Cooking in

British Columbia

Thai · Bangkok

Pad Kee Mao — Drunken Noodles / ผัดขี้เมา

Pad kee mao (drunkard's noodles) is the spicier, more aromatic cousin of pad see ew — it uses the same wide fresh rice noodles but adds fresh bird's eye chillies, holy basil (krapao), and sometimes grachai (fingerroot) to the mix. The 'drunken' name is often explained as either the hangover cure quality of the high-chilli-high-aromatic combination, or more colourfully, as the kind of thing a drunk person might throw together from available ingredients. In practice, it is one of the most flavour-intensive Thai noodle preparations — hot, herby, charred, and deeply savoury. Seafood (prawn + squid) or chicken are the standard proteins.

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ServesFour portions

Sourced3 of 9 in BC

Cook

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The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

600 g

fresh wide rice noodles (sen yai)

room temperature, separated gently before use

Origin · ThailandChoose your town to see who stocks it →

300 g

prawns

peeled and deveined

Your own market

200 g

squid

cleaned, scored, cut into pieces

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

8–10

fresh bird's eye chillies

sliced; quantity adjusted to heat preference

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

4 cloves

garlic

finely chopped

Your own market

2 large handfuls

holy basil (krapao)

leaves picked; added at the end

Origin · New ZealandNot yet stocked in British Columbia

60 g

fingerroot (grachai / krachai)

peeled and sliced thin; optional but authentic

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

For the seasoning

2 tbsp

oyster sauce

Choose your town to see who stocks it →

2 tbsp

light soy sauce

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

1 tbsp

dark soy sauce

for colour and body

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

1 tsp

fish sauce

Your own market

1 tsp

white sugar

Your own market

2 tbsp

neutral oil

high smoke-point; e.g. rice bran or vegetable

Choose your town to see who stocks it →

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

The Method

Heat the wok over the highest available flame until it begins to smoke, then add the oil and swirl to coat — a properly smoking wok means the oil will move like water and the aromatics will sizzle instantly rather than stew. Add the garlic and bird's eye chillies and stir-fry for no more than 20 seconds, so the fat carries their heat and fragrance into the wok before any moisture from the seafood can cool things down. The aromatics are ready when the garlic is fragrant and beginning to colour at the edges — not browned through.

Add the prawns and squid and toss continuously over maximum heat, so any liquid they release evaporates on contact rather than pooling and dropping the temperature. The seafood is ready when the prawns have curled and turned opaque and the squid has tightened and taken on faint colour — approximately 90 seconds. Remove from the wok and set aside so the seafood does not carry over into toughness while the noodles are worked.

Without reducing the heat, add the noodles to the dry wok in a single layer, pressing them firmly against the surface and leaving them undisturbed for 30–40 seconds so direct metal contact scorches the outer surface and drives off surface moisture rather than steaming it. This is where the dish lives or dies: the noodles must acquire a true wok char — dark in patches, faintly smoky, with a dry outer surface — before they are turned or broken apart. A pale, steamed noodle at this stage cannot be recovered later.

Add the fingerroot and the combined seasoning sauces, then toss the noodles to coat, breaking apart any clumps so every strand drinks in the sauces while the residual heat is still fierce enough to drive off the liquid rather than leave it sitting. The noodles are ready when the sauces have been absorbed into the noodle surface and no pooling liquid remains in the wok — this is a dry-fried preparation, not a sauced one.

Return the cooked seafood to the wok and toss to combine and reheat, no more than 30 seconds, so it warms through without tightening further. Add the holy basil leaves and fold them through off or at the edge of the heat, so the leaves wilt gently and release their peppery, clove-like fragrance without blackening and turning bitter. The dish is ready when the basil has just wilted and that fragrance rises sharply from the wok.

III

Quality Hierarchy

Reserve — Fresh sen yai hand-pulled that day; live or day-boat seafood; wild-harvested holy basil at full flower; fresh fingerroot sliced to order.

Estate — Fresh sen yai from a trusted Thai supplier; market-fresh prawns and squid; holy basil purchased the same day; fingerroot from an Asian grocer.

Market — Packaged fresh wide rice noodles (refrigerated, brought to room temperature); supermarket prawns and squid (not frozen); sweet basil substituted only if holy basil is unavailable — acknowledged as a different dish.

House — Dried wide rice noodles rehydrated; frozen seafood, thawed and patted dry; sweet basil; no fingerroot — the essential architecture of the dish remains, at reduced intensity.

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. Noodles show dark, dry char patches against the wok surface before they are turned — not pale or steaming.

◇Sight. No pooling of sauce in the wok after seasoning is added — sauces are fully absorbed into the noodle surface.

◇Smell. A sharp, peppery-clove fragrance rises from the wok the moment holy basil is folded through — this signals the dish is ready to plate.

◇Sight. Prawns are fully curled and opaque; squid pieces have tightened and show faint surface colour.

◇Where it lives or dies. The noodles must acquire a true wok char — dark in patches, faintly smoky — before they are moved; a pale, steamed noodle cannot be recovered at any later stage.

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