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30 Minute Better Than Takeout Thai Drunken Noodles…with all the summer vegetables. Quick-cooking, gluten-free rice noodles tossed in a sweet and spicy Thai sauce with lean chicken, zucchini, garden fresh bell peppers, carrots, and summer basil. Every bite is filled with saucy noodles, delicious vegetables, and hints of sweet basil. It’s so good and much healthier than something you might find at your favorite Thai place. Major bonus? This is made mostly in one pan and without the use of your oven.
Something about August and this time before “back to school” always leaves me inspired to create quick-cooking Asian inspired recipes. Growing up, my dad would often make us chicken stir fry on busy nights. Especially during the late August and early September days when school was starting back up. With six kids all in school, and a newborn baby, our house was beyond chaotic, so quick-cooking stir fry was a go-to for my dad.
He’d simply cook the chicken with plenty of soy sauce, then throw in whatever he had growing in his summer garden…usually an abundance of bell peppers and fresh basil. He’d serve his stir fry over rice and top with peanuts. My dad kept his stir fry incredibly simple, full of vegetables, and a touch on the salty side. I remember it being so so good, but of course, I was just a kid.
Looking back Dad’s probably could have used a little more flavor and a touch more color. But we didn’t care, we all thought his stir fry was the bomb. I’ve made a lot of stir fry recipes since those days of eating dads. And I must say, I think I’ve gotten pretty good. Just a few weeks ago I shared a simple sweet Thai basil chicken, and last summer it was weeknight udon noodles. Today? It’s all about these Thai drunken noodles, a dish I’ve been wanting to make for years now.
If you’ve ever had drunken noodles at your favorite Thai restaurant then you know that these noodles are spicy, saucy, and a touch sweet. Very classic to many Thai dishes.
There are a lot of different ways people make drunken noodles, but more often than not, they’re made with a mix of chicken, rice noodles, fresh chili peppers, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and plenty of Thai basil. I’ve actually kept these flavors all pretty similar, but my big addition? Lots more vegetables. I’m talking fresh zucchini, bell peppers, and carrots. I figured with a fridge full of produce, why not toss them all in with my drunken noodles?
The vegetables soak up all the sauce and become highly addictive. In fact, I might like the vegetables more than the noodles.
So here’s how you make these saucy, spicy drunken noodles. You ready for this? It’s very quick and simple.
Start out by boiling the rice noodles according to package directions. I like these rice noodles best. They’re a wide-cut noodle and really hold up well to all the sauce.
While the noodles are boiling, make the sauce. It’s a mix of soy sauce (you can also use coconut aminos as well), oyster sauce, and fish sauce. I then thin the sauce with a touch of water, which helps to balance all the saltiness.
Next, stir the chicken with shallots, garlic, and green onions. Add the vegetables, cook some more, pour in the sauce, add the noodles, toss, toss, toss. As soon as the sauce begins to thicken around the noodles stir in the basil. Once the basil hits the heat, it immediately begins to wilt…and yes, this also smells incredible.
Here’s the trick, once you’ve added the basil, the noodles really need to be plated and served. If you allow the noodles to sit too long in the sauce, they will soak it all up. Therefore, serve as soon as the noodles are done cooking and be sure to top with plenty of fresh basil.
If you are a vegetarian, you can easily omit the chicken from this recipe. I’d recommend adding sliced mushrooms or an addition bell pepper. Then just swap the fish sauce for additional soy sauce, and use hoisin sauce in place of oyster sauce. They won’t be traditional drunken noodles, but they’ll still be insanely delicious.
My favorite part? These noodles are so good leftover and would perfect for packing up for lunch the following day. My suggestion? Add salty peanuts to give the noodles a flavor lift and a little crunch too. Delish.
And with that, what do you think? Should we just make the second Wednesday of the month “better than takeout” night here on HBH? I’m clearly loving these fakeout, takeout recipes, so maybe I should just make them a monthly thing?
OH, and you know what could be fun? What if we even cooked these “takeout” recipes together on Instagram?! Let me know what you think!
Until then, let’s plan on drunken noodles tonight? YES.
