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Drunken Noodles
It’s no secret that I love exploring the worlds of Asian cooking, especially Thai and Vietnamese. One of my favorite Thai dishes to make is Drunken Noodles. I’ve ordered it many times at different restaurants, and always found that the sauce was too thick, heavy, and gravy like, and this took away from the whole dish in general. After searching through some Thai cooking websites I was inspired to try and make the dish at home, minus the icky thickness of the sauce. I’m a regular reader of The Jungle Prince’s Desert Modernism website (though he generally focuses on Korean cooking, he delves into other countries as well.) He makes gorgeous looking food, but after following a few of his recipes, even the one he has for Drunken Noodles, I find that he likes his food about a zillion times spicier than I can handle, and believe me, I can handle pretty spicy food. Below is HIS recipe, minus a whole lot of the hot peppers, and plus a few hints that I found usefull when making this dish.
Ok, on to the cooking. First thing you should know about me, is I rarely measure ingredients. Actually, I usually only measure when baking, because I consider baking more of a science, and cooking more of an experience. When I say a “few” of something, think 3 or 4, a pinch fits in the crook of the palm of your hand. A dash of a liquid is a two second quick pour. Also know that in a star rating, I consider this particular recipe about a 2.5 star in heat. Meaning, it won’t make steam come out of your ears but your lips will have a nice tingle to them after a few bites. Adjust accordingly to your taste by reducing both the fresh and dried chili. Ok. Here we go. Most of these ingredients will be found at any respectable Asian market. Ask for help if you need it – most proprietors will be very very happy to see you. You will need:
1/2 block of extra firm tofu, pressed dry (till it no longer wets a paper towel) and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
About 3/4 pound of shrimp (or cubed chicken if you don’t like shrimp. Or just stick with tofu. It’s not a hard and fast recipe.
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small white onion, minced
Rice vinegar
Fish sauce
Oyster sauce
Soy sauce
Palm Sugar
Juice of one small lime
Small bunch of coriander/cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
Small bunch of Thai basil leaves (no, you can not use Italian basil) roughly chopped
Small bunch of chopped green onion/scallions (green part only)
Ground pepper
Dried red chili flake
1 hot pepper (I like using the long hot orange/red ones) minced very very fine
One package of the wide rice stick noodles (1/2 inch across work best)
Step One: Prepare marinade:
In a bowl combine a few tablespoons of palm sugar, lime juice, two pinches of dried chili flake, a pinch of ground pepper, and about 1/4 cup each of fish sauce and rice vinegar.
Stir mixture together, and then add tofu.
Step Two: Start the noodles:
Put noodles (as they are out of the package, in a “block” do not separate) in big pot. Cover with cold water. Set aside for about 10-15 minutes, letting the noodles soak. Now is a good time to enjoy a cocktail and some appetizers. Really. You’ve got about 10 minutes or so. After your drink, and the noodle soak, put noodles on burner, and bring to a boil. Keep an eye on your noodles, tasting frequently. You want them very al dente, and not “done” or mushy. If you do not pay attention to your noodles, I guarantee that the mush will happen. When they are al dente, drain, and immediately rinse with cold water. Let them drain, sitting in the colander.
Step 3: Wok n Roll
Heat a small amount (barely coat the bottom) oil in a wok (I like chili oil, but feel free to use whatever light oil you like, if not chili, I’d probably go with safflower oil)
Start cooking the onion, garlic, and hot pepper. Do NOT let them brown.
Toss in shrimp, cooking until just starting to turn pink (should happen pretty quick)
Add tofu and marinade, as well as a few tablespoons of oyster sauce. Cook for just a minute or two, liquid will start to thicken a bit.
Add noodles, and carefully toss them about in the wok, coating them all. Now toss in your basil leaves and green onion. Remove from heat.
Serve with a generous amount of chopped coriander on top. I also top mine with some extra sliced hot pepper.
Voila. This recipe can be made kosher by removing the oyster sauce (add more fish sauce) and the shrimp. Enjoy!
