Great Thai Dish: Pad Kee Mao ? Spicy Thai Drunken Noodle Recipe with Tofu

Drunken noodle is a Thai noodle dish that is made with wide rice noodles, Thai basil, chilies, onions, and garlic.  I first ordered drunken noodles, or Pad Kee Mao, when I was in college.  I would frequently get take out from a delicious Thai restaurant called Brown Sugar which is practically on the Boston University campus.  Drunken noodles, a highly popular entree in Thai restaurants in America, originated in Thailand as late night street food served to satiate drunken hunger.  I haven’t tested it out in this context, but I can imagine why this would be a popular choice.  It is absolutely loaded with flavor, and the spice from the chilies would be a good cure for a hangover!

The best drunken noodles I have ever had were from a hole in the wall restaurant in Seattle called Thai Toms.  This is the kind of eating establishment that you would never find unless you were with someone who had been there before.  It is located right next to the University of Washington campus, and you would easily walk by its inconspicuous front if you weren’t looking for it.  When you walk in, tables are packed in to the tiny dining room which surrounds an open kitchen.  One man (Tom, I guess) stands in the kitchen and turns out all of the delicious offerings, and he does it fast and well. The pad kee mao, or star noodle as it was called there, was  spicy and coated with just the right amount of sauce.  I was served a huge plate of these tasty noodles, and I finished every bite.  I often still dream about this dish.

When the cooler weather hit this fall, and it was time to use the last of the Thai basil crop from our herb garden, I decided I would give this noodle dish a try.  I researched some recipes, and discovered that they were sort of all over the place in terms of ingredients and methods, so I combined a couple that looked like they knew what they were doing and came up with a delicious version of this dish.  One suggestion that many recipes had was to only cook one to two servings of this dish at a time.  This is a wise suggestion because too many noodles will stick together and it will be more difficult to toss well and coat with sauce. Overall, though, the whole dish took me about twenty minutes to cook!

Feel free to play around with the vegetables you use and the meat.  I used tofu because I love the way it takes on the flavor of the sauce, and it is easy and super affordable, but I would also recommend chicken or shrimp. This dish is the best with fresh rice noodles which don’t need to be precooked, but if you can’t find them you can use dried rice noodles.  If you make this substitution, precook the noodles al dente before adding them to the pan.

You’ll want to prepare the sauce first, and then have the remaining ingredients prepared before you start cooking.

Ingredients for sauce:

1/2 package of fresh rice noodles, separated
2 tablespoons black soy sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Juice of 1/2 lime

In a measuring cup or small bowl mix together all of the ingredients above until the brown sugar is dissolved.  Set aside and prepare the vegetables and noodles.

Remaining Ingredients:

1/2 package of fresh rice noodles, separated
1/2 package of extra firm tofu
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced into wedges
1/2 cup fresh green beans, trimmed
1 sweet red ball pepper
Fresh Thai chilies, chopped, to taste
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of Thai basil leaves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat.  Add the onions, chilies, and garlic and cook for about a minute.  Add the beans, sweet peppers, and tofu and cook until the tofu browns slightly and the vegetables soften, about three or four more minutes.

Add the noodles, sauce, and basil and stir fry until the noodles begin to soften, which usually takes about three more minutes.  Garnish with slices of lime and one or two fresh Thai basil leaves, sprinkle white pepper and serve immediately.  This recipe makes about two servings.