Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles) Recipe (2024)

Good recipe. It lacks a some sweetness though - which would round out the salty, sour, sweet trifecta. Substituted an extra spoon of regular soy with some agave syrup in lieu of the dark soy sauce. The rice noodles will be almost done if you wait an hour and let them soak in. So add those last in the line up. Just before the basil. Otherwise they will be too mushy. – A keeper!

the recipe is not asking for dark soy, it is asking for a "sweet thick soy sauce" like kecap manis

If you can find Thai Black Soy you should use it - it's quite sweet. Otherwise another good sub might be a bit of Hoisin.

Thai here, and it is more common to use spaghetti (yes!) or instant noodles for pad kee mao. Rice noodle is less preferred for this recipe :)

Strongly recommend against prepping the noodles according to step 1; they turn into a congeal gooey mess. Rather cook them al dente according to the packet instructions, rinse under cold water, sprinkle with a little oil to prevent sticking

Some may not have Asian markets close by. Try Trader Joe's baby bok choy, It's fresh and washed. TJ's broccolini, mostly very good.Like pad thai, I might put spoonfuls of crushed peanuts on this to make just a little more substantive.

I’ll definitely make again. I added mushrooms which I loved. I added a little more soy sauce and a tablespoon of honey as I didn’t have the Thai black soy sauce.

made exactly as is, just tripled the sauce as suggested. Very yummy and actually quite easy (after reading the directions 17 times) Will make again!

Molly - Did you use fresh, garlic cloves or bottled pre-minced garlic - pre-minced would really decrease flavor. The authentic Thai version is always made with pork. NYT adds tofu as an option but probably did not test it as tofu is plain and simple a flavor neutralizer - every single dish we ever make using tofu instead of animal protein requires a lot more flavoring - it is just the nature of the beast (or lack of beast! LOL) since animal proteins contain many, many delicious flavor compounds.

We used extra garlic, bok choy, and fresh rice noodles. Plus, we veganized this dish with vegan oyster sauce and vegan fish sauce. It was amazing and tasted restaurant-worthy.

Vicki b: if your cold tap water is safe to drink, then the water from the water heater is safe to drink and to use in cooking.

Definitely use hoisin if you can’t find the sweet soy sauce mentioned. Also soaking in water was key to prevent the dreaded “rice noodle clump.” I did 30-40 min in warm water and then because I didn’t think they were soft enough, drained water and soaked another 10 min in hot tap water.

I’ve read that hot tap water isn’t potable, maybe use hot water from another source?

A nice variation if you don't happen to have oyster sauce and/or thick soy, or like me prefer the dish more "bright," is 1 tablespoon each of fish sauce and soy sauce, and 1 tsp. brown or coconut sugar, then finish the dish with a good squeeze of lime juice. Also instead of or in addition to gai lan, red or yellow bell peppers quickly sauteed are great.

This was a really nice flavour combo. I added extra garlic and would add one or two more chilies next time. I’ve discovered the best way to do rice noodles in a dish like this is soak them in cold water for about an hour before adding straight to the wok, no precooking. I added these while the greens were cooking. A slash or two of water and they soften quickly but still hold up al dente. Yum

Loved this dish. Hot and spicy and garlicky — reminds me of hot steamy nights in Bangkok. I didn’t add Thai basil because I didn’t have any (and I don’t like Italian basil as a substitute). I’ll probably double the sauce next time. I used pad see ew noodles and put them in hot tap water for 20 minutes before adding to the stir fry. Looking forward to adding that I basil next time I can find it. Yummy!

Delicious and nourishing. Next time I’ll make more sauce. Even without “enough” sauce, I inhaled this. Used 2 small Thai chiles. Used slightly less gai lan the full 6 bunches/stalks, but it was still very full of veggies. I used Taiwanese basil.

I’ve made this quite a few times, & it’s excellent. Using a Dutch oven is my new favorite trick—especially since my apt. has an electric stove on which I can’t use a wok. Sticking is minimal, incredibly! (Except using tofu. Don’t use tofu.)I hew closely to the recipe, except: 1) It’s best with 1 pound of fresh wide rice noodles—no soaking required, just separating. (I get these at 99 Ranch here in SoCal.) 2) I replace the Thai black soy sauce with roughly equal parts Chinese dark soy & sugar.

This turned out great. I was skeptical that the sauce would rival my favorite restaurant, but it all came together. I made extra sauce and used leftovers to flavor a chicken and mushroom soup, perfection! Based on other comments, I used a little honey in place of the black soy sauce.

Fantastic recipe. Have made it many times, subbing out different vegetables and proteins (if not using ground cut the protein thin so they cook quickly!). And even used a Scotch Bonnet pepper in place of serrano or red bird’s-eye once. Which added great flavor and I felt the perfect amount of heat

Quite good! Used the dutch oven instead of a large fry pan and really liked the results! Also used the "square rice noodles" Not noodles but square "noodles" and like the result-the noodles did not get all squished together. Agree not too sweet but you can add some if needed. Lots of fresh basil and the protein a combo of a shrimp and 8 ounces pork.

This was really delicious. I made it with shrimp, bok choy and I added some red bell pepper for color and additional veg. I didn't have chilies, so I added some sambal paste we had at home.

Must use thai basil, not regular

Loved this. Made with tofu - medium firm broke down a bit but that was fine for me. Also might blanch the gai lan in salted water next time to add flavor and also reduce cooking time in the wok.

I gave this one star because if you follow the instructions, you end up with broken, gelatinous rice noodles. The picture looks like tagliatelle pasta. Cook the tagliatelle noodles to al dente minus 2 minutes and run cold water over to prepare them to be finished in the wok. If you use tofu, pre cook the tofu until it is golden brown and crispy. Also, double the sauce if using tofu.

Mostly posting so I can remember what I did.With only a college student's pantry to work with, I made the sauce with 4 tbs soy sauce, 2 tbs fish sauce, and around 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar to sub for sweet soy sauce and oyster sauce. This worked pretty well. 1/4 cup sugar matched the sweetness I would expect from a restaurant but I suspect is a bit sweeter than what this recipe intends.The thai basil is key to making this dish taste right. Can def throw in a lot of veggies tho.

This recipe is fantastic. I did not have sweet soy so I added a teaspoon of sugar to balance of the salt and it was great. I served with a slice of lime. Incredible. Will be making this again.

Made it probably third time and every time I’ve doubled the recipe - it’s a bit unwieldy but doable. I think it gets better each time! I soak the noodles per the recipe w good results - err on the side of under-soaking. Flavors are less sweet than takeout but I realize the Chinese dark soy I use is less sweet than Thai dark soy so I might add a bit of molasses or something next time. Sauce per recipe is more than what you need, about 1 extra tbsp (for the qty in recipe) sounds about right.

I had a 14 oz package of noodles, so doubled the sauce. I was able to find sweet black Thai soy sauce at an Asian market, so the sauce was nicely sweet. We added extra veggies (onion, carrot, red bell pepper) on the advice of my kids. I also substituted crushed red peppers for the fresh chiles, which was easier. I’m going to be more careful to keep the noodles firmer before adding them to the stir fry. We all loved it.

Definitely needs more sauce. Added some honey to balance out the sauce. Don't bother following the rice noodle instructions here, just follow the package instructions.