Sunday Supper: Pad Kee Mao

Pad Kee Mao is a pretty simple Thai stir fry dish (that I recently learned is inspired by Chinese dishes that were cooked in Laos). The name sounds fancy because it is foreign, but the dish itself takes less than 30 minutes total to make!

If you have Pad Kee Mao in a Thai restaurant in the states, they might also call it “Drunken Noodles.” There is no alcohol in the dish, so this always confused me, but folklore says the original dish is so spicy that it will cure a hangover. Others say that it’s so spicy that only drunks can eat it. (Question: has anyone else heard a correlation between drunks and spicy food? I have not. But am intrigued).

Well, in search of a recipe for this dish, I scoured the used book store Thai cookbooks, the Internet, and many other places. I couldn’t come up with anything that matched my perfect pad kee mao – so I kind of created my own recipe. Results? Scott says it’s AWESOME, I liked it, and it was even better for lunch today!

So, if you are up for a little adventurous cooking, this would be a good place to start. It’s a very tasty dish, that even non-Thai food likers love (no curry for your curry evaders).

ingredients for stiry fry (forgot to show noodles and meat)

Marinade Ingredients:
1 pound thin sliced steak (you can use chicken, tofu, or add more veggies, this is a very flexible dish) cut into 1″ squares
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg
1 Tablespoon rice wine or rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon fish sauce (can purchase in any major market in the asian section)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Marinate meat in refrigerator for at least 10 minutes, up to overnight.

45 minutes before you begin, soak the rice noodles in hot water. Leave them to soak until they are soft, but not mushy.

Stir Fry Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, minced
5 thai chiles (little green ones next to jalapenos, sub jalapeno if needed), thinly sliced (use chiles to your taste preferences, we like it hot!)
1 red jalapeno, thinly sliced
marinated steak
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 small crown broccoli, broken into small pieces
1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
1 package extra wide rice noodles*
*(also called rice flakes, any rice noodle can work. found in an asian grocery or in asian section of major market)
2 eggs, lightly scrambled
1 Tablespoon Dark Sweet Soy Sauce (found in asian section of major market)
1 Tablespoon Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce (can substitute light soy sauce for this)
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:
1. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmery. Add garlic and chiles to oil and let saute for 30 seconds.
2. Add meat. Cook thoroughly, while stirring and flipping. About 4 minutes.
3. Add broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes. Stirring constantly.
4. Add noodles to mixture and toss, incorporating all ingredients.
5. Add eggs and mix with all ingredients, scrambling into dish.
6. Add remaining ingredients (Dark sweet soy through brown sugar). Incorporate and ensure it coats noodles, vegetables, and meat entirely.

Serve. Delicious!

I don’t serve this with anything on the side, it’s a one pot meal for sure. You could serve with some other vegetables if needed, but no rice or bread as the starch is in the rice noodle.

finished product

Advertisements