These noodles could be renamed Crack Noodles for their seriously addictive nature, they’re just THAT good. Thai Drunken Noodles or Pad Kee Mao as they’re officially known in Thai Restaurant menus are a basil and chilli explosion in your mouth.
Legend has it that they get their name from their inventor, a Thai chef who was very drunk one night and threw in a lot of chilli and basil into a pot of noodles with some sauces. We’re not sure if this legend is true, but we definitely do channel our inner drunk Thai chef while tossing around basil and chilli making this!
We had always been Pad Thai loyalists, till the drunken noodles addiction caught on and hasn’t left since. Here’s the secret ingredient as per most blogs to these noodles- Oyster Sauce. And as a vegetarian trying to remake these, we discovered the existence of a Vegetarian Oyster Sauce to make this. Yes, this exists as a thickened version of mushrooms and soy, and its a definite sodium bomb.
Ingredients
1 cup chopped Basil
3 Thai Red Chillis
1 Onion
3-4 cloves of Garlic
1 Cup Vegetables (Whatever you like, broccoli + mushroom works best for me)
1 Cup Rice Noodles
For the sauce, you need:
2 Tbsp Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sriracha Sauce (Only if you can handle more heat)
Instructions
- Heat Sesame oil on a wok. Add in onion, garlic, chillies, followed by veggies. (We recommend broccoli and mushrooms)
- Boil a pot of water to cook noodles. Make the sauce while the noodles cook- Add in Oyster sauce, dark soy and light soy in a cup.
- Add in the cooked noodles to the wok, mix in the sauce. Remember to add the basil in the end and you’re done.
You don’t need to add any salt to this dish as the oyster sauce and soy sauce already contain enough sodium, The heat of this dish is best enjoyed with chilled ginger ale. Tell us how your version turns out!
