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Easy Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

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By: Nicole 14 Comments
Posted: 08/29/17

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

These Easy Drunken Noodles, traditionally known as Pad Kee Mao are full of crisp veggies, tender chicken and a ridiculously flavorful sauce. Less than 45 minutes to make from start to finish!

Easy Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) - Wide rice noodles with, chicken, loads of veggies and the most delicious sauce!

When it comes to Asian noodles, I think the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is classic lo mein, but there are SO many different versions out there that are equally delicious. I happen to lean more towards Thai food versus Chinese these days, and while there’s no shortage of scrumptious noodle dishes in that category, I find myself ordering the drunken noodles more often than any other.

Aesthetically, the main differentiation between lo mein and drunken noodles is a wide rice noodle is used instead of a classic spaghetti-like egg noodle. I happen to love the way the wide noodles soak up a bit more sauce, and personally feel like they don’t fill me up as much as an egg noodles. If you’re having a hard time finding the wide noodles, you can substitute them with pad thai noodles, which tend to be easier to find at most grocery stores these days, but I highly encourage you to put in a little bit of elbow grease to find them.

You can also order them here if you’ve called around and come up empty handed.

Thai basil

Drunken noodles also incorporate a little bit of brown sugar within the soy sauce and spicy thai chilies, which lends to a more sweet and spicy sauce that I adore.

Unlike lo mein, there are a few harder-to-find ingredients that you must use in order to make it taste authentic – thai basil, dark soy sauce and thai chiles.

You could probably get away with using a standard soy sauce and jalapenos if you really can’t find the dark soy (I used tamari) and thai chiles anywhere, but the thai basil is really irreplaceable. It has a stronger, less floral flavor than sweet basil that fits perfectly with the spicy chiles, sweet soy sauce and crisp veggies.

Boy choy, shitake mushrooms, green onions and thai basil

I decided to forgoe the grocery store search and hop on over to our closest Asian market which had everything I needed. These days, you should easily be able to find a fully-stocked Asian market in your neck of the woods.

Similar to any stir-fry or noodles dish, you want to work in batches. First, you stir-fry the chicken, followed by the veggies, and then add everything, including the noodles and the sauce back in to the pan to finish cooking.

In this version, I used bok choy, baby corn, snow peas and plenty of shitake mushrooms, but honestly you can use whatever combination of vegetables suits your taste. Chinese broccoli, thinly sliced carrots, red peppers or even some napa cabbage would also work wonderfully.

Sautéed bok choy, baby corn and garlic

Once the chicken is cooked through, the veggies are soft, but still crisp and the noodles are aldente, everything is tossed back in to the hot pan along with the sauce mixture of soy, brown sugar, oyster sauce, a touch of fish sauce and a little bit of water. The whole dish is tossed together, it’s seasoned with a touch of salt and pepper and ready to be served.

I like to serve it a little untraditionally with srirracha for a little bit of an extra kick, but you could also use a spicy thai chile sauce or whatever you’ve got on hand.

Classic Pad Kee Mao

Easy Drunken Noodles with mushrooms, boy choy, thai basil, baby corn and chicken

Easy Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

Easy Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) - Wide rice noodles with, chicken, loads of veggies and the most delicious sauce!

Easy Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
0 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
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These Easy Drunken Noodles, traditionally known as Pad Kee Mao are full of crisp veggies, tender chicken and a ridiculously flavorful sauce. Less than 45 minutes to make from start to finish!
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6 people

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chicken
  • 3 tbsp tamari
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1 1/2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 3 tsp olive oil, divided
  • 3 tsp sesame oil, divided
  • 10 oz wide rice noodles
  • 3/4 lb boy choy, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup chopped snow peas
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 8 oz shitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped baby corn
  • 1-2 thai chiles, sliced (1-2 depending on spice level)
  • 2 eggs, scrambled (optional)
  • 1 cup loosely packed thai basil

