This Drunken Noodles with Shrimp recipe is a quick and delicious stir-fried noodle dish with tender shrimp, zucchini and lots of garlic and thai basil. All tossed in a simple, deliciously fiery sauce!
To say I love Thai food is an understatement.
I REALLY LOVE Thai food and could eat it every day of my life and never get sick of it. When we would get carry-out, I will either get chicken pad thai or the drunken noodles with shrimp (extra egg😋). I haven’t ventured out of my comfort zone to try much else, because I crave what I crave ya know? Pat and I have it so often, that I started making my own Thai food at home.
Drunken Noodles actually isn’t made with a single drop of alcohol. Its origin has a few theories, one rumor is was a dish someone prepared with ingredient’s on hand after a night of drinking. Another theory is that it was once made with rice wine. My theory is that these delicious spicy noodles need an ice cold beverage to chase the heat. Leaving you a little drunk from the beer and on the flavor of this dish.
I don’t claim this recipe to be authentic by any means, but I do claim that’s it is amazing.
Make sure you have a ice cold beverage handy, things are about to get spicy!
To Make This Drunken Noodles With Shrimp and Zucchini You Will Need:
- peeled and deveined shrimp
- garlic
- onion
- zucchini
- tomato
- eggs
- noodles
- thai or holy basil
- drunken noodle sauce (below)
For the Drunken Noodle Sauce You Will Need:
- low-sodium soy sauce (tamari if gluten free)
- molasses
- light brown sugar
- garlic
- fish sauce
- oyster sauce
- sambal oelek
- thai or holy basil
In a bowl, measure and add 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce (tamari if gluten free) and 1 teaspoon of molasses, stirring to dissolve. Then add in 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, 3 cloves finely minced garlic, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 tablespoons sambal oelek and 2 tablespoons sliced thai or holy basil.
There’s so much flavor in the sauce. Set this off to the side for a moment.
Moving on to the noodles. Prepare the noodles according to the package directions. For me, I placed 14 ounces of rice noodles into a large bowl and poured 7 to 8 cups of boiling water over top, tossed them around to separate and then let them soak for 8 to 10 minutes. I usually check them at the 8 minute mark.
Once al dente, drain into a colander and rinse with cold water to keep them from sticking.
Next toss 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper with 1 pound of (peeled and deveined) shrimp. I’m using tail-on, because that’s what I had on hand.
To start the stir-fry:
I add 1 tablespoon of either peanut oil or extra light olive oil into a large wok or chefs pan. Preheat on high and when the oil is hot, add in 3 cloves of minced garlic and stir and cook for 20 to 3o seconds before adding in the zucchini. I cut and sliced two small zucchinis, yielding about 2 cups of zucchini half-moons. Stir-fry this for about 2 to 3 minutes or until glistening and the zucchini are just starting to become tender. Transfer all the zucchini and garlic to a clean plate and return the the heat.
Immediately add in the two beaten eggs.
Once the eggs are just about set, add in the shrimp and thinly sliced onions
Toss until the shrimp turn pink about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add in the noodles, zucchini and diced tomatoes . Toss quickly to combine.
Give the drunken noodle sauce a quick stir…
…before pouring it over top of the stir-fry, toss to combine.
Cook for a minute or two.
Plate and serve the drunken noodles with shrimp topped with a few fresh Thai basil leaves and a wedge of both lemon and lime for squeezing over top. For extra heat slice up a few Thai bird eye chilies as well.
These drunken noodles will be your new spicy favorite! But you can control the heat by adding less of the chili garlic paste. All in all this recipe is so quick to whip up and makes for excellent leftovers, reheating beautifully.
Enjoy! And if you give this Drunken Noodles with Shrimp and Zucchini recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Drunken Noodles with Shrimp and Zucchini
Ingredients
FOR THE SAUCE:
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce , or tamari if gluten free
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic paste, more or less to taste
- 3 cloves minced fresh garlic
- 2 tablespoons sliced fresh Thai basil leaves
FOR THE STIR FRY:
- 1 pound rice noodles
- 1 pound shrimp, 16/20 peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 3 cloves minced fresh garlic
- 2 small zucchini, sliced into half-moons
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced thin horizontally
- 1 large tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves, loosely packed
- lemon wedges, for serving
- lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
MAKE THE SAUCE:
- In a medium bowl, toss together the sauce ingredients and set off to the side.
MAKE THE STIR-FRY:
- Place noodles into a large bowl, pour 7-8 cups of boiling water over top. Toss and let soak for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain in a colander, set into your sink and rinse with cold water.
- Preheat oil your wok or large 12-inch chefs pan on high. Once hot, immediately add in the garlic. Stir-fry for 20 to 30 seconds before adding in the zucchini. Cook, stirring only occasionally for 2 to 3 minutes or until glistening and the zucchini are just starting to become tender. Transfer all the zucchini and garlic to a clean plate and return the wok to the heat.
- Add in the beaten egg and let that cook until just about set. Then add in the seasoned shrimp and sliced onion, cooking 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often until the shrimp is no longer pink, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Then add in the cooked noodles, zucchini, tomatoes and then toss before pouring in the drunken noodles sauce, tossing a few times to coat the noodles, cooking for 1 to 2 minutes before plating.
- Serve with a wedge of lemon and lime and extra thai basil leaves.
- **To reheat: add a splash or two of water to the drunken noodles being reheated. Microwave or heat in non-stick skillet on your stove top until hot and saucy.
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