Tony Zentgraf
Pad Kee Mao – literal translation
Pad meaning fried and Kee Mao meaning drunk
If you like spice, or even if you don’t, you can enjoy this dish at home. This recipe for Thai Style Drunken Noodles has a sauce that only had 4 ingredients and two of those ingredients can store for some time in the refrigerator if you won’t use them often.
Drunken Noodles the Spicy Truth
- Thai Chili or Bird’s Eye Chili
- Favorite Pepper in Thailand
- But why is it called Drunken Noodles?
- What Story Do You Believe?
- Thai Style Drunken Noodle Recipe
Thai Chili or Bird’s Eye Chili
The recipe calls for Thai Chilis but you can substitute serrano or jalapeno peppers. But I think the heat of the Thai chili is in part what gives the dish its unique flavors.
You can make this noodle dish in a wok on your Kamado Joe, or on your stove with flat bottom wok and even in a saute pan.
Favorite Pepper in Thailand
Thai Chili or Bird’s Eye Chili
A favorite pepper in Thai cooking, it is small but packs a punch when compared to serrano or jalapeno peppers.
The Scoville scale ranks chilis in a unit measurement for how much heat is in a chili.
Thai chili pepper heat ranking on the Scoville scale falls between 50,000 – 100,000 units.
Where a Serrano pepper falls between 10,000 – 23,000 units.
A Jalapeno ranks near the bottom of the Scoville scale at 2,500 – 8,000.
But why is it called Drunken Noodles?
There are a few theories on how the dish without any alcohol got its name. This dish is a popular street vendor food on the streets of Thailand, one theory is that the noodle dish became a favorite with the nightclub clienttell as they bar hopped.
One old tale is that one night a wife cooked this dish for her husband who was often very intoxicated. Because she had become fed up with his constant drinking, she made this dish as spicy as she could, adding as much spice as she had available in the kitchen. There is no record of him quitting drinking after he ate the overly spiced dish. My guess is that he didn’t as this dish became popular.
What Story Do You Believe?
A story that I believe to be true; while eating Thai Style Drunken Noodles the spiciness of the dish (and probably spicier than made in this recipe) makes you want to have a cold beer on a humid evening while you explore the street foods in Thailand.
The last story sounds like a good idea. Whether you make this dish mild or as hot as you can handle, know that you will enjoy the sweet, salty and spice that this noodle dish delivers.
Enjoy!
Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)
Print RecipeRecipe Multiplier
Hydrating Noodle Ingredients
- 1 ea 14 oz Dry Rice Noodles XL (you can use fresh noodles as well)
- Hot Tap Water
Sauce Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Dark Sweet Soy Sauce
- ⅓ cup Fish Sauce
- ¼ cup Rice Vinegar Seasoned
- 2 ea Juice of 2 Limes
Ingredients to Prep
- 3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 lb Ground Pork or Ground Chicken
- 5 ea Garlic Cloves minced
- 5 ea Thai Chilis sliced
- 3 ea Medium Shallots sliced
- 3 ea Carrots peeled and sliced
- 3 ea Scallions sliced
- 1 cup Baby Spinach
- ⅔ cup Thai Basil Leaves whole
Instructions
Hydrate the Dry Rice Noodles
- Place the dry rice noodles in a bowl or container that will allow the noodles to be covered by the hot water. Run tap hot tap water over the dry rice noodles until they are covered. Let the rice noodles soak for 20-30 minutes, changing the water mid way to have hot water throughout the soaking process. If using fresh rice noodles, you can skip this step.
Assemble the Sauce
- In a bowl combine the dark sweet soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar and the lime juice. mix until combined. Reserve until ready to use.
Cooking the Dish
- Start a pot of water on the stove to blanch the rice noodles. It should be at a simmer. Reserve for later use. Have a strainer or colander to drain the noodles.
- In a wok on the Kamado Joe or on the stove top with a wok or saute pan, heat the oil.
- Add the ground pork or chicken to the pan once the oil is hot.
- Break apart the ground pork or chicken and saute until cooked. Once cooked, you can remove the meat from the pan and drain any fat. Or if there is not much fat in the pan, you can leave the meat in while you assemble the remaining ingredients.
- Add the garlic, thai chilis and shallots to the pan. Saute with or without the cooked ground meat.
- Once the shallots start to become translucent, add the carrots to the pan. Continue to saute the aromatics.
- Add 2 tablespoons of sauce to the pan and toss to coat. This will give some liquid to the pan allowing some steam to help cook the carrots. Saute the carrots and other ingredients in the pan for a couple of minutes.
- Add the spinach and toss to begin wilting.
- Remove the ingredients from the pan and reserve until after the noodles have been sauteed.
- From this step on, you will make half of the dish at a time to not overcrowd the pan or wok.
- In the pan, add a tablespoon of oil.
- Blanch the half of the rice noodles, for just a few seconds, in the simmering pot of water that you have on the stove. Scoop out the noodles with a strainer or drain the pot into a colander to remove as much water as you can.
- Add the drained rice noodles to the pan with the oil. Toss the noodles in the hot pan with the oil. Toss for 30 seconds to a minute. Tossing the noodles helps to soften the noodles and dry them out a bit. If the noodles begin to stick to the pan add the sauce.
- Add the half of the sauce to the noodles and toss to coat.
- Add half of the reserved meat and aromatics back into the pan. Mix to combine the sauce with the ingredients.
- Continue to toss the ingredients in the pan keeping the noodles moving to avoid it burning. The noodles will absorb the sauce and should become darker as they absorb the sauce.
- Once the noodles absorb the sauce, add half of the Thai basil and toss to combine.
- Remove the Drunken Noodles from the pan into a bowl or serving dish.
- Repeat steps 11 thru 18 to make the other half of the dish.
- Serve as a side dish to other entrees or serve as a meal in itself. Enjoy!
