Pad Kee Mao Moo (Drunk's Noodles with Pork)

I'm spending quite a bit of time at the moment re-visiting some of my earlier recipes, making some amendments where needed and updating the photos- some of my earlier attempts were not very pretty!! Pad Mee Mao (Drunk's noodles; so named as they're just right after a night's drinking- think spicy, greasy and quick to make- sooo much better than a nasty takeaway kebab!) hold a special place in my heart; it's the meal I had in Manchester's China town whilst on my hen do back in 2009 and I made a point then of learning the recipe.

There are a couple of changes to the other version of this recipe I made back in 2014- simply I've changed a few of the veggies and I now use the (optional) additions of green peppercorns and krachai (fingerroot) for added punchiness. I also think it's essential that you try to get fresh wide rice noodles (sen yai) for this dish- they're soft and stretchy but not chewy and suck up all the sauce, giving you a relatively dry dish. I've used pork rather than chicken but that's totally up to you, this is a very good candidate for a purely veggie version.

For 4 small/ 3 large portions use:

• 2 pork steaks, trimmed of fat, cut into thin slices
• 400g or thereabouts of fresh rice noodles, separated into individual strands
• a handful of green beans, cut into inch long pieces
• a carrot, peeled and sliced- I have a fancy gadget- a komkom that does the star shaped edges
• 6-8 baby corn cobs, sliced into inch long pieces
• a large bunch of sweet basil or holy basil, leaves ripped off stems
• (optional) a tablespoon of green peppercorns
• (optional) a few fingers of krachai (fingeroot), cut into thin slivers
• 4 large cloves of garlic, peeled
• 4 small red chillies
• a very big splash of oyster sauce
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• a small splash of fish sauce
• a small splash of dark soy sauce
• a pinch of sugar
• vegetable oil for frying

• Lightly bash the garlic and red chillies into a rough paste
• Heat a splash of oil in a wok until hot and very briefly fry the garlic/chilli paste
• Throw in the pork (if using) and stir fry for a minute
• Throw in the veggies and stir fry, tossing everything together
• If using, throw in the green peppercorns and krachai and mix, cooking for 2 minutes
• Put all the sauces and sugar in together, stir the ingredients through.
• Put in all the noodles, mixing very well so they absorb the sauces and colour. Careful not to overcook- rice noodles can become stodgy very quickly- only cook as long as needed, around 1 minute.
• Toss through the sweet basil leaves, sprinkling some over the top of the finished dish.

Pad Kee Mao (Drunk's Noodles)

Pad Kee Mao (Drunk’s Noodles)

Pad Kee Mao is the Thai version of going to an takeaway and ordering a kebab at the end of the night. It’s a fiercely hot, slightly greasy and salty stir fry that will soak up the alcohol after a night out and it’s so bloody hot will perhaps go some way to sobering you up!

For a one person portion use:

• a small chicken breast, thinly sliced


• a one person portion of rice noodles (thin or wide)


• a few stalks of broccoli, cut in half


• about 6 baby sweetcorn, halved


• 4 cloves of garlic


• 4 birds eye chillies, sliced fine


• a small handful of Thai basil (use tarragon as a substitute)


• a good splash of soy sauce


• a small splash of dark soy sauce


• a small splash of Thai fish sauce (nam pla) all supermarkets sell it


• a small splash of oyster sauce (use bottled not stir fry sauce mix)


• a pinch of sugar


• vegetable/sunflower oil for frying

In advance, If you have dried noodles that require soaking get them ready and prepare them to the packet specification. Like lots of my previous recipes, start off by bashing up 3 of the 4 chillies and all the garlic in a mortar until you have a rough paste. Finely chop the other and leave on the side until later. Heat oil in a wok and when hot, add the chilli and garlic paste. After a few seconds, add in the chicken, and stir fry for a minute. Next add in the vegetables and keep stir frying for another minute until the chicken is mostly cooked through. Next, add all four liquids and the sugar and cook down for another few minutes. Finally add in your noodles and toss them well to coat them in the sauce. Turn the heat off and throw in the basil leaves, stir through then dish up. Top the finished dish with the remaining chopped chilli.