Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)

Ingredients

• 300 g wide flat rice noodles
• 400 g chicken thighs, sliced
• 5 garlic cloves
• 4 bird's eye chillies
• a big handful of thai basil
• 150 g green beans, cut short
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 4 tsp fish sauce
• 4 tsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Soak, do not boil

   Soak the flat rice noodles in hot water until pliable but still firm, then drain. Boiled soft, they break into scraps the moment they meet a wok.

2. Pound the garlic and chilli

   Crush the garlic and chillies together roughly. Pounded rather than sliced, they release far more of their oils into the pan.

3. Chicken first, hot

   Heat the oil until it smokes, add the garlic and chilli for 15 seconds, then the chicken spread flat, and let it sear before you stir.

   4 min

4. Vegetables

   Add the green beans and pepper and stir-fry for a minute. They want to stay crunchy.

   2 min

5. Noodles, sauce, basil

   Add the noodles and the mixed sauces, and toss over the highest heat until the noodles have taken on colour and some edges have caught. Kill the heat and fold in the thai basil, which should wilt from residual heat only.

   3 min