Pad Kee Mao

"Pad Kee Mao" ( ผัดขี้เมา ) refers to various wok dishes in which meat or seafood is sautéed with garlic, various types of chili, green pepper and kraichai. The whole thing is deglazed with a mixture of oyster sauce, fish sauce and Chinese cooking wine and garnished with holy basil. Sometimes various vegetables, such as baby corn on the cob or snake beans are added to the main ingredient.

The name part “Khi Mao” can be translated as “drunk”, ‘intoxicated’ or “drunkard”. It is not really clear where the name comes from. However, there are various theories according to which the dish is so spicy that it chases away any “hangover”, the inventor of the dish was very drunk and fried everything he found together or that the dish is so aromatic that it intoxicates you.

Originally, these wok dishes were plated dishes served with rice. Later, variations in which the rice was replaced with rice noodles and these noodles were also fried became increasingly popular. Today, the dish is almost exclusively served as a noodle dish, often referred to as “drunken noodles”.

Recipes

• Cooking with Poo P. 70