Drunken Noodles, or Pad Kee Mao, is a very popular street food in Thailand that's consistent of wide rice noodles, Thai basil, Thai chili peppers, and a delicious sauce that's both sweet and savory.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Thai
Keyword chicken, noodles
Prep Time 10minutes
Cook Time 15minutes
Total Time 25minutes
Servings 2
Calories 994kcal
Author lyuba
Ingredients
1lbboneless, skinless chicken thigh meat*
2tbspcornstarch
1tbspsoy sauce
2-3tbsppeanut oilsplit
8oz wide rice noodles**
3garlic clovesminced
1/2tspfresh gingerminced, grated, or shaved
2shallots
4stalks of scallions
2-4fresh Thai chili peppers***to taste
1cup fresh Thai basil leaves****
Sauce:
2tbspsoy sauceall purpose, or combination of 1 tbsp of light and 1 tbsp of dark soy
Make sure to prepare all of your ingredients before starting to cook because this is a fast moving recipe.
Chicken:
Slice chicken into thin pieces and place it into a mixing bowl. (Remove excess fat.)
Add in soy sauce and mix. Sprinkle cornstarch and mix well.
Set aside while preparing other ingredients.
Prepare ingredients:
Take the basil leaves off the stem. Slice the chili peppers along the side and take out the seeds and membrane. (I highly recommend you wear disposable gloves while handling spicy peppers.)Mince garlic and ginger, chop scallions, and slice shallots. Measure all the ingredients for the sauce and whisk them together. (I recommend heating up the chicken stock and mixing it with brown sugar to help melt it and incorporate into the sauce.)Soak noodles according to the package instructions.
Cooking Drunken Noodles:
Preheat a wok (or a deep, 12-inch cooking pan, preferably non-stick) over medium-high heat and add some peanut oil.
Add chicken, stir and cook until just about done. Take chicken out of the pan and set aside.
Add a little more oil and add in garlic, ginger, and sliced chili peppers. Sauté for a few seconds.
Add in sliced shallots and sauté until softens.
Stir in chicken and scallions and mix well.
Toss in noodles and pour in the sauce. Toss everything together and cook for just a few minutes, tossing often.
Stir in fresh basil leaves and take off heat.
Serve right away.
Notes
*Boneless skinless chicken thighs - you can also use chicken breast meat, shrimp, or tofu if you wish.**Wide rice noodles - While fresh rice noodles are traditional, they also take time. To save time, choose wide rice noodles and in a pinch, you can use Pad Thai noodles. If you have an Asian market nearby, check their refrigerated section for fresh rice noodles!***Fresh Thai Chili Peppers - It’s best to use fresh Thai chili peppers, just make sure to take the seeds out. If you can’t find fresh chilis, use dried chili peppers and increase the amount slightly. Fresh chili peppers taste spicier than dried ones.****Thai basil - use sweet Thai basil or holy basil for most traditional results. Thai basil is stronger and has a prominent anise flavor. Both Thai basil and holy basil do have that anise flavor that you need. If you’re absolutely out of luck finding either of those basils, use regular Italian basil.