These flavoursome Thai Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) are so simple and easy to make. They are also vegan and gluten-free. Garlicky, salty, zingy and nutty, they’re almost what the doctor ordered!

Now I’m not quite sure whether a drunk man came home one day to his Thailand abode with the munchies, had no idea what to make and shoved the entire contents of his cupboards and fridge into a pan and fried the shit out of them or if there was ever a recipe adapted to contain alcohol (because apparently the original one features no alcohol whatsoever), but either way, a few drunken affairs happened along the way.

I guess nobody knows nor will ever know what actually happened on the day of this invention, but it was definitely a good one. The dish itself is a mix of intensely flavoursome sauces fried as quickly as possible with some protein bits and bobs and of course, noodles.
Questions about Drunken Noodles
How to make Drunken Noodles? To make Drunken Noodles, you will need the following ingredients: onion, garlic, ginger, chillies, tofu, mushrooms, carrots, beansprouts, coraingder, chives, peanuts, rapeseed oil, sesame oil, tamari, rown sugar and rice vinegar. Soak the rice noodles in cold water for 30 minutes. In a wok, heat the rapeseed oil and fry the onions, garlic and ginger for a few minutes. Next add the remaining ingredients (except chives and coriander) and continue to fry a couple more minutes until vegetables are becoming slightly tender. Remove from the hear and stir in the coriander and chives and serve.
What are drunken noodles? Drunken noodles is a dish originating from Thailand , also known as pad kee mao. It is composed of fried rice noodles that are flavoured with salty soy, toasted sesame, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, sugar and a diverse range of crisp vegetables and peanuts. All ingredients are flash fried. The legend behind the story is that a guy who was drunk threw these ingredients together to create this flavoursome dish – apparently when served with a beer it is the perfect hangover cure!
Do Drunken Noodles contain alcohol? Drunken noodles do not contain any alcohol at all. However it is recommended that they are served with a beer to cure a hangover!
Drunken Noodles Recipe
Serving size:
Serves 2
Ingredients for vegan fried noodles:
- 250g dried rice noodles
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 6 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 red chillies
- 80g roasted peanuts
- 150g smoked tofu sliced
- 100g mushrooms sliced
- 2 carrots julienned
- 100g beansprouts
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp tamari
- 1 sheet nori thinly cut
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger crushed
- Handful coriander
- Handful chives chopped
Method:
- Soak the noodles in cold water for 30 minutes.
- Pan fry the onions, garlic, chilli and nori sheet in the rapeseed oil for 5 minutes.
- Add the rest of the vegetables and tofu.
- Stir in all of the sauces and noodles and flash fry.
- Remove from the heat and sprinkle with peanuts, coriander and chives.
Made these Fried Noodles?
If you had a go at these vegan Noodles please feel free to give me a shout on Instagram at @food_flaneur – would love to see your pics!
If you like Thai food…
You should definitely give these recipes a try:
Big Thanks to…
The Recipe Tin Eats for their inspiration in helping me create this recipe. You can find their version here: https://www.recipetineats.com/pad-kee-mao-thai-drunken-noodles/.
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