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Healthy Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

Healthy Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)–a popular Thai stir-fried dish that is lightened up and simplified just enough. Make it any night of the week!

If you follow me an Instagram (@litecravings), you know that I try to check in with my followers to see what recipes they’d like to see me lighten up. So many of you love my Healthy Pad Thai and have requested more Asian stir fry recipes, so your wish is my command!

Drunken Noodles consistently comes up, and I can see why! Spicy noodles and veggies doused in a savory/sweet sauce? Sign me up! And the basil adds such an interesting touch and the perfect amount of brightness.

I’ll admit that I was a little intimidated by this one. A lot of traditional recipes call for ingredients that would require trips to multiple stores. While I love shopping at my local Asian markets, I know not everyone has one close by.

I wanted to make sure anyone could make this with a single trip to their local grocery store. While this version might not be as authentic as other recipes, it’s easy to make and lightened up just enough.

However, with the exception of the thicker rice noodles, all of the ingredients in this recipe can be found in the Asian aisle of any grocery store!

Ingredients for Healthy drunken noodles

Rice Noodles: You can definitely make this recipe with regular Pad Thai rice noodles. Those are thinner than traditionally used in Drunken Noodle recipes, but it will taste the same. To make this as close to restaurant versions, you’ll want to buy wide rice noodles. I had a pretty hard time finding them in my grocery store, so I just ordered this brand off of Amazon.

Protein of choice: I went with chicken breasts, but you could use tofu or shrimp instead. Keep the same amount (1 pound) and follow the same cooking process.
Veggies: This is a versatile recipe, so use whatever veggies you want. I think bell pepper, onion, garlic, and green onion are pretty essential. Other than that, I’ve used shredded carrots, sliced mushroom mushrooms, bok choy, kale, spinach, etc. Whatever works in a stir fry for you!

Low-Sodium Soy Sauce: Most recipes I read call for a mixture of dark and light soy sauce, but I wanted to keep the ingredients as simple as possible without skimping on flavor. Adding just a little more soy sauce with the honey and oyster sauce did the trick!
Honey: Adds some depth of flavor and balances the salt in the recipe. You could use maple syrup or brown sugar instead.

Oyster Sauce: This adds a deep, savory flavor to the sauce. Don’t worry–the sauce doesn’t taste fishy! Also put my Air Fryer Orange Chicken on your menu for later in the week to use up more of that oyster sauce.
Fish Sauce: This is an essential ingredient for the classic Thai flavor, so definitely don’t skip it! If you’re looking for other recipes to use up that fish sauce, my Healthy Pad Thai and Caesar Dressing recipes are excellent!
Chilis: Optional, but so good! Use serrano peppers if you can’t find Thai chilis at your store.
Basil: The ingredient that truly makes this taste like restaurant Drunk Noodles! If you can find Thai bail, definitely use that. But the standard basil that you find in any grocery store will do.

I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! Leaving a starred review and comment below helps my blog grow. I’m always grateful when you can take the time to do that!

It also makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there!

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5 from 13 votes