Thai Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)
Yield: 4 servings
Thai Drunken Noodles is an incredibly flavorful stir fry dish featuring rice noodles, chicken, and vegetables. Make it spicy, or not - you control the heat!
Equipment
Ingredients
for the noodles mixture:
- 8 ounces wide rice noodles
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 serrano chili thinly sliced, or more to taste (substitute bird’s eye chilis if you can find them!)
- 6 dried chili pods
- 4 scallions roots removed, cut into 2-inch pieces, white and green parts separated
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 large red bell pepper sliced thin
- ½ large red onion sliced thin
- 1 large boneless chicken breasts sliced thin across the grain
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves
- lime wedges for squeezing over the top
for the sauce
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine - or dry white wine or water
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
Instructions
- Cook noodles per package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water; set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together sauce ingredients; set aside.
- In a large skillet with deep sides (or a large wok) over high heat, heat the oil. Carefully add serrano chili and dried chili pods, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Chili pods will start to blacken - this is a good sign.
- Add white parts of the scallions, garlic, red bell pepper, and red onion. Stir fry, stirring fairly constantly for 2-3 minutes until the veggies begin to char slightly.
- Add chicken and stir fry, stirring fairly constantly until it starts to brown slightly on the outside and you can’t see any pink, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add prepared noodles, green parts of scallions, and the
prepared sauce. Toss everything together until coated - a tongs works great for this. Toss until most of the sauce is absorbed and it has taken on a deeper brown color, about 2 minutes. - Add Thai basil and toss just to combine. The leaves will begin to wilt immediately. Remove from heat, remove dried chili pods if desired (see note below), and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over the top of individual servings.
Notes
It's very important to gather all the ingredients before starting to cook. The cooking process is extremely fast and you need everything available to grab and go as you cook.
The mix of flavors in the recipe is around a medium to medium-low spice level.
Add more or less of the hot peppers and dried chili pods to fit your personal level of spice. The toasted chili pods can be eaten but they pack a huge punch so be careful when serving. If you do not want to accidentally eat one, remove them prior to serving. I recommend still using them though because they add a unique smokey flavor to the overall dish that adds to the complexity. I beg you to not skip the lime wedges. That fresh squeeze brightens up the dish and adds another layer of flavor. Dark soy sauce is a must here for that delicious dark color and depth of flavor of the overall dish. However, if you cannot find it, substituting your favorite all purpose soy sauce (such as Kikkoman) works as well. If using all purpose soy, use it in place of the dark soy and light soy, for a total of 3 tablespoons all purpose soy sauce.
Add more or less of the hot peppers and dried chili pods to fit your personal level of spice. The toasted chili pods can be eaten but they pack a huge punch so be careful when serving. If you do not want to accidentally eat one, remove them prior to serving. I recommend still using them though because they add a unique smokey flavor to the overall dish that adds to the complexity. I beg you to not skip the lime wedges. That fresh squeeze brightens up the dish and adds another layer of flavor. Dark soy sauce is a must here for that delicious dark color and depth of flavor of the overall dish. However, if you cannot find it, substituting your favorite all purpose soy sauce (such as Kikkoman) works as well. If using all purpose soy, use it in place of the dark soy and light soy, for a total of 3 tablespoons all purpose soy sauce.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 Calories: 463kcal Carbohydrates: 52g Protein: 51g Fat: 45g Saturated Fat: 13g Polyunsaturated Fat: 21g Cholesterol: 135mg Sodium: 1602mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 10g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.