Thinking about this recipe last week, I was excited to give Tablespoon readers a nice beginner Thai dish to try out, as an intro to Thai cooking.  My recipes on this blog so far have been pretty involved, so I was happy to bring something easier to the table(spoon).  I sat down tonight to write out the ingredients and steps, and I was pretty surprised that there were so many!  What happened to my Thai 101 recipe? 20 ingredients and 16 steps is NOT it.

But then I started to think about it, and realized that yes, this simple Thai stir fry recipe is disguised as something complex and confusing!  Let me break it down for you.

The first 6 ingredients are used for making the sauce for the dish.  The sauce is as simple as mixing these 6 ingredients.  If you have any intention of ever cooking Asian food, you should already have most of these:

• Soy Sauce
• Fish Sauce
• Rice Wine Vinegar
• Sugar
• Lime
• Sambol (spicy red chile paste)

The next 4 ingredients make up the aromatic portion of the stir-fry.  They go in first, and set the tone for the rest of the ingredients.

• Garlic
• Chiles
• Shallot
• Fresh Peppercorns – This is the most “exotic” Ingredient in this dish.  Black pepper is dried peppercorns, but fresh green peppercorns are essential to drunken noodles.  You probably wont be able to get fresh-fresh, but you can find fresh-preserved ones in a jar in most Asian food sections of the grocery store.  They will be in a brine or salt, and look like capers!

The next 7 ingredients should look familiar if you have ever made stir fry before.  Honestly, you could switch these up any way you choose, just use your favorite stir-fry stuff!

• Chicken
• Baby Corn
• Egg
• Tomato
• Green Bean
• Onion
• Rice Noodles

Lastly, some basil, cilantro, and green onion for garnish.

The detailed Drunken Noodles recipe can be seen here, but there are some photos of the process below.

The beginning of most Thai and Indian recipes look just like this.

The most important thing when cooking a stir fry is to have everything ready and at your fingertips before you start!

The garlic chile shallot paste frying with some fresh peppercorns.

Onions and green beans go in after the chicken.  These ingredients are really up to you!

Everything in the pot for the final mix.

Basil goes in last just as the heat is shut off.

This recipe is very tasty!  I need to make it again soon.  Spicy, tangy, fresh, and a unique kick from the peppercorns.

Dan Whalen is a blogger at The Food in my Beard; check Dan’s Tablespoon profile often to try his recipes with creative international spins!