Quick & Easy for Fall Routines

Easy and QUICK Thai dinner ideas for fall.

Sawaddee ka! 🙏🏼

September - suddenly summer is over and we come crashing back to reality and busy fall routines. We started kindergarten this year at our house so that’s a whole bunch of new routines (and feelings) for everyone!

Lemme tell you I’ve never in my life packed a school lunchbox, nor eaten one, because schools in Thailand all have great cafeteria. So packing lunch boxes for a kid is a new skill for me that I’m trying to get used to. 🥲😮🤣

So, I thought it would be a good idea to pull together some really quick and easy Thai dishes that are great for busy weeknights. Super tasty but not super challenging! 🙌

And, if you’re looking for more ideas beyond this email, check out these 27 Authentic & Easy Thai Recipes for Beginners or take a look through my latest cookbook, Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for any Day of the Week.

Easier Weeknight Pad Thai (sen chan pad pu)

Making a fully loaded pad thai isn’t really a job for busy weeknights. But if you’ve got a craving that needs satisfying on a Tuesday night, sen chan pad pu is the dish for you! It has a very similar flavour profile, but uses wayyy less ingredients. It actually tastes reminiscent of North American pad thai takeout (but better and without the syrupy sweetness) so… craving satisfied! Note: Crab is traditional for this dish, but feel free to sub shrimp or other proteins.

My Mother-in-Law’s Chinese Tomato Beef Stir Fry

Here’s an easy dish that takes advantage of the last of beautiful summer tomatoes 🍅. This recipe is Cantonese rather than Thai and it’s one of my husband’s childhood favourites. Chinese Tomato Beef Stir Fry is ready in just 30 minutes and kids… well they really love this dish! It’s a fantastic weeknight option.

Pad See Ew

Pad See Ew video has nearly 2 million views because people can’t get enough of these chewy, flavorful noodles! I like to call it Thai fast food - it’s a quick and easy dish with simple ingredients, but I explain a few tricks you need to know to ensure the rice noodles don’t break and are perfectly seasoned with that smoky wok char.

NOTE: depending on where you live, it may be challenging to find fresh rice noodles. If that’s the case, try one of my other pad see ew recipes that use easier to find noodles like rice vermicelli pad see ew or egg noodle pad see ew.

Thai Red Curry Stir-Fry with Chicken (pad prik king)

Stir fry recipes are a fast and easy weeknight choice. I love this Thai Red Curry Stir-Fry with Chicken because it’s full of really big, iconic Thai flavours, yet it’s quick and easy - almost like a “dry curry” stir fry. You only need a few ingredients and dinner is ready to go in 30 minutes!

Thai Holy Basil Stir Fry with Beef (pad kra pao)

Thai Holy Basil Stir Fry is the Thai dish that everyone knows. It’s a classic and I think it deserves to be called the National Dish of Thailand! It’s incredibly easy to make and is ready in under 30 minutes.

This recipe is an old school, traditional version, which is simpler than my more modern pad kra pao recipe, but both are great. 🌱 If you’ve got any kind of basil growing in the garden, this is the dish to use it in. Holy basil is traditional, but it’ll work with Thai or Italian basil also!