January 22, 2012
Thai drunken noodles or pad kee mao is a totally delicious dish perfect for any night of the week. This stir-fried noodle dish is loaded with vegetables- to streamline the preparation, cut the veggies the night before. This recipe uses Stevia instead of sugar (if you can get ahold of palm sugar, that's even better) and Braggs Amino Acids instead of low-sodium soy sauce, feel free to use whatever ingredients are available to you. Also, this version of Thai drunken noodles is vegetarian but the tofu can easily be substituted for chicken or beef. Serve Thai drunken noodles with jasmine rice and a cool Thai iced tea.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Organic Canola oil
1 ¼ cup (½ lb) fresh wide rice noodles [or, ¼ lb. + ¼ lb. Yam-cake, or Shirataki noodles]
½ cup zucchini (1 medium), sliced
½ cup Japanese eggplant, sliced
½ cup broccoli florets
1 carrot, sliced
½ cup firm tofu, patted dry and cut into bit-sized pieces (or ½ cup seafood such as squid & shrimp, or chicken)
2 tablespoons fresh peppercorns
2 tablespoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
1 tablespoon smashed small Thai chilies
1 sliced orange chili (about 1 tablespoon)
1 ½ tablespoons 0yster sauce
1 teaspoon Braggs Amino Acids
1 ½ teaspoon Tamari
1 tablespoon fish sauce or white soy sauce (or more to taste)
¼ teaspoon Stevia
about 4 tablespoons water
½ cup packed holy basil leaves & flowers
¼ teaspoon vinegar
Directions:
Separate the noodles by peeling them apart one at a time. If also using Yam-cake noodles, rinse well. Set aside.
Prepare your ingredients: Slice the vegetables. Crush the garlic and chilies, and set aside. Pick off the leaves & flowers of the basil, and set aside. Chop the large chili into rings.
Combine the oyster sauce, Braggs, fish sauce, and Stevia in a small bowl and set aside.
If using tofu, pre-“fry” in a dry, non-stick skillet until browned. Set aside.
Add the oil to a Wok (this pan is preferred but not a necessity), and heat on medium until it’s dancing around. (Heating oil on too high of heat will cause it to turn into Trans-fat which is not a good thing.) Then add the garlic, chilies and green peppercorns. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn.
When the garlic turns light brown, add the veggies & meat/seafood if adding. Keep stirring and cook until finished, about 3-5 minutes depending on the ingredients used.
Add the tofu (if adding), then the noodles. You may need to add a bit more water if the pan gets too dry. Don’t add a lot, or the noodles will get mushy.
After frying for a minute or two, add the sauce mixture. Stir well to combine.
Add the basil & vinegar. Stir to mix. When the basil is wilted it’s done.
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