Drunken Noodles- To Substitute or Not

Just to save some confusion, I've been working out of this cookbook for a couple weeks.
So this post will be in two parts.

Day 1: A Hot Mess

As I was first flipping through the cookbook, I saw the drunken noodles recipe, and I gasped. I haven't had drunken noodles (AKA pad kee mao) in what feels like years... at least two.
So, I didn't care if I had all the ingredients. I needed to make. it. happen.
I took a note from the website Budget Bytes with their recipe for Dragon Noodles which used sriracha sauce instead of a chili garlic sauce. Also, I happened to have lime concentrate but not limes. (Don't fret. I checked what the ratio of the concentrate to amount of lime juice was before I added it.)

Here were the results of the first time. It was ok. But meeeeeeeeeeessy! I--in true Bishop fashion-- stained my book while compiling the sauce.
Note- Put the brown sugar in the bowl BEFORE putting in the soy sauce. Or at least having the measuring cup closer to the bowl because that brown sugar will land with a thud and liquid will go everywhere. Everywhere. It's not like I tilted the measuring cup at eye level. It's not like there was a lot of liquid. It just went everywhere!

Day... Recently: Knowingly Substituting



I took another crack at this recipe a couple days ago. My mindset going into this was "redemption". I went to the Asian market, got the thickest rice noodles, bean sprouts, basil, limes, and chili garlic sauce. BTW- If you have the opportunity to support diverse grocery stores where more rare ingredients can be found, do it.
I decided to get bean sprouts because in the cookbook it calls for cabbage. I've never heard of cabbage in a Thai recipe. Have any of you had a Thai meal with cabbage? Am I being deprived of some Thai culture?
The biggest difference this time of cooking, aside from making it with pork, was using the limes. Real limes made such a nice change. Brightness of the limes was refreshing, tangy, yet not too acidic.

I liked my second drunken noodle attempt much better. The thicker noodles could soak up all that goodness. Again, the limes. The basil gave a nice note of earthy savoriness. The sprouts were deliciously crisp. (Sriracha is needed to bump up the spice for my spicy friends.) Also, the green onion didn't overwhelm the bean sprouts either. Them green stuff made my meal look perrty too.
If you follow the recipe in the cookbook, I found the amount of oil too much. I don't see the need for that much. If someone would like to illuminate me on it, please comment below. Meanwhile, photos!

Thanks everyone for your patience with this blog. While trying to add this blog into my routine is another level of coherence about which I'm learning. Kiki says it best about what happens when I get home.