Introducing my favorite Thai dish in the form of these EASY, fast, and fiery Drunken Noodles. This delicious recipe is ready in 30 minutes!
Looking for more Thai food recipes? Try my popular Fresh Spring Rolls, Panang Curry, and Easy Pad Thai.
Drunken Noodles, also known as Pad Kee Mao (ผัดขี้เมา), is a stir fry noodle dish that is very popular in Thailand and found in most Thai restaurants. It's my personal favorite and I'm adding this recipe to my list of “better than take-out” Thai food recipes, like this pad gra prow.
What I LOVE about this recipe:
- Choose the spice level: I love fiery hot pasta, sandwiches, etcetera, but my young kids don't so I can easily customize this dish to add more or less red chili sauce depending on who I'm serving.
- Adaptable: This recipe allows for a lot of modifications and substitutions depending on what you have on hand. If you can't find wide rice noodles, substitute thinner Pad Thai noodles, or even linguini. if you don't have chicken, substitute another protein (tofu, shrimp or pork would all taste great), and add any vegetables that need to be used from your fridge. (See more adaptation ideas below).
About the basil:
As explained previously in my Thai Basil Beef recipe, Thai cooking usually includes a variety of different types of basil. Here are the main three:
- Thai Holy basil (or hot basil): this is what's used in this drunken noodles recipe! It's a basil leaf known for adding heat to dishes. It's harder to find, even in Asian grocery stores, but you can have it shipped directly to you on Amazon, OR you can substitute regular (sweet basil) that you find at the grocery store.
- Thai Basil: this basil leaf can be recognized by it's purple stems and spicy licorice-anise flavor. It's not typically found at your American grocery store but it can be found in most Asian grocery stores.
- Sweet Basil: this is the basil we are all probably most familiar with because it’s the most common type found in grocery stores. It's also used most commonly in all types of sauces, marinades, and other recipes. This is a perfectly fine substitute for Thai basil in any recipe, you just loose a little of the unique flavor that Thai basil and Holy basil provide.
About the noodles:
Drunken noodles are traditionally made with rice noodles, and in particular, extra wide rice noodles. My grocery store only carries thinner Pad Thai rice noodles, which will work well for this recipe, but I buy extra wide rice noodles from Amazon or an Asian market.
If you can't find or don't want to use rice noodles, linguini noodles can also makes a decent substitute.
The directions for cooking rice noodles vary per package, so follow the directions found on your rice noodles and cook them while you prepare the rest of this dish.
How to Make Drunken Noodles (step-by-step)
Ingredients:
-
- Produce: shallots, carrots, garlic, fresh ginger, zucchini, bell pepper, green onions, roma tomatoes, basil
- Rice noodles
- Sesame oil (or canola)
- Chicken (or other protein)
- Sauce ingredients: oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar, water, red chili sauce
1. Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions. Drain, rinse with with water and set aside.
2. Prepare the sauce: Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Cook chicken and vegetables. Heat oil in wok or large skillet over high heat. Add shallots and carrot and cook for 2 minutes. Add more oil and cook chicken. Add garlic and ginger, add bell pepper, zucchini, and the whites of the chopped green onion and sauté.
4. Add noodles and sauce. Toss and cook for a few minutes until warmed through. Remove from heat and stir in chopped basil.
5. Serve immediately, garnished with remaining green onion and extra chili sauce, sriracha, or crushed red pepper, for added spice.
Other Variations and Adaptations:
- Add more vegetables: yellow squash, broccoli, baby corn, etc.
- Swap out the protein: shrimp, tofu, beef, chicken thighs
- Vegetarian drunken noodles: substitute tofu for chicken. You may choose to sauté the tofu separately until browned on all sides before adding to the dish.
- Vegan Drunken noodles: substitute tofu for chicken, soy sauce for the fish sauce, and hoisin sauce for oyster sauce.
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Recipe
Drunken Noodles
Ingredients
- 8 oz wide rice noodles
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil (or canola)
- 2 shallots , chopped
- 2 carrots , thinly sliced
- 1 large chicken breast , chopped (or shrimp or tofu)
- 3 large cloves of garlic , minced
- ½ teaspoon fresh minced ginger
- 1 zucchini , thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper , thinly sliced
- 2 green onions , chopped
- 1 roma tomatoes , sliced
- 1 cup fresh Thai Holy Basil leaves (or substitute regular basil) , roughly chopped
For the sauce:
- 3 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 teaspoon Thai red chili paste , more or less, to taste (or substitute sriracha or crushed red pepper flakes)
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package instructions.
- Mix sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in wok or large skillet over high heat. Add shallots and carrot and cook for 2 minutes. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add chicken and season with pepper, cooking until it's cooked through. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 10 seconds. Add bell pepper, zucchini, tomato and the whites of the chopped green onion and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add noodles to the pan and pour the sauce over the noodles. Toss and cook for a few minutes until warmed through. Remove from heat and stir in chopped basil.
- Serve immediately, garnished with remaining green onion and extra chili sauce, sriracha, or crushed red pepper, for added spice.
Nutrition
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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Hi! I was going to try this recipe but I am a vegetarian. Any alternatives for the fish sauce and oyster sauce? I’ve omitted before but it definitely lacks the taste of restaurant noodles without them..any ideas/tricks?!
Hi! There is vegetarian oyster sauce mad with mushrooms. For the fish sauce you can omit or try a dash of fermented bean paste.
Forgot the basil…very versatile recipe to use up vegetables. Sauce has just enough spice fir us. Used rotisserie chicken and frozen, cooked shrimp for a quick weeknight meal. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hey Lauren! I’m going to be linking to this recipe in my upcoming post. I created a thai-inspired sake cocktail and it pairs wonderfully with Pad Kee Mao! I hope you don’t mind 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
This was the first time making Thai food. It was easy and so delicious. I opted out of the spice and let everyone add their own heat. I only put a half cup of basil in. Great dinner.
Thanks Renee, I’m so happy you liked it!
I’m making this tonight for my family. Great idea on adding Gochuchang. I might use Sweet chili sauce and crushed red pepper flakes. Definitely Zucchini, broccoli, shrimp, chicken, carrots and green onions. I’m so excited!!
I made this for my wife since we can’t seem to find a good drunken noodles dish around. I made some small adjustments and added broccoli, used chicken and shrimp and added toasted red chili peppers and gojuchang for spice in the sauce. Made it last week and she’s already asking me to make it again. Super easy and super Delicious 😋 …. This recipe is a keeper!
I love that this recipe is so forgiving. The author thinks a bit like I do about cooking – if you don’t have (or like) a particular ingredient – it[s YOUR cooking and you use whatever is on-hand or to your liking! Thank you!
Just made this tonight, it was FANTASTIC! I added additional veggies, yellow squash, asparagus and snap peas.
Also added handful of shrimp. The sauce really makes it and definitely I’d use the low sodium soy. I garnished with cashews. Thanks for a great, easy recipe!
I loved this too after making it for dinner tonight.
I also added broccoli, and thought snow peas would be good next time.
Asparagus too!
Your girl is a great cook!!
I made this last night with regular basil and it turned out well! I’ve made a bunch of your recipes so I typically trust that they’ll be good. Also, I assumed the tomato listed in the ingredients was a mistake since it’s not listed in the steps.
My husband and I have been craving Thai food but our favorite Thai place has been closed. I found this recipe online and decided to give it a try. OMG! I don’t know that we need to order take out anymore. This was fresh and just as flavorful as our place. So soo good!