Thai Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) feature wide rice noodles coated in a savory, spicy sauce and tossed with bits of chicken and zucchini. Ready in under 30 minutes, these spicy Thai noodles make an ultra flavorful, easy weeknight dinner!
Easy Thai Drunken Noodles
If you love Thai food or spicy food in general, you’ll love these quick & easy Thai drunken noodles. They’re a favorite Thai takeout dish easily made at home if you aren’t located anywhere near a Thai restaurant.
The sauce for these spicy Thai noodles include ingredients frequently used to cook Asian dishes. If you don’t have them on hand, however, you can typically find them in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores.
This drunken noodles recipe comes together in just 30 minutes, so it’s perfect for when that spicy food craving strikes or you just want something a little different for a weeknight dinner.
Why You’ll Love This Pad Kee Mao Recipe
Here are a few reasons to love these spicy Thai noodles.
- Control the spice level. Unlike in a restaurant, making drunken noodles at home means that you get to decide exactly how much you want your mouth to be on fire. Keep them at a fairly medium heat level or spice them up to your desire.
- Easy to customize. Beyond the spice level, this is also an easy recipe to customize by switching up the protein and veggies added.
- Perfect for busy weeknights. Ready in just 30 minutes, Thai drunken noodles are a quick and easy weeknight dinner. They’re ready faster than you can order takeout.
What Are Drunken Noodles?
Thai drunken noodles, also known as pad kee mao, are spicy Thai noodles. It’s one of the most popular Thai dishes, both in Thailand and in Thai restaurants around the world.
The dish is typically made with wide rice noodles doused in a spicy sauce made with oyster sauce, fish sauce, and light and dark soy sauce, and tossed with chunks of chicken and vegetables, plus basil. Thai chilis helps add the heat.
Ingredients Needed
Drunken noodles are made with just a handful of ingredients. For those that you don’t have on hand, you can typically find them in the Asian aisle at the store.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Wide rice noodles – If you can’t find thick rice noodles, I recommend using thinner rice noodles as opposed to linguine pasta, which will give you a completely different flavor and texture to the dish.
- Oyster sauce – Adds a sweet, salty, and savory flavor to the dish.
- Water
- Fish sauce – Fish sauce does not make the dish taste fishy, it just adds a great umami flavor. But you can omit it if preferred.
- Soy sauce – Using both dark and light soy sauce helps give this dish its unique taste.
- Sugar – Sweetens the sauce slightly and balances out the savory flavors.
- Vegetable oil – For cooking the chicken.
- Chicken breasts – Cut into small 1/2-inch pieces.
- Garlic – For wonderful aromatics and flavor.
- Thai chili – You can also use a jalapeno if you can’t find the Thai chili.
- Zucchini – Diced into small pieces.
- Thai basil leaves – If you can’t find Thai basil, Italian basil leaves will work but reduce the amount a bit.
- Scallions – These finish off the dish with a subtle onion flavor and pop of color.
Is Thai Basil The Same As Regular Basil?
No, Thai basil has a flavor that tastes a bit more like anise than regular basil and is known for its purple stems. You can typically find it in Asian grocery stores.
There is also Thai Holy Basil which is also known as “hot basil”. That is what is traditionally used in Thai drunken noodles but it’s quite difficult to find in most places.
In the event you can’t find either, Italian basil leaves or sweet basil leaves will work just fine.
How to Make Drunken Noodles
Thai drunken noodles are a quick and easy dish, perfect for busy weeknights.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Cook the noodles. Cook the rice noodles according to the package directions. Set aside.
- Make the sauce. Whisk together the oyster sauce, water, fish sauce, both soy sauces, and sugar. Set aside.
- Cook the chicken and zucchini. Add the oil to a skillet then cook the diced chicken for about 2 minutes. Add the zucchini, garlic, and chilis. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the zucchini is tender.
- Combine the ingredients. Add the noodles and sauce to the pan with the chicken. Cook for 1-2 minutes more, until the noodles are heated. Stir in the basil and sprinkle with scallions.
Tips & Variations
Here are a few tips for the best drunken noodles.
- Adjust the heat. While traditional Thai drunken noodles are very spicy, you can control the spice level at home by adjusting the amount of chilis added. Add more or less as desired.
- Try a different protein. Tofu, shrimp, and pork can all be used instead of chicken and you can feel free to add other veggies as well. Just note that the cooking time may vary for different meats.
- What makes Thai drunken noodles drunken? There’s no alcohol in this dish, so what makes the noodles “drunken”? It’s said to be because they’re so spicy, you’ll need to drink a beer with them.
- Are drunken noodles really spicy? They can be but this recipe is not overly spicy. And as noted above, you can easily adjust the spice level to your preference.
Serving Suggestions
For best results, I recommend serving immediately, while the noodles are hot and saucy from cooking.
Drunken noodles is a pretty filling dish due to the noodles, protein, and vegetables so it doesn’t really need a side dish. However, if you do want to add a side or two, consider spring rolls or steamed dumplings. A fresh Thai salad would also make a nice side.
Proper Storage
- Fridge. Store leftover Thai drunken noodles in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Freezing leftovers is not recommended as the noodles and zucchini will be quite mushy once thawed.
- Reheat. Reheat noodles in the microwave or on the stovetop. Note that the noodles will absorb the sauce so you may need to add a splash of extra soy sauce or water to prevent it from drying out.
More Thai-Inspired Recipes:
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Drunken Noodles
Ingredients
- 8 ounces wide rice noodles
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound chicken breasts , cut into small 1/2-inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 Thai chili or jalapeno , minced
- 1 medium zucchini , diced
- 10 Thai basil leaves , chopped
- 3 scallions , sliced
Instructions
- Cook the rice noodles according to the packaging, drain and set them aside.
- Whisk together the oyster sauce, water, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and sugar in a small mixing bowl, and set it aside.
- Add the vegetable oil to a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, chilis, and zucchini to the pan and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and zucchini is fork tender.
- Add the noodles and sauce to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes more until the noodles are heated through. Stir in the basil and serve with a sprinkle of scallions over the top.
Very tasty! My family very much enjoyed this! I used half the oil and swapped red bell pepper for zucchini. We will enjoy this again!
So delicious!