Back in my college days, I was introduced to the magic that is Thai food when some good friends took me to a Thai restaurant. At the time, looking at that menu for me was like reading a language I’d never learned. “What should I order?” I asked, and I think they might have been trying to play a trick on me by having me order the spiciest dish on the menu: Pad Kee Mao (Thai Drunken Noodles).
Unfortunately for them but fortunately for me, I loved it! I ask for it every time I eat at a Thai restaurant now, even if it’s not on the menu. I usually get a side-eye, but I like to think I make them just a little proud when I finish the last bite of the plate.
It was only a matter of time before I made a skinny version at home. Here we go!
Pad Kee Mao, or Thai Drunken Noodles are a spicy noodle stir fry dish packed with flavor. You can control the heat by holding back on the amounts of spicy ingredients, but if the dish wasn’t spicy, they wouldn’t be called “drunken noodles,” named such because the spice is said to sober up a drunk person, or so I’ve been told.
While I’ve never tested out that theory, I can say it has been known to clear a sinus or two, and yet it is quite addicting once you’ve ever tried it. There’s just something about the flavor that always keeps me coming back for more.
Weight Watchers
WW Points: 7 Purple, 7 Blue, 8 Green
Whisk
Find on the whisk app here.
Ingredients
Rice Noodles: The traditional style of rice noodle for the pad kee mao recipe is a wide, flat noodle, but any rice noodle will work.
Oil: Sesame oil gives this dish a nice, nutty flavor.
Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breast makes this a skinny dish and adds few to no points depending on which My WW plan you’re on, but you can sub another protein of your choice if you prefer a different meat or even a vegan option.
Vegetables: Lots of fresh veggies give this dish a vibrant pop of color as well as some amazing flavor. Garlic and ginger are your aromatics, paired with shallots, onion, carrots, bell peppers, diced tomatoes, and my personal favorite flavor of this whole dish: the basil!
Sauce: Several ingredients go in the sauce, if you’re anything like me then you may need to hear me say “don’t knock it until you try it.” If I hadn’t tried it first, I might have passed when hearing the sauce consisted of oyster sauce and fish sauce, but pair those with the Swerve or Lakanto brown sugar substitute, the Thai red chili paste, and the soy sauce and you won’t really get any kind of “fishy” flavor once it all melds together.
Skinny Pad Kee Mao (Thai Drunken Noodles)
Ingredients
- 14 oz Thai rice noodles
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 3 shallots (chopped)
- 3 medium carrots (thinly sliced)
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breast (sliced into thin strips)
- 2½ tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 bell peppers (thinly sliced)
- 4 green onions (chopped)
- 2 Roma tomatoes (diced)
- 2 cups basil
The Sauce
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- ⅔ cup tamari lite (soy sauce)
- 3½ tsp fish sauce
- 3½ tsp Swerve brown sugar replacement
- 3½ Tbsp water
- 2 tsp Thai red chili paste
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package instructions.14 oz Thai rice noodles
- Mix sauce in a small bowl and set aside.¼ cup oyster sauce, ⅔ cup tamari lite, 3½ tsp fish sauce, 3½ tsp Swerve brown sugar replacement, 3½ Tbsp water, 2 tsp Thai red chili paste
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in wok or large skillet over high heat. Add shallots and carrot and cook for 2 minutes. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add chicken and season with pepper. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 10 seconds. Add bell pepper, tomato and the whites of the chopped green onion and cook for 2 minutes.2 Tbsp sesame oil, 3 shallots, 3 medium carrots, 3 boneless skinless chicken breast, 2½ tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 2 bell peppers, 2 Roma tomatoes, 4 green onions
If Eating Now
- Add noodles to the pan and pour the sauce over the noodles. Toss and cook for a few minutes until warmed through. Remove from heat and stir in basil.2 cups basil
If Meal Prepping
- Add sauce to the pan and divide the mixture into 8 equal servings. Keep noodles separate until ready to eat.
- When ready to eat, combine mixture and noodles into a skillet and heat until desired temperature. Serve and enjoy.
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