Growing up, spicy food was practically absent in my life. I blame it on my family’s Cantonese roots. So as I became older, I cautiously tried new foods that correlated with foods that I know.
Cue, pad see ew, Thai stir-fried flat rice noodles in gravy sauce. To me, it was the Thai version of beef chow fun but sweeter. It made a good impression, so I proceeded to try other Thai dishes over time.
Pad kee mao (aka drunken noodles) made its alluring debut into my life some time during my first real job. I was ready for it, I had gotten proper tutelage in spicy food from my college roommates, and I’ve never looked back since. Now, I can’t even remember the last time I had pad see ew!
My drunken noodles recipe includes lots of veggies. That’s how my neighborhood Thai restaurant serves it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? But if you are a slow-paced home cook like me and want to put food on the table fast, just choose only a couple of the veggies to reduce the preparation time.
Also, if it’s available, buy a log of fresh flat rice noodles at your Asian grocer instead of the packaged ones on styrofoam plates. That way, you can cut the noodles to your desired width (preferably, the wider the better so they don’t tear easily when stir-frying).
Adapted from Jet Tila’s Famous Drunken Noodles
If you like this Drunken Noodles recipe, try my:
Singapore Stir-Fried Noodles (星洲炒米粉)
Cantonese Soy Sauce Noodles (豉油皇炒麵)
Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Mains
- Method: Stir Fry
- Cuisine: Thai
Description
Spicy Thai flat rice noodles with tons of veggies that is easily adjustable.
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound of shrimp, defrosted, shelled, deveined, dried well
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 4 eggs, beaten, seasoned with a smidge of salt and a dash of white pepper
- 2 small carrots, sliced into thin strips
- 1 bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
- 1 small crown of broccoli, cut into small florets
- 1 or 2 serrano chiles (depending on your spice tolerance level), sliced into thin rounds
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 4 cups of fresh flat rice noodles, separated
- 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup of Thai basil leaves, loosely packed
- Neutral-flavored cooking oil
- Fish sauce
- White pepper
- Salt
SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of Sriracha
- 1 clove of garlic, smashed through a garlic press
Instructions
- Marinate the shrimp with 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, a dash of white pepper, and a little bit of the chopped garlic. Set aside at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Make the sauce. Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Cook the eggs. Preheat a pan to medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the eggs into the pan. Scramble until the eggs are well done. Transfer them to a large bowl.
- Cook the shrimp. Add another tablespoon of cooking oil into the pan. Add the shrimp and allow them to cook undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the shrimp and let them cook undisturbed until almost fully cooked through. Transfer them to the large bowl.
- Cook the veggies. Add two more tablespoons of cooking oil into the pan. Add the carrot strips and broccoli florets. Cover the pan with a lid and steam the veggies for 30 seconds. Uncover the pan and mix the veggies. Cover and steam the veggies for 30 more seconds. Uncover the pan and add the bell pepper strips, chopped garlic, serranos and shallot. Stir-fry for one minute. Once the spiciness of the serranos hits your nose, season the veggies lightly with salt.
- Put it all together. Add the shrimp, eggs, noodles, grape tomatoes, Thai basil leaves, and sauce into the pan. Mix, mix, mix until everything is coated evenly with the sauce, and the Thai basil has wilted and smells fragrant. Turn off the heat and serve immediately!
Notes
Preparation is key to making this dish. There is no downtime once you start cooking, so have everything ready to go before turning on the stove. If shrimp is not your cup of tea, you can swap for a different protein like beef, chicken, pork, tofu, calamari, or simply more veggies.
