Simple ingredients make an extraordinary meal with this easy Thai Drunken Noodles recipe!
Many people want to know, “What are drunken noodles?” From what I understand, there are two conflicting “origin stories” regarding the name of this popular Thai recipe.
The first says that they are called “drunken noodles” because you’re meant to eat them to cure a hangover.
The second says the name was earned due to the heat level of the noodles; you have to drink a lot of beer to cool down your mouth!
I say, why not get a little tipsy eating a bowl of these noodles, then finish off the leftovers in the morning to help cure your hangover.
YOLO!
(OK, just kidding. But for real, I recommend Singha beer to wash down these noodles.)
I’ve been working on perfecting this drunken noodle recipe for a while because I wanted to keep it as easy as possible, and use only ingredients you can find at a well-stocked grocery store.
The only “specialty” ingredients you’ll need to pick up are Rice Noodles, Oyster Sauce, Fish Sauce, and Maggi Sauce, all of which should be on the Asian food aisle.
I keep all of these on hand because I cook a ton of Thai food! I recommend you do the same. You can check out my other Thai-inspired recipes right here.
If you can’t find Thai chilies, try using a Serrano. If you can’t find Thai basil, just use regular basil. It will still be delicious.
This dish is the perfect combination of savory, sweet, sour, and spicy. The fresh basil and lime juice really set off the flavor, so don’t skimp on the garnishes!
I like to make these Thai drunken noodles in this pan, but you can use whatever non-stick skillet you have handy.
If you love Thai food and Thai cooking as much as I do, then check out my post on 10 Kitchen Essentials for Thai Home Cooking.
Ready to learn how to make drunken noodles?
Here’s the Recipe!
Easy Thai Drunken Noodles Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon maggi sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
For the Noodles
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast - thinly sliced against the grain
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- 3 teaspoons sesame oil - divided
- 2 eggs - lightly beaten
- 1 cup sliced onion
- 2 cups shredded cabbage - green or purple
- 3 scallions - sliced into 1-inch pieces
- 1 carrot - grated
- 2 Thai bird's eye chilies - thinly sliced
- 1 cup roughly chopped Thai basil leaves
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Whisk the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Transfer a large spoonful of the sauce to a zip-close plastic bag. Place the sliced chicken in the bag and work the sauce into the meat. Set aside to marinate.
- Prepare the noodles for saute according to package directions (soaking in hot water until al dente).
- Heat 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil in a large wok or pan and quickly scramble the eggs until just set. Push them to the side of the pan and add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil.
- Add the onions, cabbage, and scallions to the pan; stir-fry 2 minutes.
- Transfer the marinated chicken to the pan and stir-fry with the vegetables for 3 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Add the prepared noodles, carrots, chilies, and remaining sauce. Toss well and stir fry for another 2 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the noodles are hot.
- Stir in the basil leaves. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing.
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Loved this recipe.. Although I think I need to add a step to wash the red cabbage really well beforehand because it turned everything in my dish purple! Still tasted great though!
That’s happened to me before, too! Still pretty, though 🙂
This looks absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to try it 🙂
Also, I hate to ask about a substitution in the first comment…but alas, here we are. I have a friend who really loves the drunken rice from No Thai but hasn’t found a recipe online that calls for rice. Looking at your recipe, it seems to me like you could just cook the rice and then add it when you’d normally add the noodles, but since my cooking knowledge is pretty limited, is there anything problematic you can foresee that I’m missing?
P.S. The green and purple together is genius. I love it when food looks good, too 🙂
Hi, Brianna! I’ve never heard of Drunken Rice before… I don’t see why it wouldn’t work out, but I’ve never tried it. Let me know if it works well!
I used to order a lovely thai dish at a local restaurant called Snow Angel. It was broth-based with chucks of chicken, mushrooms, coconut milk, with basil, crushed peanuts, scallions, ginger and who knows what else. It was served over either rice or noodles; sadly, it’s been so long I can’t remember. Do you have any idea how to make this dish? Please say yes. I love your site, by the way. Fabulous, mouth-watering photos and recipes. Thank you.
Hmm, the closest thing I could think of would be a Tom Kha Gai recipe. I have one here: https://thewanderlustkitchen.com/thai-tom-kha-gai-chicken-coconut-soup/
You might try serving it over rice and topping it with crushed peanuts!