Pad Kie Mao Talee

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g seafood, e.g. squid, shrimp, mussels
• 3 tbsp garlic
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, light
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 5 chili peppers, fresh red, or less
• 1 handful of Thai basil (Bai Horapa)
• 1 tsp white pepper, freshly crushed
• 300 g noodles (rice), dried, or 500 g fresh

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 20 minutes

Drunken noodles or drunkard’s noodles, with seafood, from Thailand

Soak dried noodles (rice sticks) in hot water according to the package instructions, then drain well. Chop the seafood. Finely chop the garlic and fry in a little oil until golden yellow, then remove and drain well. Be careful, it will darken! Add the seafood to the pan and fry in the same oil for a few minutes, then set aside. Fry the noodles and soy sauce in the remaining oil for 3 minutes, then add the seafood. Mix well. Add the fish sauce, basil, and chilies and mix. Season with white pepper to taste and let it marinate well. Pad Kie Mao can also be served on other noodles, such as spaghetti, or even on rice. Feel free to be creative with the ingredients. Garlic, chilies, and bai horapa are traditionally included in the dish, and these ingredients can be expanded according to taste. Instead of seafood, you can use chicken breast, pork, or beef, whatever you have and like. According to legend, hence the name “Kie Mao” (drunk in Thai, drunkard would be Khon Kie Mao), a man came home from a drunken evening with friends and was hungry. His wife had gone to bed long ago, so he had to make something himself. He took what he found in the fridge (and in Thailand you ALWAYS find garlic and chilies, and often bai horapa) and threw everything into the wok. As men do, he immediately told his friends how well he did it, and just like that, this dish was born, which has since achieved some notoriety.