Bold, saucy and packed with flavour, this one-pan noodle dish is a game-changer for busy weeknights!
If there’s one thing I love, it’s a fast, flavour-packed dinner that requires minimal effort but delivers big time on taste. Enter Three Cup Chicken Noodles – a saucy, sticky, garlicky, slurpable masterpiece that comes together in one pan (because less dishes to wash up is a win in my book!).
This dish is based on the classic Taiwanese three cup chicken – which gets its name from the abundant sesame oil, soy sauce and cooking wine in the original recipe. But I’ve given it the weeknight-friendly treatment – aka, no clay pot, no long cooking time, and we’re throwing in noodles because noodles make everything more wonderful. It’s sweet, garlicky and loaded with Thai basil for that signature hit of freshness (and if the basil is “too much” and too adventurous for little eaters, you can serve theirs without!). If you enjoy easy, one-pan, better-than-takeout dinners, you’re going to want to save this one. I love this recipe so much that I included it in my new cookbook Simple Dinners Every Day.
Absolutely! Egg noodles are traditional, so you can swap out the udon with those, but rice noodles, or even spaghetti, work in a pinch.
This dish is super flexible! You can toss in whatever veggies you have on hand – but my favourites are sliced red onion, shredded bok choy, Chinese broccoli (gai lan), baby corn, snow peas (mangetout) and broccolini (tenderstem broccoli). Just keep in mind cooking times: harder vegetables like broccolini are best added earlier so they have time to soften, while leafy greens can be stirred in right at the end just to wilt. It’s a great clean-out-the-fridge kind of meal.
Thai basil has a slightly anise-like flavour, but if you don’t have it, regular basil or coriander (cilantro) work too!
Yes! Chicken thighs are my go-to for juiciness, but you can swap in prawns (shrimp), tofu or thinly sliced beef.
Nope! But if you love heat, add chilli (red pepper) flakes, fresh chilli or a drizzle of chilli oil.
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Rebecca says:
Threw this together after getting home late from after-school sports and, given the short ingredients list and very minimal effort on my behalf, I didn’t hold very high hopes for this recipe. We were very pleasantly surprised and both my husband and 8yo have asked to add to our regular meal rotation.
I did add a small amount of frozen mixed veg in an attempt to increase the veg intake and I will put more effort into adding veggies (probably broccoli, sliced carrot, beans) next time but overall a delicious and satisfying meal!
Nicole says:
Hi Rebecca, thanks for this great feedback! So happy you tried and enjoyed the noodles! 🙌🏻 Adding extra veggies is a great idea … your suggestions sound brilliant. Thanks for the rating too. 🧡 Nic x
Maia says:
Really yummy and easy to make! My sauce is never as dark as the picture though. It goes very light I’m not sure why. Unable to leave a rating there may be a website error. Thanks Nicole LOVE your recipes!! Following them non stop for 2 months got me into cooking
Nicole says:
Hi Maia! So glad you enjoyed the recipe – and thank you for such a lovely message! Day made! 💛 The colour of the sauce usually comes down to the soy sauce used. Different brands vary a lot in colour and strength, and lighter soy sauces will naturally give you a paler sauce, even though the flavour is still spot on. If you’d like a darker finish, you can add an extra ½–1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (mainly for colour rather than flavour). Thanks so much for flagging the rating issue too – we’re onto that now. ❤️ Nic x
Kayla says:
What can I use in place of dark soy sauce? Nowhere in my county sells that 🙁
Nicole says:
Totally get it Kayla – dark soy can be hard to find depending on where you are! You can sub regular soy sauce, just add ½ teaspoon brown sugar to mimic the deeper sweetness/dark colour. It’ll still be delicious, but not as dark as you see in my video! Hope this helps! Nic x
Kim says:
I am loving your recipes and this one is no exception. Fussy kids and fussy hubby, but they devoured the whole lot. Now on fortnightly rotation. Thank you!
Nicole says:
Hi, Kim, this is the best feedback and I’m so happy the recipe was a hit for you! Nic x
Ana says:
I made this last week and didn’t think much of it because there aren’t a lot of ingredients so I thought it would be pretty basic but WOW was I wrong! It is on the menu for tonight’s dinner, I add finely shredded carrot.. loved it. Thanks so much for such an easy midweek recipe that is so delicious it tastes like takeaway.
Nicole says:
Hi Ana, yep, the recipe is deceiving isn’t it! So much flavour for just a few ingredients. Really glad you enjoyed it and I love the sound of your additions! Nic x
Prubie says:
I’ve made this a few times and it’s always been popular. I add a few pan fried dumplings too. I never have Thai basil on hand so sub with normal basil.
Nicole says:
Hi Prubie, so glad you enjoyed this and I loved hearing how you served it! Nic x
Melanie says:
I made this for dinner last night. I didnt have “dark” soy sauce or Chinese cooking wine so I used hoisin sauce and rice wine vinegar. It was very easy to make and delicious.
Nicole says:
Hi Melanie, those were great subs you chose. So glad it worked out well! Nic x
Deborah says:
Absolutely LOVED this. Quick to cook and very versatile. (I want to give it 5 stars but can’t find the option). Thanks again Nic!
Nicole says:
So great to hear, Deborah! Nic x
Christina says:
This sauce is delicious! I added bok choy and choy sum for veggies. Left out the Thai basil. Amazing! Made it again the next day using tofu and the same veg, plus enoki mushrooms. Fantastic!
Thank you so much! Definitely going into the rotation.
Nicole says:
Thanks so much for sharing how you made this, Christina! I’m thrilled it worked out well for you. Nic x
Whitney says:
Would I be able to add vegetables to this dish? What ones would you recommend?
Nicole says:
Hi Whitney, yes you can! My favourites are sliced red onion, shredded bok choy, chinese broccoli (gai lan), baby corn, snow peas (mangetout) and broccolini (tenderstem broccoli). Just keep in mind cooking times: harder veg like broccolini are best added earlier so they have time to soften, while leafy greens can be stirred in right at the end to wilt. It’s a great clean-out-the-fridge kind of meal! Thanks to your excellent question, I am adding these tips to the recipe now. Nic x
Gigi says:
The best end of week dinner when you haven’t shopped and everything is just in your sights … wow, wow, wow
Another winner winner chicken dinner !
Nicole says:
Thank you for this lovely feedback, Gigi! I am so happy you enjoyed it! Nic x
Luke says:
Made this tonight! Used regular basil, couple table spoons of rice wine conifer instead of the cooking wine, added in zucchini and it turned out delicious!!!
Nicole says:
Hi Luke, so happy you enjoyed it and I loved hearing how you tweaked it! Sounds wonderful! Nic x