If you make these better than takeout Thai drunken noodles, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch The How To Video:
Better Than Takeout Thai Drunken Noodles
Servings: 6 6
Calories Per Serving: 426 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 8 ounces wide rice noodles
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons honey or maple
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 pound boneless chicken breast, cut into strips (optional)
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1-2 red Fresno peppers or jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into ribbons or chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, cut into ribbons or chopped
- 1 cup fresh Thai basil or regular basil, roughly chopped
Instructions
- 1. Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain. 2. Combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, honey, and 1/3 cup water in a bowl. 3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken, if using. Season with black pepper and brown all over. Add the shallots, garlic, Fresno peppers, and green onions. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until the shallots are soft and the garlic is fragrant. Add the zucchini and bell peppers, cook another 5 minutes, until the vegetables have softened. Pour in the sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the sauce coats the chicken, about 5 minutes. 4. Stir in the noodles, carrots, and basil. Toss to combine, cooking another 3-5 minutes until the sauce coats the noodles. Serve the noodles warm, topped with additional basil. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on August 14, 2019
This is WAY too salty, even with low sodium soy sauce. I knew 3 TBL of oyster sauce seemed like too much (34% of your DV sodium in one TBL) but I tried it anyway. I added a bunch of fresh lime juice to cut the salt a bit but it didn’t help much. Other recipes here have been tasty but this needs some ingredient to give it volume that isn’t so salty.
Hi Crystal! I am really sorry to hear that! Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! Otherwise, I hope you still love some other recipes of mine! xTieghan
I absolutely love 99% of Half Baked Harvest recipes, so I was surprised that we didn’t like this one. Like a few of the reviews I read, it was super salty, and the sauce just fell flat for us. I’m surprised to read so many people saying it’s amazing. It was ok for us. We have made many, many versions of drunken noodles because we love them, and have had some really amazing ones, so maybe people just haven’t made a lot of drunken noodles before. At any rate, we will continue trying Half Baked Harvest recipes because generally they are spot on and some of our favorite dinners! But we will skip this one.
Hi Doris! I am sorry this one did not work out well for you! Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
delicious!! loved this recipe
Thank you Rameen! xTieghan
Delicious!!! Making it again tonight!! But this time a double batch. The entire family loved it!!
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much K! xTieghan
Just made this quick dish as I had the ingredients on hand, minus the fish sauce that I did not realize that I was out of. Excellent. Highly recommend.
Thank you so much!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I made this today before my workout. I was worried about reheating when I came home but it reheated beautifully! These noodles hit the spot!
Love that! Thank you so much for trying this Natasha! xTieghan
It was pretty good the first night but wasn’t a huge winner. The leftovers were incredibly salty so we didn’t keep them.
Hi Joy! I am really sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can help with? xTieghan
I love this recipe, so easy and so good! The only change I make is due to my dislike for fish sauce. I have been testing alternatives and I use a soy sauce + rice vinegar 50/50 split instead of the sauce. Other than my own personal preference with that one flavor this recipe is perfect as is! It has become a regular recipe in our house! Looove
Thank you so much Bailey!! That is so amazing to hear! xTieghan
Another hit for my family! Super delicious. I still think that preparation takes much longer, just chopping and slicing all the vegetables takes quite some time, but other than that a really delicious dinner. I hope I can snap a picture of the leftovers tomorrow before they are gone and will then tag you in Instagram. Thank you!
Oh, and we are two people and it is definitely enough for 4 hungry people, maybe 5.
Thank you for also offering metric measurements!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you, Jenny!! I hope you continue to enjoy! xTieghan
Made this last weekend.. have to say.. A M A Z I N G!
thanks for the recipe! definitely saving it for the future..
Thank you Ray! xTieghan
I’ve made this twice now and absolutely love the recipe! Easy to make and I usually always have the ingredients on hand. Thanks!
Thank you so much Brigitte!! I am really glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan
This is excellent. So much flavor. I had lots of carrots and squash so I did not use the chicken this time. This is definitely a recipe I will be sharing. ??
Thank you so much Kristine! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was great, amazing flavor! But why didnt my sauce come out as dark or thick as it appears in the photo? 🙁
Hi Amy,
Thanks for trying the recipe! I am wondering if you needed to let the sauce thicken a little longer to get the dark coloring. xTieghan
Super delicious! I’m giving it 4 stars because I thought it needed a full pound of chicken to feed 6 people. It was also a little too salty for me, but I wasn’t able to find low sodium soy sauce, so maybe that’s why. Next time I’m going to try it with tofu and the coconut aminos!
Thank you so much Jen! Please let me know if there is anything I can help you out with! xTieghan
Delicious! I subbed in spinach and snap peas because we didn’t have zucchini and it was still super yummy. A bit on the salty side so I would recommend low-sodium soy sauce.
Thank you Skyelar! xTieghan