Drunken Noodles is a dish I always order in a Thai restaurant. Tara Thai, that venerable Thai place in Richmond’s Short Pump Mall makes a very good one, and I have been eating their version since way back when I was a carnivore. I just love Thai food but I find that it is easier to enjoy it when I cook it at home.

I used to think that they used some sort of alcohol in the noodles and that’s why they were called ‘drunken’. Then I thought they were called thus because they were soaked in sauce. But the actual story turned out to be different. Roughly translated, Kee Mao means drunkard. So these are actually ‘drunkard’s noodles’, made for people who have imbibed some, or maybe a lot. We all know our taste buds are dulled when we partake of the vino, and hence bar food is always over salted and over spiced because the patrons prefer it like that.

So Pad Kee Mao is strongly spiced and is heavy on salt and chili to cater to drunkard’s taste buds. Over a period of time, ‘drunkard’s noodles’ became drunken noodles. And the world got a lip smacking, tongue tingling spicy noodle dish.

My recipe for drunken noodles is vegan. I will not lie to you. Fish sauce is big in Thai cooking, and it does make a difference in taste. It is very hard to get the umami flavors without using fish sauce or shrimp paste. If you find Thai dishes exotic and can’t have enough of them, it is probably the fish sauce that gives them the WOW factor. Thankfully, vegan alternatives to fish sauce are available on the market.

If you are omitting fish sauce due to allergies of some kind, make sure to check the ingredients of the vegan fish sauce. They might be made of something else you are allergic to. And it is always better to play it safe!

Now we come to the noodles. Drunken noodles are made with flat, wide rice noodles. And yes, they are probably really great with this recipe. I did not have any this time so I used linguine. And it was fine, really. Linguini is very versatile that way and I love using it for veggie Lo Mein too. So use any kind of rice noodles if you have them. Otherwise use your regular Barilla pasta. Or whatever brand floats your boat.

I made a full batch of these using the whole 1 pound or 500g packet of noodles. This gave almost 6-8 very large servings. I can really eat those noodles, ya! I don’t skimp on my noodles, no sir!

This drunken noodles recipe uses loads of vegetables and tofu, and the most important ingredient here is my favorite Kikkoman sauce. Many recipes on the web ask for sweet soy sauce and oyster sauce. Unless you have a full Asian sauces pantry, you probably don’t have these. But I have provided some simple alternatives that will get you very close to authentic Thai taste and have you salivating for more.

Fresh basil is another important part of drunken noodles. Get the Thai Basil if possible, otherwise just go with any kind of fresh basil.

Make the sauce and cut the veggies, then saute them while the noodles cook.

Drunken Noodles Recipe

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So mark this one for the next time you are craving some hot Thai food or have a carb attack!