The Ingredients Challenge
I’ve been posting a lot of Asian recipes lately, and have been getting questions about the ingredients and where to find them. For the most part, I go to an Asian grocery store (in Tucson, I frequent Lee Lee Market) but, of course, online purveyors can be very useful when trying to source ingredients.
Below, I have included photographs so that you can see what some ingredients look like. (Not all are used in this recipe.) I often take photographs like these with me to the Asian grocer (I keep them on my phone) so I can match either the exact photo or the name to products in the store. Various transliterated spellings don’t help; one example is Xiao Xing wine. Sometimes it is spelled Shao Xing. Sometimes it’s put together as one word.
Today’s recipe for Pad Kee Mao (Drunken or Drunkard’s Noodles) is one of our favorites. Three Thai chiles make it pretty spicy, so you can either tone it down or ramp it up as you like. I highly recommend using Thai basil, if you can get it, as its flavor is very distinctive. However, if you cannot find it, regular basil works just fine. And, either way, definitely don’t skimp on the basil, as that is a major flavor in this dish.
As with many Asian stir fry dishes, once you start, this comes together very quickly. The step that takes the most time is velvetizing the protein using cornstarch. The 20 or so minutes this takes allows you to prepare all the other ingredients and have them ready.
~ David
Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles)
To print this recipe, please click on the small printer icon below.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces chicken breast, flank steak, pork tenderloin, or shrimp
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 1 pound fresh wide rice noodles *
- 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon kecap manis
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 3 tablespoons canola oil (divided)
- 1-inch piece ginger, coarsely grated
- 2 shallots, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch pole to pole
- 3 Thai red chili peppers, sliced (seeds remove, if desired)
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves
- 8 ounces kai lan (Chinese broccoli) or broccolini
Instructions
- If using chicken, beef, or pork, thinly slice the pieces so that they are bite-size. If using shrimp, peel, and devein them, and slice them in half lengthwise. Place sliced chicken (beef or pork) in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch and stir to coat. Add 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon oil, and mix until the meat is evenly coated. (If using shrimp, skip the cornstarch as it will make them mealy, and simply drizzle shrimp with the 1 teaspoon each soy sauce and oil, then stir to coat.) Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Separate noodles and place them in a bowl. * [see note below]
- To make the sauce, stir together the brown sugar, both soy sauces, fish sauce, oyster sauce, kecap manis, and white pepper in a small bowl.
- Slice the kai lan, including stems, and set aside. (Alternatively, cut the florets off the broccolini and then cut the stems into 1-inch pieces. Keep stems and florets separate. Rinse the stems and, without drying, microwave (covered) for 2 minutes. Rinse the florets and add to the stems and microwave together for 1 minute longer. Alternatively, they can be steamed on the stovetop.)
- Place grated ginger, sliced shallot, and sliced chiles in a bowl.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and add the chicken or beef, and stir fry quickly for 1 to 2 minutes until almost fully cooked. Remove from the skillet, place in a bowl, and set aside.
- Add the grated ginger, shallot, and chiles to the center of the pan and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon oil. Stir fry until fragrant – about 1 minute. Add the kai lan and stir fry for 1 minute. (If using broccolini, add the cooked stems and florets. Stir fry for 30 seconds.)
- Add the noodles, give them a quick stir to ensure they are separated, then add the sauce. Cook for 1 minute, gently tossing to coat the noodles. Add the basil leaves and cook until wilted – about 1 minute longer.
- Add the reserved meat or shrimp and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Serves 4.
- * If fresh wide (1-inch) rice noodles are not available, you can buy noodles that come in sheets. When unfolded, the sheets are approximately 18 inches long. Start by cutting the sheets into 6-inch squares, then cut each square into 1-inch wide noodles. They can be stacked when cutting. Cut with a sharp knife.
© 2024 Copyright Cocoa & Lavender
Mimi Rippee
May 27, 2023 at 5:19 amI love this dish!!! But never thought to make it myself. Thank you so much.
Cocoa & Lavender
May 28, 2023 at 5:02 amMy pleasure! I know you will love this and it is so easy to make at home!
Mad Dog
May 27, 2023 at 6:34 amThat is definitely one to make and no trouble getting those ingredients here!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 28, 2023 at 5:02 amThe hardest thing to find were the super wide rice noodles — everything else was a breeze!
Fran @ G'day Souffle
May 27, 2023 at 7:26 amI’ve always thought the name “Drunken Noodles” was rather funny and I just looked up the history behind the name. It seems that drunk people would try to quench their thirst by eating the noodles. Not sure if this is correct, but it sounds fun enough for me to try this recipe! Your recipe has all the ingredients I love and your photo is great!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 28, 2023 at 5:03 amI looked up the story (stories), too, but none was definitive so I decided not to share one or more. Any the fabulous recipe! 🙂
Jane Sanders
May 27, 2023 at 8:20 amOne of our favorites, but other than in a restaurant, I never knew a “home” cook who made this recipe.
So, thank you, David, for making this and sharing. I will gather the ingredients and have a wonderful time
creating!
Jane
Cocoa & Lavender
May 28, 2023 at 5:04 amI think it’s always so much fun to go to the Asian market — so many aisles of possibilities! I hope you have fun gathering ingredients and making this, Jane!
