Drunken Noodles is the literal translation of Pad Kee Mao because the theory is that these spicy Thai noodles should be eaten with an ice cold beer and that they are a great cure for hangover. I can confirm both cases to be true!
This Thai noodle dish is a very popular both in Thailand and in Thai restaurants outside of Thailand. You will be surprised how fast and easy this recipe is to make!
Drunken Noodles!
Get Drunken Noodles from the streets of Thailand, and unless you have an exceptional spice-o-meter, you’ll be chugging down the beer in an attempt to cool the burn in your mouth.
Make this at home and you can control the heat!
The amount of chilli I’ve included in the recipe is mild enough for most people (I think), but enough so you can taste the heat. By all means, feel free to turn up the spice dial!
What you need
There are all sorts of variations of Drunken Noodles in Thailand and even more in the western world. In Thailand the two constants are chicken and Thai Basil, and quite often it came with baby corn as well, though from my research I couldn’t confirm that this was a “must have” in this dish.
Rice Noodles
Get the widest dried rice noodles you can find at your grocery store. Here in Australian supermarkets, the widest I can find is labelled “Pad Thai”, though ironically, it’s actually too wide for Pad Thai!
Thai Basil
There are actually two types of Thai Basil – regular Thai Basil and Thai Holy Basil. Drunken Noodles can be made with either.
Outside of Thailand, restaurants typically use regular Thai Basil because it is easier to find than Holy Basil. I even have difficulty finding Holy Basil in Thai grocery stores!
Is Thai Basil the same as regular basil?
Thai Basil is not the same as regular basil. It tastes like regular basil with a slight aniseed flavour. A very distinct flavour that you know and love about your favourite dishes at your local Thai restaurant like Drunken Noodles and Thai Chilli Basil Chicken!
Best substitute for Thai Basil
Regular basil! In fact, Drunken Noodles is traditionally made with Holy Basil which tastes more similar to regular basil than Thai Basil!
How to make it
As with all stir fries and stir fried noodles, this moves fast once you start cooking – around 6 minutes start to finish – so have everything ready to go before you start cooking!
Comparison to other popular Thai noodles
Whereas Pad Thai is nutty and sweet, Pad Kee Mao is spicy and savoury. Compared to Pad See Ew, the sauce of Drunken Noodles is lighter in colour and not as sweet.
Also, neither Pad Thai nor Pad See Ew does not have Thai Basil in it, and it is not as spicy.
Actually, Pad Kee Mao is essentially like Thai Chilli Basil Chicken stir fry with noodles added!
Better made at home
In Western Thai restaurants, Drunken Noodles are usually very saucy, oily and salty – too much so in my opinion, and very different from the streets of Thailand. So it’s really nice to be able to make a healthier yet just as tasty version at home!
And remember to crack open an ice cold beer to enjoy these Drunken Noodles with! – Nagi x
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Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)
Ingredients
Noodles
- 7 oz /200g dried rice noodles , wide (Note 1)
Stir Fry
- 2 tbsp oil (peanut, vegetable or canola)
- 3 large cloves of garlic , minced
- 2 birds eye chilli or Thai chillies , deseeded, very finely chopped (Note 2)
- 1/2 onion , sliced
- 200 g /7oz chicken thighs , cut into bite size pieces (breast ok too)
- 2 tsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)
- 2 green onions , cut into 3cm/2" pieces
- 1 cup Thai or Thai Holy Basil leaves (sub regular basil, Note 3)
Sauce
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 4)
- 1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce (Note 4)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Prepare noodles per packet directions.
- Mix Sauce in a small bowl.
- Heat oil in wok or large heavy based skillet over high heat.
- Add garlic and chilli and cook for 10 seconds. Don't inhale - the chilli will make you cough!
- Add onion, cook for 1 minute.
- Add chicken and fish sauce, and fry until cooked, around 2 minutes.
- Add green onion, noodles and sauce and cook for 1 minute until the sauce reduces and coats the noodles.
