isithalal.food

Halal-conscious recipe

Halal chicken pad thai

Rice noodles stir-fried with Halal chicken, egg, beansprouts and peanuts in a tamarind, fish sauce and lime sauce, with Halal chicken stock and no pork or shrimp.

  • Cuisine Thai
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 2 plates
  • Time 30 min
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Pad thai with prawns, egg and bean sprouts on a white plate
Photograph from our ingredient library: a prawn pad thai, not the finished dish.

Why Halal checks matter here

Pad thai is often made with pork, prawns or dried shrimp, the chicken and stock are only Halal from Halal slaughter, and soy sauce can contain added alcohol.

Pad thai is stir-fried rice noodles in a sweet, sour and salty sauce of tamarind, fish sauce and sugar, with egg, beansprouts and peanuts. In restaurants it often comes with pork, prawns or dried shrimp (see pad thai); BBC Good Food's version uses chicken.

So the swap here is about sourcing rather than replacing an ingredient: Halal chicken and Halal chicken stock (see chicken). Fish sauce is fermented fish and salt and is Halal. Read the label on your soy sauce, since some add alcohol, and on the pickled turnip if you use it.

Get everything chopped and the sauce mixed before the wok goes on: once the noodles are in, it all takes under ten minutes.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Chicken and stock Chicken and chicken stock are Halal only from Halal slaughter. Use Halal chicken and a Halal-certified stock. See Chicken.
  • Pork, prawns or dried shrimp Many pad thai recipes and restaurants use pork, prawns or dried shrimp; prawns and shrimp are crustaceans, which some schools treat differently. This recipe uses chicken only. Ask in restaurants. See Pad thai.
  • Soy sauce Some soy sauces add alcohol. Use one with no added alcohol or a certified one. See Soy sauce.

Safe substitutes

  • Pork → Halal chicken
  • Chicken stock of unknown source → Halal chicken stock

Allergens

peanuts, egg, fish (fish sauce), soy (soy sauce)

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 2 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp light brown soft sugar
  • 1 lime, half juiced, half in wedges to serve
  • ½ tbsp sriracha
  • a pinch chilli powder (optional)

Stir-fry

  • 150 g (5 oz) dried flat rice noodles
  • 4 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 Halal chicken breasts, finely sliced
  • ½ small pack (½ small bunch) coriander, leaves picked and stalks finely chopped
  • 60 g (2 oz) spring onions, shredded
  • 2 tbsp pickled turnip, chopped (optional; read the pack)
  • 50 ml (3½ tbsp) Halal chicken stock
  • 100 g (3½ oz) beansprouts
  • 2 eggs
  • 60 g (2 oz) roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
  • to taste soy sauce with no added alcohol, to serve

Method

  1. Soak the noodles and mix the sauce. Soak the noodles in warm water for about 20 minutes until al dente, then drain. Meanwhile mix the tamarind, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and sriracha until smooth.
  2. Cook the chicken. Heat half the oil in a wok or frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the garlic and chilli for 30 seconds, add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes until golden, then add the coriander stalks, most of the spring onions and the turnip, if using, for 1 minute.
  3. Add the noodles. Add the noodles and the stock and stir-fry until they start to dry, then add the sauce. Toss over a high heat for about 3 minutes until the noodles are just cooked, adding a splash of water if needed.
  4. Add the egg. Fold in the beansprouts. Push everything to one side, pour the rest of the oil into the empty side and crack in the eggs. Fry for 2 minutes until the whites are set and crisping, scramble in the yolks, then combine with the noodles.
  5. Serve. Toss through half the peanuts and divide between two plates with the rest of the peanuts and spring onions, the lime wedges and soy sauce on the side.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Chicken pad Thai' (rice noodles soaked 20 minutes; a sauce of tamarind paste, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime and sriracha; chicken stir-fried with garlic and chilli, then coriander stalks, spring onion and optional pickled turnip, noodles, 50 ml chicken stock and the sauce; beansprouts, eggs scrambled in the pan, peanuts; soy sauce and lime to serve). We specified Halal chicken and stock and a soy sauce with no added alcohol. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Chicken pad Thai — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    Serves 2: 150 g rice noodles, sunflower oil, garlic, chilli, 2 chicken breasts, coriander, spring onions, pickled turnip (optional), 50 ml chicken stock, beansprouts, 2 eggs, peanuts, soy sauce; sauce of tamarind paste, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime and sriracha. We specified Halal chicken and stock.

  2. Pad thai analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Meat, shrimp and shared-wok checks for pad thai.

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