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
More Thai Food favourites
(Yes, I ❤️ Thai Food, in case you hadn’t figured it out!)
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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!! 😂)
These are so good! Just like the ones I tried at my favourite Thai restaurant. I suggest adding ground up fennel seeds if you use sweet basil. It really brightens up the dish and makes it taste like Thai basil!!
This is hands down my favorite recipe for my favorite dish! I’ve cooked it so many times and it’s always delicious! We’re vegetarian, so I usually sub in some tofu for the chicken, and add some bell peppers & broccoli in with the onions, and it comes out great.
Hi Nagi, I’ve tried this one a few times now but struggling to get the noodles right. I get the same pad thai ones from the supermarket as you but when I cook per packet instructions the noodles fall apart when I add them to the wok. How do you cook your dried rice noodles? and do you have any tips for cooking dried rice noodles?
Hi Samantha, sounds like you’re cooking them too long! Try cut a couple of minutes off the cook time and that should solve your problem 🙂 N x
I love this recipe!!! I’ve made it 4X now. IT’s probably my husbands NOW fav dish. And oddly he’s not usually a fan of Thai food. I was born in Bangkok and luckily have all the ingredients. I buy fresh noodles from my local Asian market so that makes them super tasty.
This was the BEST drunken noodles I’ve ever had. The recipe is so simple. DO NOT skip the Basil. The first time I used Thai Basil, but I couldn’t find it again, so I used regular Basil…..still great. But use as much as her recipe calls for, it makes the difference!
This looks great! I cannot find Thai or Bird’s eye peppers in my area. Would jalapeños work and in what quantity for mild to moderate spiciness?
See if you can find Chili paste, same flavor. Jalapenos would work, but the heat factor is different. The Chili paste, just use a teaspoon, or more according to your heat tolerance.
Can you use chili powder, and if so, how much?
This was the first thing I’ve ever made from your page and it was so good!! I am lucky to live near an Asian market so was able to get the proper noodles/ingredients easily and I’m glad I made the effort! The fresh wide noodles and the chillis really made it! I originally made this to pack for dinner tomorrow, but my husband and I couldn’t stop eating it as I was packing it up!! Will definitely be making this again..and again..
Yum! Great recipe, thank you! I used pea shoots because I didn’t have basil, and mushrooms instead of chicken. After, I realised my noodle package was 454g of fresh rice noodles but it turned out perfectly. Definitely will be this making again!
I loved this dish! First time cooking with Thai chilies. I like hot and three seemed plenty hot enough
I made this last night for my Mom and Hubby. We all loved it! Drunkin noodles are my fav and I was born in Thailand. I had forgotten to buy the oyster sauce so I subbed with hoisen. My local asian shop has fresh uncut noodles so I used those instead of dry ones. I also added mushrooms. Next time I will add broccoli.
This recipe is a keeper!
Love this – made it so many times
LOVE THIS. We have made this twice now and will forever keep this gem tucked away in my recipes. We have not been able to find the correct noodles, so tonight we made this with rice and loved it just as much. I ended up hearing the sauce and added cornstarch/water to thicken it up and it worked perfectly. Thank you!
**heating. Oops!
Hi Nagi,
Made this tonight. Absolutely delicious but very salty. I used egg noodles instead of rice and didn’t add all the noodles. Will this be why or do you recommend less soy sauce. . Was still delicious.
Confused about chicken thighs. 7 oz is barely on thigh. Approximately how many do you recommend using?
Hi Keating, you must have big thighs were you are! I base this on weight as you have 100g of protein per serve, as well as all those beautiful noodles. N x
Hi Nagi, is there a way to preserve herbs like Thai basil for use in another of your succulent dishes? And is there something to recognize a head of fresh garlic? mine often have germs thank you
You can also preserve herbs in an ice try and freeze them in a bit of olive oil
Hi Mimi
I pick the basil leaves off & put in a tub in the freezer. It’s easy then to grab handfuls and crunch them into recipes, saves chopping!
you can cut the garlic in half and pull out the bitter germ before mincing. The garlic will taste fine.
Hi Nagi. Do you use Australian (20ml) or US (15ml) tablespoons? Thanks!
Hi Joey, That’s a really good question. The short answer is – I use 15 ml but in the vast majority of my recipes, it does not matter if you use 20ml or 15 ml. BUT if it does matter, I either specify as such or I say 4 tsp (which is 20 ml) or 3 tsp (which is 15 ml) instead (because teaspoons are more standard across the world). 99% of the time it’s baking recipes where it matters. Or where I use a very strong sauce like dark soy sauce. And in those cases, I always cater for the difference.
And in case you are interested, the long answer is: Historically, the standard Australian tablespoon has been 20 ml but it’s 15 ml in just about every other country in the world. There is no law that dictates this. But interestingly, nowadays, more and more chefs are (according to professional chefs I know) using 15 ml as the standard. Plus I’ve noticed that most kitchenware stores sell more 15 ml tablespoon measures than 20 ml measures! This is an area that I took a keen interest in when I first started out food blogging because I was worried about the difference affecting my recipes. So even to this day, I always have a look when I’m in kitchenware shops!
Hope that helps! – N x
So fast and easy, and so fantastically yummy! This will be going on regular rotation! Added some water chestnuts- gave a nice bit of crunch/texture
I made two batches of these tonight for my wife and kids and we all agreed it was better than what we buy at the restaurant downtown. 10/10
Thank you so much.
5 star recipe! This is a dish I make almost every week. I usually add whatever vegetables that need to be used up. Usually it is Gai Lan, carrots, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and fresh green beans. I am making it for dinner tonight and just realized I am 1.5 Tablespoons short on oyster sauce. Is there a recommended substitute for oyster sauce in this dish? Thanks so much, Nagi!
Always a winner. Thanks Nagi!