helped us lose weight, but more importantly, our joints feel much better when we are eating less carbs and sugars. Check out our suggestions below for low carb substitutions.

Chicken and Shrimp Pad Thai Ingredients

First assemble the following ingredients:

• Rice noodles (½ lb) – these mild chewy noodles soak up the sauce so well.
• Fish sauce (3 tbsp) – adds a savory umami and classic Thai flavor and saltiness.
• Ketchup (2 tbsp) – this bring tangy sweetness with a slight tomato richness.
• Worcestershire sauce (1 tbsp) – contributes to the subtle sweetness with its vinegar and molasses style flavor.
• Chili garlic sauce (2 tsp) – adds spicy heat and garlicky punch.
• Sugar (2 tbsp) – balances the heat and salt in the pad thai sauce.
• Peanut oil (2 tbsp) – adds a nutty aroma and had a high smoke point for browning the proteins.
• Chicken (1 lb, diced into 1? cubes) – this hearty satisfying protein has a great flavor and texture and soaks up the sauce well.
• Shrimp (½ lb, peeled and de-veined) – this tender seafood adds richness and cooks quickly
• Garlic (¼ cup) – delivers pungent savory aroma and boosts the overall flavor.
• Red pepper flakes (½ tsp) – adds dry, smoky-heat kick that builds the spice.
• Eggs (2, beaten until foamy) – creates soft, savory egg ribbons that makes the dish richer and more satisfying.
• Bean sprouts (2 cups) – bring crisp freshness and crunchy contrast.
• Green onions (5) – adds mild onion bite and fresh sharp finish to the savory flavors.
• Cilantro (1 cup, chopped) – provides bright herbal notes.
• Limes (3) – this tangy acid to balance the heat and salt of this dish. Fresh lime is critical, don't skip it!
• Peanuts (¼ cup, chopped coarsely) – Adds buttery crunch and nutty flavor to finish this classic Pad Thai.

Steps to Make Surf and Turf Pad Thai

Once you have assembled the ingredients, use this method:

Prep. Cook rice noodles according to package instructions, set aside. Drain water from noodles and rinse well to remove any starchy water from noodles. Noodles should be slippery and soft.

Mix Sauce. In a small bowl, mix together fish sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, and sugar – set aside.

Fry Chicken and Shrimp. In a large, heavy pan or wok, heat peanut oil on medium high until shimmery. Add diced chicken to pan and cook until lightly browned, stirring often to prevent burning. Add garlic, shrimp, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until shrimp is opaque and pink.

Sauce it Up. Add sauce mixture and stir for another 3 minutes.

Combine. Add beaten egg mixture to chicken, shrimp, and sauce in pan, and stir constantly for 1 minute. Add drained noodles and toss until coated evenly. Add in cilantro, peanuts, bean sprouts, and green onions. Cook for 1-2 minutes until green onions are soft and pad thai has been evenly mixed.

Garnish. Spoon into large bowl or serving platter, topping with additional fresh chopped peanuts and cilantro, as well as slices of limes to garnish. Serve immediately.

Kitchen notes

Cook with high heat. This dish relies on high heat to cook your dinner fast – don't keep it low, or everything will boil and you won't get the lovely, toasty flavors to develop.

Use a big enough pan. Crowding your pad Thai in a small pan makes it cook slowly – resulting in gummy noodles, soggy chicken, and bland vegetables. Give it room to cook at high heat and don't crowd your pan!

Make sure you have enough oil. We're counting on plenty of hot oil to make this recipe naturally nonstick – hot oil makes your job easier! It also helps to form a slick sauce, so don't cut back on the oil.

Stir often to prevent burning. Since we're cooking this chicken and shrimp pad thai at high heat, it's important to keep stirring to prevent burning or anything to become too charred.

Make it Low Carb with these swaps:

• Consider your Ketchup.
  • Ketchup can be loaded with carbs and sugar – find a low carb version to swap for the sugary stuff.
• Zucchini noodles
  • Zucchini noodles are a quick and easy option – spiralize 3 zucchini (or buy 1 lb spiraled zucchini at your grocery/health food store)
  • Use keto/paleo ketchup, or swap for
  • Buy our favorite zucchini spiralizer here.
• Spaghetti squash noodles
  • Halve a spaghetti squash and scoop out strings and seeds. Bake halved and cleaned squash for one hour until tender, then run a fork along the flesh to create “spaghetti” noodles. Add to recipe when adding rice noodles to wok as listed below.
• Beet noodles
  • Beet noodles are often available at grocery stores (we can always find them at Whole Foods) – add them when adding sauce to recipe below and cook until slightly tender.

Shrimp and Chicken Pad Thai FAQs

Can we make this gluten free?

Yes, you have to use tamari instead of regular soy sauce and check your other ingredients.

Can we make this without fish sauce?

Yes, it adds a salty flavor so add a pinch of salt to make up for the lack of fish sauce.

Why are our noodles mushy?

This usually happens from over-soaking or overcooking in too much liquid.

How do we prevent Shrimp from turning tough?

Don't cook the shrimp too long, once they are curled they are done.

How much sauce should we use?

Use a little at a time about 1/2 cup and add as needed.

Ingredients

• ½ lb rice noodles
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 lb chicken, diced into 1″ cubes
• ½ lb shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• ¼ cup garlic, diced
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 eggs, beaten until foamy
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 5 green onions
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 3 limes
• ¼ cup peanuts, chopped coarsely

Method

1. Cook rice noodles according to package instructions, set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix together fish sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, and sugar – set aside.
3. In a large, heavy pan or wok, heat peanut oil on medium high until shimmery.
4. Add diced chicken to pan and cook until lightly browned, stirring often to prevent burning.
5. Add garlic, shrimp, and red pepper flakes.
6. Cook, stirring often, until shrimp is opaque and pink.
7. Add sauce mixture and stir for another 3 minutes.
8. Drain water from noodles and rinse well to remove any starchy water from noodles. Noodles should be slippery and soft.
9. Add beaten egg mixture to chicken, shrimp, and sauce in pan, and stir constantly for 1 minute.
10. Add drained noodles and toss until coated evenly.
11. Add in cilantro, peanuts, bean sprouts, and green onions.
12. Cook for 1-2 minutes until green onions are soft and pad thai has been evenly mixed.
13. Spoon into large bowl or serving platter, topping with additional fresh chopped peanuts and cilantro, as well as slices of limes to garnish.
14. Serve immediately.