- Remove from heat and immediately add basil, toss until just wilted, then serve immediately.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Drunken Noodles recipe originally published July 2014. Updated June 2019 with new photos, new writing, new video and most importantly, Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
Like my video shooting area isn’t a tripping hazard as it is, let’s add a giant fur ball into the mix. 🙄
(PS the wine is a PROP! I wasn’t having a cheeky glass at lunch!! 😂)
How can I make this as a salad? Can I just precook the chicken and noodles and allow to chill then add the rest of the ingredients and sauce?
Made this last night and my family wouldn’t stop raving on how good it tasted. I made the recipe as written, however I add vegetables and tripled the sauce. Another winner!
I planted Thai Basil so I could make this more often and not have to go all the way to the Asian market on the opposite side of town.
Great recipe thanks. Cooked outdoors in my 55mj Rambo wok burner on 16″ carbon steel wok. Medium heat for the chili, onions etc then full blast for the rest of the process. Made it with pre-fried diced tofu, added some bok choy and ginger as well, and heaps of Thai chilli and Thai basil as the plants are prolific at the moment. Tasted beautiful with strong wok hei, better than local takeout. Awesome.
Absolutely delicious! It was a big hit with the hubby. This is his favorite Thai dish to order when we go out. He said that it is just as good as in the restaurant! He’s right!
Amazing recipe. I’ve been making this version for a while. Small tweaks can change the flavour and I’ve learned to make more sauce just to add to the delicious mix.
Flavour is good but my noodles all fell apart into 3cm bits. I cooked the noodles for the minimum time on the packet anticipating this might happen. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I did wrong?
I’m sure Nagi says in a similar recipe to use two wooden spoons when cooking otherwise noddles will break apart. Works for me, no idea how or why but it does 🙂
Taste test the noodles as they boil. Keep them a bit al-dente so they don’t explode when mixing the final ingredients.
Absolutely delicious recipe, PKM is my go-to noodle dish at any Thai restaurant and my wife and I both agreed that this mimicked the restaurant experience perfectly. The fresh Thai basil and fish sauce really brought it home for me. Only modification I made was adding some chopped green bean with the onion as I wanted a bit more veg, and it turned out great!
I substituted Chinese broccoli stalks thinly sliced and sliced red bell pepper for the green onions. Also, added some of the broccoli greens when I added the basil.
Easy to make! Sauce recipe was perfect. Added some bok choy, mushrooms and a tomato. Used fresh rice noodles.
I love this so much I literally bought a basil plant to sit in my kitchen window. I crave it constantly and use my ever-producing basil plant as an excuse to make it again!
Also I triple the sauce
Omg the same if not better than the local Thai. I’ll be making this again. I added s9me extra veg.
This recipe was the bomb! I smothered it in Sriracha when I ate it. 🤤 Thank you!
Haven’t made this for a while. I had forgotten how delicious it is. Just the right amount of heat, rich flavour and thai basil oomph! 😋😋😋
Thank you Nagi! Another simple, yummy meal. I swapped the chicken for tofu and veggies and doubled the sauce, I think I went a little veggie happy, because it ended up being a very full pan. But I was happy because grannie actually finished her meal (she hardly eats!). Thank you 🙂
What kind of onion should I use for this recipe?
Made this for dinner along with a side of sautéed veg (recipe was in my Thai cookbook and it had the same/very similar sauce as this recipe. 10/10 would do again. I was hesitant to do the garlic first – until I read another review that said it really is good that way.
My husband says he wants this again for dinner but add shrimp
Hands down perfect recipe, my husband and I crave this comfort food and I use 4 chillies, fabulous. I also use a whole packet of the Erawan Pad Thai noodles and it’s spot on ratio wise. Thanks Nagi, so happy to have found this recipe. 😊
Can I omit Thai Basil ? I really not so much fan of that taste.
Totally. I had the Thai basil but forgot to add it. The dish was still super delicious! I was upset I left it out only because I had so much of it and felt like it was a waste
Thank you for the recipe. Is there a reason you don’t just mix your fish sauce in with the rest of the sauce at the beginning?
You want to cook off the fish sauce with the chicken to get rid of the funkiness then you add the rest of the sauce and cook it down! N x