Recipe: Thai Drunken Noodles with Summer Veggies

Thai food is my absolute favorite cuisine! With its bright, fresh flavors, and the combination of sweet, salty, spicy, sour, and umami created by simple ingredients, it's not hard to see why I love cooking Thai food whenever I can. Even better is when I can incorporate plenty of veggies from our garden into a recipe - like this one, below.

This classic Thai dish is accented in this case by plenty of fresh veggies - including bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, and lots of Thai basil. While it has been a strange garden season, and not all crops have fared so well, our basil has been ridiculous! We are completely overwhelmed with both Thai basil and "regular" or Italian-style basil - to the point where I've finally given up and am just letting it go to flower. The waist-high bushes are so vibrant and leafy they are more like incredibly fragrant shrubs! So any recipe I can find that calls for a lot of basil is welcome.

To top it all off, this recipe takes less than an hour (30-45 minutes if you use your prep time wisely), which is a big plus in my book!

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A few notes: Use the widest rice noodles you can find (most restaurants use a rough-cut wide noodle similar to Pappardelle or rag noodles, but you can use Pad Thai noodles or whatever is accessible where you live).

For a vegetarian dish, you can skip the fish sauce and substitute tofu for the chicken, or omit the protein and just add more vegetables. If you can't find Thai basil, you can also use regular basil, but it will have a different flavor.

The ingredients cook quickly, so it's a good idea to have everything prepped in advance and ready to go. With good time management, you'll have dinner on the table in 45 minutes or less - which means spending less time over a hot stove on a hot summer day!

Lastly, if you are wondering why they are called "drunken" noodles, there are 2 different explanations that I have heard. One is that they are supposed to be a hangover cure, and the other is that they are best served with a cold beer. You can go with whichever version you prefer, but I think the beer sounds like a good idea - unless you're suffering from a hangover!  :-)

Thai Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao) with Summer Veggies*

Prep Time: 18 min
Cook Time: 15-20 min
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces wide rice noodles
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos
• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound boneless chicken breast (pasture-raised), cut into strips (optional)
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1-2 red Fresno peppers or jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into ribbons or chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, cut into ribbons or chopped
• 1 cup fresh Thai basil, roughly chopped

Instructions:

1. Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain.
2. Combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, honey, and 1/3 cup water in a bowl.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken, if using. Season with black pepper and cook until brown all over.
4. Add the shallots, garlic, Fresno peppers, and green onions. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until the shallots are soft and the garlic is fragrant.
5. Add the zucchini and bell peppers, cook another 5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.
6. Pour in the sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the sauce coats the chicken, about 5 minutes.
7. Stir in the noodles, carrots, and basil. Toss to combine, cooking another 3-5 minutes until the sauce coats the noodles.
8. Serve warm, topped with additional fresh chopped basil.

I hope you love this easy and delicious recipe as much as I do! Let me know how it turns out for you...

Rose.


* Recipe Source: HalfBakedHarvest.com