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Bowl of pad kee mao, Thai drunken noodles, wide flat rice noodles coated in dark soy sauce with sliced chicken, wilted holy basil leaves, sliced red Thai chilies and onion, steam rising.

Pad Kee Mao: Thai Drunken Noodles

Wide rice noodles stir-fried in a smoking-hot wok with a punchy oyster-fish-soy sauce, chicken, chilies, and a big handful of holy basil.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the sauce
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce for color
  • 2 teaspoons sugar palm or white
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
For the stir-fry
  • 8 ounces dried wide rice noodles (sen yai) or 1 lb fresh wide rice noodles
  • 1 pound boneless chicken thigh sliced thin; or shrimp, pork, or firm tofu
  • 3 tablespoons neutral oil divided
  • 5 cloves garlic smashed
  • 3 to 5 Thai bird chilies sliced; use 2 for gentle heat
  • 1 small onion sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper sliced
  • 1 cup holy basil leaves packed; or Thai basil

Method
 

  1. Soak the dried noodles in hot (not boiling) water for 8 to 10 minutes, until pliable but still firm in the center. They finish cooking in the wok, so underdone is correct. Drain thoroughly and spread them out so they steam dry; wet noodles clump and kill the sear.
  2. Whisk together the oyster sauce, fish sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper in a small bowl. Set it beside the stove, because once the noodles go in there is no time to measure anything.
  3. Smash the garlic and slice the chilies. Slice everything else and keep it within arm's reach. This dish moves fast.
  4. Heat your wok over the highest heat until it just starts to smoke. Add 1 tablespoon oil, swirl, and sear the chicken in a single layer for 2 to 3 minutes, until just cooked through. Scoop it out and set aside.
  5. Add the remaining oil. Stir-fry the garlic and chilies for 30 seconds until fragrant, then the onion and bell pepper for 1 to 2 minutes. They should stay crisp.
  6. Add the noodles and pour in the sauce. Toss for 2 to 3 minutes so every strand is coated. Then let the noodles sit undisturbed for 45 to 60 seconds, until the edges touching the wok pick up a few dark charred spots. That is the flavor you are after.
  7. Return the chicken, toss once more, then take the wok off the heat and fold in the basil. The residual heat wilts it without turning it black. Serve immediately, straight from the wok.

Notes

Note 1: The sauce ratio is 2:1:1 oyster sauce to fish sauce to light soy. Dark soy sauce is here for color, not salt, which is why it is measured in teaspoons while everything else is in tablespoons. Once the ratio is locked, the sauce needs no tweaking.
Note 2: Noodle prep decides everything. Soak dried sen yai only until pliable-but-firm in the center and drain them bone dry; noodles that go in wet will clump no matter how hot the wok is.
Note 3: Cook one or two servings at a time. A home wok loses heat fast when crowded, and crowded pad kee mao steams instead of fries. A second batch takes five extra minutes and tastes twice as good.
Note 4: Keep the basil leaves dry and add them all at once at the very end, off the heat. Wet basil splatters, drops the wok temperature at the worst moment, and scorches.
Note 5: The charred edges are not a mistake. If your noodles come out uniformly soft and pale, the wok was not hot enough — push the heat and let the edges catch slightly.