Drunken Noodles

Drunken Noodles or Pad Kee Mao is a delectable dish from the heart of Thailand. It gets its name not due to the inclusion of alcohol, but due to its spicy flavor that would necessitate a cold drink on the side. The typical challenges people encounter when preparing Drunken Noodles include finding the right balance of flavors, cooking the rice noodles correctly, and sourcing the Thai-specific ingredients. People often use less spicy peppers or omit the holy basil which can alter its unique flavor profile. There's a few tricks to really elevate your Drunken Noodles: First, consider using a wok for the stir fry to distribute heat evenly. Second, adapt the level of spice to suit your preference, but keep in mind that this dish is traditionally quite spicy. Lastly, freshness of ingredients, particularly fresh holy basil, greatly enhances the overall flavor of the dish. In terms of ingredient substitutions, Thai sweet basil or regular sweet basil can be used if holy basil is hard to find. Remember, though, each type of basil will somewhat change the flavor profile of the dish. For a vegetarian version, tofu can replace meat without much adjustment needed. Soy sauce or tamari could substitute for fish sauce if desired.