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Home Cuisines Thai Recipes

Thai Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

By:Nagi
Published:12 Jun '19Updated:8 Apr '21
478 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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!

Overhead photo of Thai Drunken Noodles on a plate, ready to be eaten

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!

Thai Drunken Noodles in a wok, fresh off the stove

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.

Ingredients in Thai Drunken Noodles

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!

Dried rice noodles for Thai Drunken Noodles

Difference between Thai Basil and Thai Holy Basil - Thai Basil tastes like normal basil with a slight aniseed flavour. Holy basil has jagged edges and it does not have an aniseed flavour, it tastes more like Italian basil.

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!

How to make Thai Drunken Noodles

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

Overhead photo of Thai Drunken Noodles on a plate, ready to be eaten


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(Yes, I ❤️ Thai Food, in case you hadn’t figured it out!)

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Close up of Thai Drunken Noodles with chopsticks

Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 6 mins
Total: 16 mins
Noodles, Stir Fries
Thai
4.93 from 155 votes
Servings2 -3
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 2097
Recipe video above. Spicy Thai Noodles, a popular Thai take-out dish from the streets of Thailand! Make sure you have all ingredients ready to toss into the wok as once you start cooking, things happen quickly! Spice level: moderate to high (it's SUPPOSED to be spicy!)

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:

1. Wide rice noodles - use wide ones and prepare per packet. I use ones labelled as "Pad Thai" rice noodles (see in post, here it is at Woolworths). Fine to use thinner ones if you can't find wide ones.
2. Chilli - 2 birds eye or Thai chillies gives this a nice buzz of spice but won't blow your head off! Feel free to adjust to your taste. Can also use a dollop of chilli paste instead - add it with the chicken.
3. Thai Basil - tastes like regular basil with slight aniseed flavour. Traditionally made with Thai Holy Basil which tastes like regular basil but most restaurants outside Thailand use regular Thai Basil (easier to find, sold at Harris Farms and some Woolies, Coles in Australia).
Substitute with regular basil (it tastes like Drunken Noodles in Thailand!)
4. Soy Sauce - both light and dark soy sauce can be substituted with all purpose soy sauce (ie soy sauce that is just labelled "soy sauce" without "dark" or "light" or "sweet" in front of it). 
Can also sub the dark soy with more light soy.
DO NOT use all dark soy sauce - will be far too strong.
5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 3 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 197gCalories: 454cal (23%)Carbohydrates: 58.6g (20%)Protein: 22.9g (46%)Fat: 14.8g (23%)Saturated Fat: 2.4g (15%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 12.4gCholesterol: 79mg (26%)Sodium: 223mg (10%)Fiber: 1.5g (6%)Sugar: 2.7g (3%)
Keywords: drunken noodles, pad kee mao
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

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!! 😂)

Dozer in video shooting area

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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478 Comments

  1. Matt says

    January 24, 2023 at 7:43 pm

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
  2. Monique says

    September 19, 2022 at 2:52 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Monique says

      September 19, 2022 at 2:53 pm

      Also I triple the sauce

      Reply
  3. Usha says

    September 15, 2022 at 6:33 pm

    Omg the same if not better than the local Thai. I’ll be making this again. I added s9me extra veg.

    Reply
  4. Whitney Berger says

    September 10, 2022 at 12:27 pm

    This recipe was the bomb! I smothered it in Sriracha when I ate it. 🤤 Thank you!

    Reply
  5. Jane Campbell says

    August 30, 2022 at 7:01 pm

    5 stars
    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! 😋😋😋

    Reply
  6. Sabrina says

    July 20, 2022 at 3:43 am

    5 stars
    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 🙂

    Reply
  7. Nathan Beeston says

    July 19, 2022 at 9:51 am

    What kind of onion should I use for this recipe?

    Reply
  8. Bethy says

    June 23, 2022 at 11:57 am

    5 stars
    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

    Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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