Pad Kee Mao (Thai Drunken Noodles) Recipe

Just by glancing at a bowl of pad kee mao, it’s easy to notice the distinctive, extra-wide noodles, which “are important authentically, but not vital,” according to McGlinn. “Those wide noodles are just delicious in this dish and absorb all that flavor so well,” she continues, adding that you should be able to find them in the refrigerated section at Asian grocery stores. “If you can’t find wide noodles or don’t have an Asian grocery, you can try pappardelle, lo mein, or regular spaghetti,” McGlinn suggests. And, whichever noodles you end up using, you’ll want them cooked al dente before beginning the recipe.

Of course, there’s much more to drunken noodles than just the noodles themselves, so you’ll also need ground pork (also interchangeable for more common proteins like chicken, but McGlinn is partial to “the greasy nature and crumbly texture of ground meat”), soy sauce, brown sugar, scallions, white pepper, oyster sauce, fish sauce, oil, garlic, fresh ginger, half a shallot, Thai chiles, Shaoxing wine, baby corn, spinach, and Thai basil. “You can skip both the spinach and Thai basil, or you can add other veggies in their place,” says McGlinn, though she does note that this dish is a great way to sneak in some extra vegetables.