Pad kee mao is definitely one of my all-time favorite dishes. I don't remember how or where I first tried this dish, but I find it so vastly more interesting and so infinitely more flavorful than pad thai that I wonder why so few others know about it.
In any case, I wanted to shout hoorah! after making tonight's pad khe mao, because although I have made this dish a half dozen times for sure, it's never really turned out just the way I craved it. Tonight however I got it just right so the recipe follows for future reference. (I don't claim this as authentic by any means -- it's just presented here as "the way Jonny likes it.") Warning: my version is extremely spicy!!
Ingredients:
6 ounces of sen-yai rice noodles
1/4 cup of firm tofu, cut into small cubes
2 cloves chopped garlic (for frying)
1 clove sliced (as topping)
1 tablespoon chopped shallots or onions
2-3 tablespoons white rice vinegar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons of palm sugar
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons ground, dried red chili
2 green jalapeno peppers, 1 red (chopped/sliced finely)
1 red jalapeno (sliced thickly as topping)
Handful of coriander leaves, plucked from stems (retain stems for frying)
1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves
Dash white pepper, ground
4-5 tablespoons oyster sauce
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions/Recipe:
1) Prepare fresh ingredients. Combine ground pepper, rice vinegar, dried chili, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, and tofu in a bowl. Marinade tofu in mixture while proceeding with further steps.
2) Soak sen-yai noodles in water for 15 mins. Place soaking sen-yai noodles on the stove and bring to very slow boil, removing the sen-yai noodles while they are still toothy. Do not walk away from the noodles or they will become soggy. Drain with cold water and set aside.
3) Season wok with oil. Add the shallots, japapenos, garlic, and coriander stems to oil, frying briefly to make the oil aromatic. Add noodles, tofu, and marinade.
4) Turn wok to high. As the noodle marinade/sauce begins to become reduced, add the Thai basil leaves, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Just before serving, add the green onions and turn off heat.
5) Top noodles with freshly sliced garlic clove, red jalapeno, and coriander. Serve with a side of fresh cucumber to cool the tongue while eating. You'll need it!
Comments
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Posted by: Gwenny | August 5, 2006 02:55 PM
This was the easiest recipe that I have ever followed and is it the greatest dish ever. Noodles were a little difficult to find but worth the extra effort.
Posted by: Tammie | December 6, 2006 07:59 PM
this looks like a great dish! thanks for the recipe... i'll be trying it soon.
Posted by: ssk. | January 20, 2007 07:31 AM
I just started exploring cooking Thai food. I made pad thai a couple of times and decided it was time to explore pad kee mao, one of my favorites. I searched the web and found this great recipe of yours! I loved it! I made your thai eggplant recipe on the side, and it was a delicious meal. I live in New York, so I was able to go to Chinatown and find fresh rice noodles. They come in giant sheets that you cut down yourself. Not only delicious, but fun. Thanks so much for your recipe!
Posted by: Doc | February 16, 2007 09:11 PM
I have just bought the noodles for this dish, they are not a dry variety but a fresh type which i purchased from a chinese supermarket. You say in the recipe for drunken noodles that you need to soak them first, is this still so with this fresh variety? they seem quite moist already. Please help. Many thanks.
Posted by: Pippa Booth | May 17, 2007 07:09 AM
Gwenny: I have since eaten it and LOVE it. Am I still a sinner? :)
Tammie: glad you found it and tried this out. I love it too.
Ssk: good luck!
Doc: glad you enjoyed these dishes. Giant sheets.. wow! Never tried it with this type of noodle before.
Pippa: never tried the fresh type before so I can't say.. sorry! I wish I could have helped. Let me know what you learn.
Posted by: Evil J | May 17, 2007 01:41 PM
I hadn't tried making pad kee mao for years because I was never able to get the taste quite right. This was it exactly, and it was so simple, no less! Thanks a lot.
Posted by: Chris | October 29, 2007 08:43 PM
Big time pad kee mao fan, this turned out great. Thanks!
Posted by: Matt | November 8, 2007 09:27 PM
Made with the fresh noodles--found at the chinese supermarket in the bakery section. i think i misread your recipe and added 4tbls of red chili powder, instead of red pepper flakes, which is what your photo looks like. this mistake pretty much made it wrong, but i know we're close :) thanks!
Posted by: fiver | January 13, 2008 04:53 PM
I also don't understand why pad kee mao isn't more popular. It is my all-time favorite thing to order at Thai restaurants. I suspect some people can't handle the spice. ;P
I am going to try your recipe; will try to let you know how it turns out! Thanks for sharing it.
Posted by: beloved | February 13, 2008 07:09 AM
I made it! Your recipe was awesome. I didn't have some key ingredients and will make sure I have those next time, but it was still awesome. I didn't boil the noodles, but soaked them for about 30 minutes in hot water prior to stir-frying. They probably could have been a little more al dente, but all in all they were fine. Thanks again for sharing the recipe. I'm so happy to be able to make this myself now (since my nearest Thai restaurant is 40 min. away!).
Posted by: beloved | February 13, 2008 05:28 PM
I made this tonight and it was great! I used only 2 tbls palm sugar though. (4 tbsp seemed like it would be overly sweet?)
I also used fried tofu, as that's what most of our local thai restaurants use in their pad kee mao. Luckily the local Asian grocery sells it already fried. I like the homemade stuff, but it's definitely more work.
Thanks for posting the recipe. It really hit the spot!
Posted by: Jill | April 23, 2008 07:51 PM
Wow! This is my first time making Pad kee mao.
I have been surfing a lot for the recipe and i found yours.
Decided to try it, but i took the risk, i promised my family (member of 6) that I would cook nice stuff for dinner.
They LOVED it! I had all the ingredients but i had to recuded the chili, my family can't take spicy food too much.
Thanks for the GREAT recipe, i will do this again soon.
Posted by: Shierly | April 24, 2008 09:30 AM