Thai food is a family favorite both when it's made at home and taken out. It's an easy crowd pleaser because everyone has favorite dishes that they can order and enjoy. Making it at home means I can control the sugar and salt contents while adding a ton of healthy vegetables. Pad Pak is a Thai dish consisting of a variety of stir-fried vegetables. Every Thai restaurant I have been to prepares this dish slightly differently, but they all end up tasting delicious. I have included my favorite selection of vegetables, but feel free to adjust these to fit you and your family's preferences.
Ingredients
Stir Fry
- sesame oil
- vegetable oil
- chicken breasts or thighs
- water chestnuts
- carrots
- broccoli
- onion
- snow peas
- garlic
- red or white cabbage
- mushrooms
- bell pepper
- salt, to taste
Sauce
- soy sauce
- sugar
- fish sauce
- chili paste, optional
Instructions
- Chop up all of your vegetables into approximately bite-sized pieces.
- Heat oil in wok and add chicken. Cook for a few minutes on its own, stirring frequently.
- Add in vegetables, including water chestnuts, and saute for 5-7 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are cooked but firm.
- Add sauce mixture and stir. Serve on its own or over rice.
Water chestnuts in particular add a great crunch to this dish. I like them because by themselves they are very mild in flavor. Their texture allows them to soak up any sauce that they are in and take on that taste.
Making this stir fry takes very little cooking time. The majority of the time spent in the kitchen for this dish is cutting up the vegetables to into manageable sizes. The actual cooking process is quick and hot. This helps to seal in flavor and nutrition! The vegetables also retain a lot of their natural crunch as well.
This stir fry will need to be cooked in a big pan, like a wok, to ensure that it all fits and cooks evenly!
If you are interesting in other recipes with stir fried vegetables, try one of the following!
Pad Pak with Chicken (Stir Fried Vegetables)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 8 oz can whole water chestnuts quartered
- 3 large carrots sliced in rounds
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1 medium onion sliced thin
- 1 cup snow peas sliced in half on the bias
- 5 cloves of garlic minced
- ½ cup red or white cabbage large chopped
- 1 8 oz package of mushrooms quartered
- 2 bell peppers large diced
- salt to taste
Sauce
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ½ tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili paste optional
Instructions
- Chop up all of your vegetables into approximately bite-sized pieces.
- Heat oil in wok and add chicken. Cook for a few minutes on its own, stirring frequently.
- Add in vegetables, including water chestnuts, and saute for 5-7 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are cooked but firm.
- Add sauce mixture and stir. Serve on its own or over rice.
This Thai dish is beautiful and packed with so much flavor. I cannot wait to taste it!
I love veggie-packed stir-fries and this one is no exception! The sauce is light and the whole dish is a winner!
Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it did not disappoint! Loved all the flavors and textures; easily, a new favorite dish in our home!
This is so quick and easy and only takes one pan to make - my kind of dinner!
This is one of my favorite Thai dishes. And, unfortunately, one I've never thought of making at home. I love all the vegetables in this stirfry and I appreciate your simple recipe and inspiration to make it this weekend. Yum!