Have your favourite Thai dish at home by making this easy and delicious Thai chicken and pumpkin stir fry. No fancy ingredients needed!
Updated 3 August 2021
Tonight we are having Thai chicken and pumpkin stir fry
Are you in the mood for Thai but you are too lazy to slip out of your ‘tracky dacks’ and eat out? And you’re obviously too lazy to cook because you’re already feeling lazy. That’s ok, you can force your partner or whoever is around to make this simple and yummy Thai chicken and pumpkin stir fry for you!
Use your charm and let your person know that this Thai dish is absolutely scrumptious with minimal effort required. If that still doesn’t convince them to cook for you then offer to get dessert (pull out that one-year-old ice cream you’ve got hidden in a freezer somewhere) or promise to wash the dishes (but do it the next day).
HECK! manipulating people is exhausting so why not just make it yourself?! You can proudly show off your cooking skills and impress people with this tasty Thai inspired dish. Golden nuggets of creamy sweet pumpkin, juicy chicken in a savoury sauce. Toss in some crunchy peanuts and chillies and you’ll have a winning dish that’ll knock your sexy socks off!
This Thai chicken and pumpkin stir fry is quick and perfect for a hassle-free, delicious weekday dinner. The best part is, there are no fancy or exotic ingredients needed for this dish. You’ll likely have most of the ingredients in your pantry.
When I make foreign dishes, I usually have to visit a specialty grocery store to grab some ingredients. That’s all fine if there wasn’t a pandemic happening and my 11-month-old infant, Kai, wouldn’t kick and scream like a maniac each time I try to put him in the car!
More simple and flavourful Thai recipes to try:
Thai inspired Pork Larb
Red Duck Curry with Lychees
Thai Son in law Eggs
Papaya Salad with Prawns
Hello, my pumpkin!
Pumpkin is so underrated and should get more attention all year round and not just for scaring people during Halloween. It’s reasonably priced, versatile, and great in sweet and savoury dishes. Pumpkins are also low in calories, highly nutritious and rich in vitamins, especially vitamin A. This is wonderful, as we all could do with a boost in our immune systems. This stir-fry is much more nutritious because of the pumpkin!
Above all, pumpkins are damn delicious! It’s a vegetable that I never mind eating and trust me, I can be quite fussy about my veggies! Kai hates veggies but loves pumpkin, just like his mummy!
The pumpkin works so well with this stir-fry. It adds sweetness and fullness and tastes amazing with chicken and soy-based sauce.
My husband, Tomasi, is crazy about this stir-fry. Every time I cook it, he always goes on about how much he loves it. So much so that when I started this blog, he suggested I cook and post this recipe ASAP, and, for once, I did as he asked. I won’t have to cook this for him anymore because now has the recipe to cook it for me!
Ingredients for Thai chicken and pumpkin stir
Skinless and boneless chicken thigh fillets are my preferred cut because it’s much juicier and tastier than chicken breast. Breast fillets will work too, however, the chicken will be slightly drier.
Pumpkin – The popular varieties of pumpkin we have here in Australia are Butternut and Kent (JAP) but most varieties of pumpkin will work in this stir-fry. Pumpkin takes a while to cook, so it’s best to chop them roughly into small cubes so they’ll cook faster.
Salt-reduced chicken stock – I prefer using salt-reduced stock in my dishes because it gives me the flexibility to adjust the salt later to my taste. The last thing you want is a dish that ends up being way too salty!
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Light soy sauce – or regular soy sauce but avoid the dark or sweet soy sauce varieties as these are not interchangeable.
Oyster sauce adds more depth to the savoury sauce. Supermarkets usually have it in their International or ‘sauces’ section.
Optional garnish ingredients: Chilli for those who love it spicy! Crushed peanuts for those that love having texture. Spring onion and Thai basil leaves add freshness to the stir-fry.
Watch how to make Thai chicken and pumpkin stir fry
Written step-by-step guide with photos
Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a small bowl. Use a large wok or a deep frying pan that has a lid. Heat the oil in the frypan on high heat and once it smokes, add in the chicken. Leave the chicken to cook untouched for 2 minutes, then turn it, stirring regularly, cook for 5 minutes or until chicken has browned.
Reduce the heat to medium and add in the garlic and chilli (if using). Stir to cook for a minute or until fragrant. Add in the pumpkin and the sauce mixture and cover the pan. Cook and stir occasionally until the pumpkin is soft. Have a taste, add salt or pepper if needed.
Remove pan from the heat and stir in Thai basil leaves and spring onion (if using) and garnish the stir-fry by sprinkling crushed nuts, spring onions and chilli on top.
Leftovers – Allow the stir-fry to cool completely at room temperature. Transfer the stir-fry into a sealed container and refrigerate, it’ll be good for up to 3 days.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
THAI CHICKEN AND PUMPKIN STIR FRY
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or any neutral tasting oil)
- 500 gm boneless chicken thigh fillets (sliced) (NOTE 1)
- 500 gm pumpkin (peeled & chopped into small cubes) (NOTE 2)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 small red chilli (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
SAUCE
- ¼ cup salt-reduced chicken stock (or 1/4 cup water + 1 tsp chicken stock powder) (NOTE 3)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce (NOTE 4)
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce (NOTE 5)
OPTIONAL GARNISH
- 1 tbsp crushed peanuts
- 2 tbsp sliced spring onion
- sliced red chilli
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a small bowl. Use a large wok or a deep frying pan that has a lid. Heat the oil in the frypan on high heat and once it starts to smoke, add in the chicken. Leave the chicken to cook untouched for 2 minutes, then turn it, stirring regularly, cook for 5 minutes or until chicken has browned.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add in the garlic and chilli (if using). Stir to cook for a minute or until fragrant. Add in the pumpkin and the sauce mixture and cover the pan. Cook and stir occasionally until the pumpkin is soft. Have a taste and add salt or pepper if needed.
- Remove pan from the heat and stir in Thai basil leaves and spring onion (if using) and garnish the stir-fry by sprinkling crushed nuts, spring onions and chilli on top.
