Spicy Drunken Noodles With Chicken

A black stone bowl of Thai drunken noodles with bell pepper, thai chilies, chicken, and fresh basil.

5 from 2 votes

Spicy Drunken Noodles With Chicken

This Thai takeout-style spicy drunken noodles with chicken can be made in 35 minutes for an authentic, super spicy, and comforting dinner at home

Servings servings

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 10

Total Time 35

Equipment

Ingredients

8 ounces flat Thai rice noodles
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¾ ounce green Thai chilies minced
1 small red bell pepper roughly chopped
½ medium yellow onion sliced
4.5 ounces mung bean sprouts
1.5 ounces fresh basil leaves washed and dried

Marinated Chicken

½ pound frozen chicken breast partially thawed
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon sriracha

Drunken Noodle Sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar tightly packed
5 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 teaspoons sriracha
1 teaspoon fish sauce

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

First, slice the frozen chicken breast into thin, wide pieces with a sharp chef's knife and toss with the rest of the marinade ingredients in a bowl.
Then, boil the noodles in a large pot of salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water, then set aside.
Prepare the drunken noodle sauce. Add brown sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sriracha, and fish sauce to a small bowl and stir well to combine. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a wok over medium-high. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken along with the marinade. Stir fry until cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes, then transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the wok. Then add the Thai chili peppers, bell pepper, onion, and mung bean sprouts to the wok. Stir fry until slightly softened, about 3 minutes, then add the cooked noodles and drunken noodle sauce. Stir well to combine.

Turn on the exhaust fan! The Thai chili fumes are spicy too.

Finally, add the cooked chicken back into the wok along with fresh basil leaves. Toss gently to combine, then remove from heat. Serve immediately.

Notes

Slicing the chicken - Slicing the chicken from frozen with a sharp chef’s knife (or even better, a chinese chef’s knife) is the best way to get the perfect thinly sliced chicken you’re used to in Thai dishes. A couple tips:

Let the chicken defrost slightly (even just 20 to 30 minutes helps) or put it in the microwave on the defrost setting for a minute. This will make the chicken easier to slice, while still keeping it firm enough to thinly slice.
If you have fresh, non-frozen chicken, simply throw it in the freezer for 30 to 60 minutes to help it firm up.
Cut the chicken across the muscle grain, this will help the pieces keep their shape while cooking instead of thickening.

Marinating the chicken - Get the marinade mixed in a bowl before you slice the chicken. If you already have it ready to go, you can toss the chicken in and mix it by hand before cleaning off your hands - easier to mix, and no extra mess!

Thai chilies - We use roughly 20 Thai chilies (0.75 ounces) for a super spicy dish. This is more in line with how our local restaurant serves dishes off their “Authentic Thai” menu which comes with a spice level disclaimer. We recommend using anywhere between 0.5 ounces and 1 ounce of Thai chilies. But you can also reduce it drastically if you don’t want a spicy drunken noodle.

Cooking with and working with Thai chilies - These peppers are hot! Wear gloves while cutting them and turn on the kitchen fan while cooking with them. The fumes they put off are no joke.

Cooking Thai noodles - We’ve made many different brands of Thai rice noodles, and generally find that they claim the noodles will cook in 4 to 6 minutes. However we find that they take closer to 8 to 10 minutes. So be sure to taste test your noodles before calling them done.

Using a wok over high heat - This dish is best prepared in a wok over high heat so that any liquid that comes from the chicken and veggies is quickly evaporated. This does two things: 1. It gives the chicken and veggies a little sear for extra flavor and tenderness. And 2. It makes sure the sauce that’ll be added later doesn’t get watered down.

Oiling a wok for cooking - If you’re new to cooking with a wok, here’s a great video on how to easily, and properly oil a wok at home.

Author: Nicole & Alex Langdon

Calories: 431kcal

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Thai

Nutrition