Equipment

  • Large non-stick skillet

Instructions

  • Use a very sharp knife to cut the chicken as thin as possible. Add to a small bowl along with a tablespoon of soy sauce. Toss to combine and set aside while you prepare the rest of the veggies. 
  • Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Season with salt. 
  • In a bowl, whisk together remaining soy sauce, tamari, water, brown sugar and oyster sauce. 
  • Heat a large saute pan or wok to a high heat. Add one teaspoon of olive oil and one teaspoon of sesame oil. Once the oil is smoking, add boy choy and snow peas. Stir-fry until soft, but still crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate. 
  • Add noodles to the boiling water, cook until aldente. About 7-10 minutes. 
  • Return pan to stove and add another teaspoon of olive oil and sesame oil. Add mushrooms, baby corn and garlic. Stir-fry until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside with boy choy and snow peas. 
  • (If needed, rinse the pan clean) Return pan to stove and add the last teaspoon of olive oil and sesame oil. Add chicken, stir-fry until chicken is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. If using eggs, move the chicken to the side and add the eggs, scramble. 
  • Add the veggies back to the pan along with the cooked rice noodles, the sauce, chiles and thai basil. Toss everything together and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes until everything is coated and noodles are cooked a little bit more. If needed, add another 1-2 tablespoons of pasta water to loosen sauce up. If necessary, season with salt and pepper. 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 11-cup serving, Calories: 412kcal (21%), Carbohydrates: 65g (22%), Protein: 15g (30%), Fat: 11g (17%), Saturated Fat: 2g (13%), Cholesterol: 27mg (9%), Sodium: 1257mg (55%), Potassium: 586mg (17%), Fiber: 5g (21%), Sugar: 10g (11%), Vitamin A: 448IU (9%), Vitamin C: 35mg (42%), Calcium: 54mg (5%), Iron: 2mg (11%)
© Author: Nicole

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Easy Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) - Less than 45 minutes to authentic Thai noodles!

Meet Nicole

Welcome! My lifelong passion for delicious food and cooking has evolved over time into an equal love of showing you an elevated meal can be easy, approachable and most importantly, tasty. Dive in and find something perfect for you and your family!

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  1. vicky says

    Posted on 8/29/17 at 6:06 pm

    This looks great. Where is the actual recipe. Not included in this post, or at least i can not find it.

    Reply
    • Nicole says

      Posted on 8/29/17 at 7:46 pm

      I forgot to add it at first! Updated!

      Reply
  2. Dan says

    Posted on 8/29/17 at 6:36 pm

    No formal recipe?

    Reply
    • Nicole says

      Posted on 8/29/17 at 7:46 pm

      So sorry Dan. I forgot to add it! Updated!

      Reply
  3. Ben Myhre says

    Posted on 8/30/17 at 11:05 am

    I also love a good rice noodle! Particularly in asian dishes. This looks wonderful

    Reply
  4. Bethany says

    Posted on 8/30/17 at 4:15 pm

    This looks so flavorful and delicious!

    Reply
  5. Katrina says

    Posted on 9/4/17 at 11:39 pm

    These sound soooooo tasty! Nothing better than a big bowl of noodles!

    Reply
  6. Daisy says

    Posted on 12/13/17 at 2:46 pm

    5 stars
    I love this recipe! It looks very yummy! Best Portable Induction Cooktop. I will try at home with my cookware! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  7. Jeff says

    Posted on 3/22/18 at 12:59 am

    While as is, this sounds amazing, I’m curious, without any alcohol in the sauce, why is this called “drunken noodles”? Seriously… just curious.

    Cheers…

    Reply
    • Nicole says

      Posted on 3/24/18 at 10:26 pm

      Honestly, I have no idea!

      Reply
  8. Karen M. Chapman says

    Posted on 9/23/18 at 5:25 pm

    5 stars
    I like easy recipes that do not take a lot of time.

    Reply
  9. Emily says

    Posted on 9/30/18 at 5:32 pm

    How many servings does this yield?

    Reply
    • Nicole says

      Posted on 10/1/18 at 3:41 pm

      Four!

      Reply

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Meet Nicole

Welcome! My lifelong passion for delicious food and cooking has evolved into an equal love of showing you easy elevated meals can be approachable and most importantly, tasty.

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