Thai Drunken Noodles Recipe (Pad Kee Mao) » Easy Weeknight Dish

This drunken noodles recipe is loaded up with chicken and vegetables and is one of the most flavorful 30-minute meals ever.

Formally known as Pad Kee Mao, drunken noodles are a savory and spicy dish consisting of rice noodles, vegetables, and peppers in an oyster sauce-based sauce. Pad Kee Mao literally translates to “stir-fry drunkard.” It was said that the recipe was so spicy that it would sober up a drunkard. Since I’m a bit of a weakling when it comes to spice, my version is much milder.

Ingredients for this Recipe:

For the Sauce:

• 1/3 cup oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 ½ tablespoons packed light brown sugar

For the Noodles:

• 16 ounces wide rice noodles
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• two 7-9 ounce thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ½ peeled thinly sliced yellow onion
• 8 dried mild Thai chiles
• 4 thinly sliced green onions
• 4 finely minced garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
• 2 15-ounce cans drained baby corn
• 1 ½ cups Thai basil

Serves 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Procedures:

1. Sauce: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a bowl until combined and set aside.
2. Noodles: Add the noodles to a large pot of lightly simmering water and add in the noodles, turn the heat off and let stand for 8-10 minutes or until cooked. Drain and set aside.
3. In the meantime, add 2 tablespoons of oil to a wok over high heat, and as soon as it begins to smoke add in the chicken and spread it around the wok to brown. Cook for 2-3 minutes then stir-fry until lightly browned and cooked through and set aside.
4. In the same wok over high heat add in the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and stir-fry the onions and chiles for 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned.
5. Next, add in the green onions, garlic, and ginger, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add in the cooked chicken, baby corn, Thai basil, noodles, and sauce, and mix until combined. Serve.

Chef Notes:

Make-Ahead: This recipe is meant to be eaten right after it is done cooking.

How to Store: Cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This recipe will not freeze well.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of drunken noodles to a hot wok with a ¼ cup of chicken stock or water and cook for 2-3 minutes or until hot. Likewise, you can cook in the microwave until hot.

I used mild dried Thai peppers because I can’t handle spice too well, but if you want to keep things zesty then fresh Thai peppers will do just great. If you want just a bit of heat, try using some julienne jalapeños.

If you can’t get dark soy sauce, then feel free to use all regular or light soy sauce.

For the oil, I like to use sunflower, vegetable, canola, or sesame oil.

Feel free to use regular basil if Thai basil cannot be found.