Sometimes I come up with pretty good ideas when it comes to cooking. Remember when I dreamed up those Boston cream cupcakes? Yeah. Sometimes I think I’m a genius.
This is another one of those bits of brilliance. See, a few months ago Rob and I started eating Thai food. I’ve talked about it on Twitter a lot, especially when it comes to my undying devotion to pad thai.
Oh, pad thai, how I love thee…
Rob, on the other hand, prefers drunken noodles. Why are they called drunken noodles, you ask? The name allegedly refers to the amount you have to drink in order to cool your mouth off after all the spiciness.
The thing is, a person can only afford but so much takeout. And since we’re trying to, ya know, be more responsible with our money (especially our food budget), I figured that it might not be a bad idea to try to recreate drunken noodles in my own kitchen.
But then I made a huge rookie mistake, one which I will not let you make: I didn’t monitor the spice levels as I went along. In fact I was in such a hurry to get everything finished at the same time (all four burners and the oven were going at once) that I just sorta plopped everything in the pan and hoped for the best. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Two glasses of milk later, I managed to get through this dish. Drunken noodles, indeed.
The best part is, I only used one chili pepper – the original recipe called for twice that much! Eek! Unfathomable. You could definitely stick to only half of one pepper (or none, and just use more chili sauce).
Speaking of the chili pepper, here’s a tip: You might want to wear gloves while chopping it up. Because no matter how careful you are about washing your hands, you may still feel as though you dipped your fingers in boiling water hours after the meal is finished and the kitchen cleaned.
I can’t lie to you. It was agony.
But! The result is pure deliciousness. It may not be the most authentic version you can find, but Rob said that in terms of flavor it tasted just like what he gets from the restaurant.
And even though our mouths were burning with the heat of a thousand suns, we kept eating. So that’s gotta say something!
Another tip: If you’ve never used fish sauce, I’m here to tell you that it’s called fish sauce for a reason. It smells exactly like fish. Surprise! It may be a turn off at first, but let me assure you, it really adds to the finished product. So don’t be all “Eww, Jen steered me wrong!” when you open the bottle, okay?
Adapted from grouprecipes.com
Serves 4-6 people
1 16 oz package fettucine
3 chicken breasts, cubed
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 Anaheim chili pepper, seeded and chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbs hoisin sauce
1 1/2 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs chili garlic sauce*
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup basil leaves, torn**
Lime wedges
Cook fettuccine according to package directions.
While pasta is boiling, heat oil in large frying pan or wok over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until browned and almost cooked through. Push chicken to side of pan.
Turn heat down to medium and add chili and garlic. Stirring frequently, cook for around 30 seconds, then combine with chicken. Continue cooking this way until chicken is cooked through. Keep an eye on the heat to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn.
Stir in sauces and sugar. If sauce is too thick, add a ladle or two of pasta water to thin it out. Turn heat to low until pasta is finished cooking.
Drain the cooked pasta and immediately add to pan. Toss to coat the noodles, sprinkle with basil leaves, and serve immediately with lots of lime wedges on the side.
*You can start with less than this and work your way up. Just remember: You can put more in, but you can’t take it out!
** Thai basil is what’s recommended but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Sweet basil can work in a pinch, or you can leave it out completely.
Have you ever eaten Thai food? What’s your favorite dish?
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You had me at drunken! I knew I had to see what good stuff you whipped up. Looks fantastic.
Thanks!
I wish I had the ability to take photos right after making stuff rather than the next day, aka when there’s light. It never looks quite as good!
I think it’s amazing you managed to recreate this dish! It does look yum.
Thanks! I can’t wait to try it without burning my mouth off and feeling like my hands have third degree burns.
Pinning to try soon!
Aw, thanks!
I hope you do try it – if you do, be sure to let me know.
I’m a devoted slave to anything Thai. Well, no I’m not, I’m actually quite picky. Noodles, chicken, sauce – yeah, this is right up my alley!
Ha! Trust me, our palettes are not very advanced when it comes to Thai.
But I’d happily live off this and pad thai for the rest of my life either way.
I love thee, Pad Thai too! Yours looks so yummy. I’m salivating. Thanks for sharing this. Now I can try one of my favorite dishes and not have to pay $12.00 for it.
)
Seriously, it’s a crime to pay that much! That’s about as much as pad thai is around here too. Granted, it’s akin to what I imagine angels must eat, but still…
As someone who only recently had her first drunken noodles, I LOVE them. Mind you, I also wasn’t a huge fan of Pad Thai because of the peanuts. Glad you had milk handy!
i have only just discovered my love of the understated pad thai, and of course it is more understated after previously loving the spicy noodle and the drunken noodle dishes! this looks soo deelish!
Thanks! I do prefer pad thai, honestly, but this will do in a pinch!
My husband would love these. He loves spicy. Good tip on the gloves. With a new baby I definitely don’t want to burn her.
Oh, definitely! It was horrible, I can’t imagine how it would hurt a baby’s skin.
I love all foods asian, so will have to try this, looks awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! They’re really great, I hope you try and enjoy it!
This looks delish! I adore Thai food and my very favorite remains Shrimp Pad Thai and when I am too poor to spring for the extra $3 I order the Pork Pad Thai! I think I really just have a fondness for chili sauce. I often make Pad Thai at home but will certainly give this a try.
You make pad thai at home? Do you think you could send me a recipe? I would love to try it myself.
I use this one straight from Allrecipes:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pad-thai-2/
Ooh, this sounds like something my hubby would love! I like moderate spice, but he loves the really spicy stuff. He’s a whole pepper kinda guy.
Wow! Good for him! I can’t say I’ve ever wanted to go that far…though I sorta felt like I did when I ate this! Talk about overkill…glad I had the milk to tame the heat.
I wondered what they meant with the “drunken” part, and now I know! These noodles look like tasty eats.
I often wondered the same thing, then the explanation was included with the recipe I followed. Of course the dish really lived up to its name, thanks to me blindly following the recipe.
Delicious looking. Pretty sure just hubby and I could eat this, the kids might forsake my cooking forever if I gave them something this spicy!
I always have to make something else for my father-in-law when I cook spicy food. I try to have spare meals in the freezer just in case.
Love these noodles! It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, and your recipe will be warm and delicious! Thank you for posting the recipe to Foodie Friday!
Thank YOU for hosting at your beautiful blog.
This looks delicious! I’ll have to try it.
I’d love for you to come link this post up at From Scratch Friday (live now on the blog!).
~Christina
http://marriagefromscratch.blogspot.com/2012/02/from-scratch-friday-2.html
I’m heading over now – thank you for the invite!
I actually printed this recipe out yesterday! Thanks for sharing on Weekend Potluck!
Well thanks!
I am a thai lover too and am trying to figure out how to get restaurant level spiciness at home. I just made a noodle dish and I swear i used a cup of sri racha and a cup of sambal oelek for two people, and we are unscathed. We also just tried a “level 8″ spicy pad thai in vegas and it was like, mild. I think I am destroying my tastebuds or something, do you have any recommendations over using the chili pastes and stuff? Fresh peppers work best? and what kinds?
Wow – you’re insane! But I mean that in the nicest way possible.
Anyway, I used an Anaheim chili for this and it did burn my skin and make my eyes burn as I was chopping it – maybe that would work for you?
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I can’t wait to try it!