Spicy, savory, and slightly sweet, these Drunken Noodles with Shrimp are inspired by the popular Thai street food pad kee mao.
Drunken Noodles with Shrimp
I love Thai food and Drunken Noodles are pretty high on my list of favorites right next to Pad Thai. If you want to make Thai food at home, I think you will love this easy recipe. It’s perfectly balanced with spicy, savory, and slightly sweet flavors, and the lime juice rounds the whole dish out! Plus, it’s a high protein recipe thanks to the shrimp and eggs and it’s easily made gluten-free if using gluten-free soy sauce. If you’re not a fan of shrimp, feel free to swap it with any protein you like. More of my favorite Thai recipes are these Green Curry Noodles, this and Green Curry Shrimp.
I recently got my hands on a new cookbook, Once Upon a Chef: Weeknight/Weekend Cookbook by Jenn Segal and I’ve been dying to make this dish. The book is 70% fast and easy weeknight meals and 30% slow and soothing weekend recipes. All her recipes look wonderful, and this dish did not disappoint! I slightly tweaked this one by cutting back on the oil but otherwise kept it the same. I think you’ll love it as much as we did, it had so much flavor!
What makes drunken noodles drunken?
Jenn says: “Contrary to what the name implies, the dish does not contain alcohol. Pad means “stir fry” and kee mao means “drunkard,” so it’s not the noodles that are drunk but rather the person who is eating them! I’m sure the dish is comforting after a night of partying – or that it’s spicy enough to sober you up – but for me, it’s simply a delicious weeknight dinner, ice-cold beer optional.”
Drunken Noodle Ingredients:
Below are the ingredients for this shrimp drunken noodle recipe. See exact measurements in recipe card below:
- Noodles: I use medium rice noodles because they are always stocked in my grocery store – these are the noodles used for pad Thai, which makes the recipe more of a drunken noodle-pad Thai hybrid. If you can fine wide rice noodles, feel free to use them.
- Protein: I used shrimp and eggs, you can also use tofu, chicken, beef, etc
- Vegetables: Broccoli and green onions were used. Feel free to swap with any veggies you have on hand.
- Flavor: Salt, garlic, sweet basil, lime juice for flavor.
- Drunken Noodles Stir Fry Sauce: Oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sriracha, brown sugar, water
Variations & Tips:
- Protein: Switch up the protein with pork, chicken breast or tofu for vegetarian drunken noodles.
- Spiciness: If you want milder pad kee mao noodles, omit the sriracha. Like it spicier? Add some chili peppers.
- Veggies: You can swap the broccoli for other vegetables such as red bell peppers, broccolini or chinese broccoli.
- To make gluten-free drunken noodles, use gluten-free soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos.
- For ultimate efficiency, prepare the other ingredients while your noodles soak.
Storage
I don’t typically store shrimp for more than 2 days, but if you make this with tofu or chicken, you can refrigerate leftovers up to 4 days.
More Thai Recipes You’ll Love:
- Green Curry Noodles
- Broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut Curry Sauce
- Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad
- Thai Basil Chicken
- Thai Chicken and Pineapple Stir Fry
Drunken Noodles Recipe
Equipment
- large nonstick wok
Ingredients
- 8 cups plus ¾ cup water, plus more as needed
- 8 ounces rice noodles, as thick as you can find
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce*
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or gluten-free Tamari
- 1½ tablespoons fish sauce
- 1½ tablespoons sriracha, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- salt
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 pound large shrimp, (31/35) peeled and deveined
- 2½ cups bite-sized broccoli florets , (from an 8-ounce/225 g broccoli crown)
- 1 bunch scallions, light and dark green parts separated, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup loosely packed Thai or Italian basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, from 1 lime
- Lime wedges, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the noodles: Bring the 8 cups (2 L) water to a boil in a large pot. Remove the pot from the heat and add the rice noodles. Stir very well so they don’t stick, then let soak, stirring frequently, until soft, pliable, and just shy of perfectly cooked (they should be al dente, just like regular pasta). This process should take 10 to 20 minutes; check the noodles frequently as the soaking time varies greatly depending on the width and brand of the noodles. Drain and rinse well with cold water. (If not using the noodles right away, toss them with a little oil to prevent sticking.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sriracha, brown sugar, and ¼ cup (60 mL) of the water.
- In a small bowl, beat the eggs with ⅛ teaspoon salt.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large (12-inch/30 cm) nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the shrimp and sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon salt; cook, tossing occasionally, until the shrimp are opaque and just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a large bowl and wipe clean.
- Spray the skillet with oil; add the eggs and scramble until cooked through.
- Transfer the eggs to the bowl with the shrimp.
- Add the broccoli to the pan along with ⅛ teaspoon salt and the remaining ½ cup (120 mL) water. Cover and steam until cooked through, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the broccoli to the bowl with the shrimp and eggs.
- Discard any excess water from the pan and wipe it clean with a moist paper towel.
- Return the pan to the stove, increase the heat to high, and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the light scallions and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the noodles and sauce to the pan and toss with tongs until the noodles absorb the sauce and are perfectly tender, 3 to 5 minutes. If the noodles remain a bit tough at this point, add 2 tablespoons water to the skillet and continue to toss and cook until tender. Repeat with more water as necessary.
- Add the shrimp, eggs, and broccoli, the dark scallions, and the basil and lime juice to the skillet and toss until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. If the noodles seem dry, add another tablespoon
Last Step:
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- Protein: Switch up the protein with chicken or tofu or skip it if you want vegetarian drunken noodles.
- Spiciness: If you want milder pad kee mao noodles, omit the sriracha. Like it spicier? Add more.
- To make gluten-free drunken noodles, use gluten-free soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos.
- For ultimate efficiency, prepare the other ingredients while your noodles soak.