Eha
May 27, 2023 at 4:19 pmReading and writing from Australasia I have truly found your post interesting to discover the ingredient differences on either side of the Pond. Glad to see the actual bottles – oddly not from the same firms we use! I buy all my dry ingredients from my supermarket on line monthly but were I to go to my local country supermarket I would face a triple-Storey 10 metre long set of shelves with Asian +++ ingredients – have not been in an Asian shop in decades! Geography again! Love your recipe – as you know I literally live on such dishes1!!!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 28, 2023 at 5:06 amYes, well, you are much closer to the source with a much larger Asian population! (Three times the percentage of Asians in the US.) It only makes sense that you have much more available to you at your grocery store. In parallel, I bet we have much more Mexican and Latin American foods available to us. I knew you would love this dish — so easy and good!
Ronit
May 28, 2023 at 9:57 amOne of my favorite dishes when dining out, but homemade is always so much better. As you’ve mentioned, gathering the ingredients can sometimes be tedious, but it’s definitely worth the effort.
Interesting story behind the name! 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
May 29, 2023 at 4:11 amI almost always prefer homemade to a restaurant meal… but there are exceptions! 🙂
sherry
May 28, 2023 at 9:17 pmthis looks very tasty David. I love going to the local japanese store but it can be quite hard to decipher what I’m buying as the labels can be totally in japanese or in weird english 🙂 It’s fun tho!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 29, 2023 at 4:12 amI definitely know what you mean, Sherry. But it is a lot of fun to try.
Christina Conte
May 28, 2023 at 11:47 pmI’ve been making a lot of Asian dishes as it was my new year’s “resolution” to cook more of this cuisine, and I’ve been delighted with all but one. This is a huge yes to me! Love everything about it! I’ve been learning about the ingredients needed too, and have quite a few of the ones in your pictures. Thanks for always inspiring, David!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 29, 2023 at 4:13 amLike you, I’ve been making so many more Asian dishes. I’m not sure why I didn’t before, but I’m very excited about them now. You will see a few more coming soon… Thanks, as always, for your kind comment!
2pots2cook
May 29, 2023 at 4:33 amWide rice noodles would also be the problem here but I’ll look for them online. We both love Asian food , especially during summer : quick to make and so light and tasty….. Thank you for this one David!
Cocoa & Lavender
May 29, 2023 at 11:20 amThat is definitely part of the ingredients challenge / but maybe substituting other rice noodles would work, Davorka?
Frank | Memorie di Angelina
May 29, 2023 at 6:21 amIt’s so easy to get tripped up buying Chinese and other Asian ingredients as there doesn’t seem to be one standard translation so the same ingredient can go by different names in English. And as you say transliterations aren’t much help either! Your solution is brilliant. 🙂
Cocoa & Lavender
May 29, 2023 at 11:22 amThanks, Frank. -not sure it’s brilliant as much as useful! It also really helps to show the photos to the staff.
Jeff the Chef
May 29, 2023 at 8:08 amThose photos are so helpful, and what a great idea to keep them in your phone. There is a pan-Asian neighborhood near me, and it has many groceries that leave you wanting if all you can read is English. I’ve found it helpful to use a barcode scanner app on my phone, and pretend like I’m trying to order the item that I’m looking at on the shelf.
Cocoa & Lavender
May 29, 2023 at 11:23 amThat is a great idea, Jeff – am getting a bar code app today!
Velva
May 30, 2023 at 11:45 amI am all over this recipe! Delicious. I used to love to travel to Atlanta and made sure to visit the H Mart ( An Asian Costco).
Lots of great ingredients here.
Velva
David Scott Allen
May 30, 2023 at 9:36 pmThanks, Velva — there is an H Mart in Phoenix but I have yet to go. Maybe that would be a fun summer outing!
Raymund
May 31, 2023 at 2:28 pmI totally understand the challenges of finding the right ingredients but I guess once you find a nice Asian Grocer, most of them will have what you need. I had the same challenge after moving here in NZ but now I think I can find most of the things I have trouble finding before.
The-FoodTrotter
June 4, 2023 at 12:08 pmIt looks so delicious and so authentic in terms of choice of seasonning and garnish. I could easily eat the whole plate. I believe I had this dish actually in a small B&B in Phuket… A long long time ago!
Cocoa & Lavender
June 9, 2023 at 7:44 amSadly, we did eat the whole plate. It’s really hard to stop eating food when it’s as good as this recipe! I’ve been really bad about checking in on blogs, especially when I’m unable to get the email reminders. I promise I’ll be visiting your soon, as I’ve seen some beautiful things on your Instagram and Facebook pages.
Valentina
June 7, 2023 at 1:12 pmGreat idea to bring photos to the Asian market. We have a few I frequent around here — shopping at them is one of my favorite things to do. I’m like a kid in a candy store. And I love those big wide rice noodles. Such a great comfort food. Drunken Noodles are the best, and now I’ll try them at home. I even have Thai basil in my teeny-tiny kitchen/herb garden. 🙂 ~Valentina
Cocoa & Lavender
June 9, 2023 at 7:37 amThe more I go to the Asian market, the less I need the photos… But sometimes, they move things, and the photos make it a lot easier to identify. Or, get help finding them.