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.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
Nine not yet within reach.
How the 9 are reached
- Not yet within reach
- 9 · fresh wide rice noodles (sen yai), squid, fresh bird's eye chillies, holy basil (krapao), fingerroot (grachai / krachai), oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, neutral oil
I
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 · ThailandNot yet within reach of Osoyoos · each reach is counted
300 g
prawns
peeled and deveined
Your own market
200 g
squid
cleaned, scored, cut into pieces
Not yet within reach of Osoyoos · each reach is counted
8–10
fresh bird's eye chillies
sliced; quantity adjusted to heat preference
Not yet within reach of Osoyoos · each reach is counted
4 cloves
garlic
finely chopped
Your own market
2 large handfuls
holy basil (krapao)
leaves picked; added at the end
Origin · New ZealandNot yet within reach of Osoyoos · each reach is counted
60 g
fingerroot (grachai / krachai)
peeled and sliced thin; optional but authentic
Not yet within reach of Osoyoos · each reach is counted
For the seasoning
2 tbsp
oyster sauce
Not yet within reach of Osoyoos · each reach is counted
2 tbsp
light soy sauce
Not yet within reach of Osoyoos · each reach is counted
1 tbsp
dark soy sauce
for colour and body
Not yet within reach of Osoyoos · each reach is counted
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
Not yet within reach of Osoyoos · each reach is counted
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of Osoyoos →II
The Method
1
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.
2
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.
3
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.
4
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.
5
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
01
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.
02
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.
03
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.
04
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.
IV
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.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sake
From France
Nothing from France holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
Coffee
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
The working kitchen