Drunken Noodles
Whether hungover or completely sober this drunken noodle recipe is delicious and easy to make. Perfect for any night of the week and sure to impress your guests.
Drunken Noodles
Drunken Noodles is the tried and true Thai-style dish that’s always delicious, fiery, and without a doubt a regular favorite. With just the right combination of spices, vegetables, and meat (or tofu), you can have a great meal to serve at home or to your friends all while getting it done under 30 minutes.
Made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, drunken noodles have a complex flavor profile that will make it feel like you’ve ordered takeout from your favorite Asian restaurant. Spicy, sweet, and tangy this stir fry dish is as addictive as it is tasty and goes pairs perfectly with a cold beer.
What ingredients do you need to make Drunken Noodles?
The great thing about this recipe is that it’s made with common ingredients that you would typically find in your pantry. But the star ingredient in this dish is the wide rice noodles that are used instead of traditional spaghetti noodles. These wider-than-normal noodles hold a lot more flavor and make it easier to hold on to all of that saucy goodness. Here are some of the other ingredients you’ll need.
- Protein: Be it chicken, steak, or tofu for a vegan option, the choice is yours.
- Wide Rice Noodles: The one necessity in making drunken noodles. The wider the noodle the better.
- Shallots: Sweeter than your regular onion.
- Oil: You’ll need to use some oil to cook the noodles and vegetables. I recommend using vegetable oil as it has a high smoke point.
- Garlic: A necessity always, garlic a lot of flavor and depth to this dish
- Ginger: Adds warmth and depth to the dish
- Thai Basil or Regular Basil: Brings freshness and a slight anise flavor
- Red Bell Pepper: The vegetable choice for this dish is yours. I chose red bell peppers but you can add other vegetables instead such as carrots, zucchini, or asparagus.
- Green Onion: Add a crisp texture and oniony taste
- Chilis: Gives that nice kick of heat we all know and love. I used serrano chilis, but you can substitute thai chilis or jalapenos.
- Lemongrass: Untraditional, but an amazing addition. Lemongrass adds a citrusy lemony taste
What is the difference between Pad Thai and Drunken Noodles?
While at first glance they may look the same. Pad Thai and drunken noodles are both stir fry dishes but vary when it comes to taste. Pad Thai is typically made with thin noodles with a sweeter taste, while Drunken noodles have a thick rice noodles and are more on the spicy side.
Drunken Noodles
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
Stir Fry
- 1 pack of chicken thighs (cut into strips)
- 2 tbsp sesame oil (or canola / vegetable oil )
- 1 large shallot (minced)
- 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1" chunk of ginger (grated)
- 1 cup basil (torn to pieces)
- 1 red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
- 2 green onions (cut into 2" pieces)
- 1 birds eye thai chili pepper (or jalapeno / serrano pepper)
- 1 stalk of lemongrass (pounded and cut into 2" pieces)
- 8 oz wide rice noodles
Instructions
- Cook wide rice noodles according to package directions.
- Make the sauce by adding brown sugar, soy sauce, mirin, oyster sauce, and fish sauce to a bowl. Mixing well until ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil on a large skillet (or wok) and add chicken.
- Cook chicken until browned about 2-4 minutes while stirring.
- Add garlic and ginger, and cook for 10 seconds. Add shallots, Thai chili, green onions, lemongrass, and red bell pepper. Cook until veggies begin to soften.
- Add in noodles and sauce and cook for 1 minute, until noodles are fully coated.
- Remove from heat, stir in torn basil, and serve immediately.