A wonderful member recently gave us a generous helping of Thai Basil they grew. Oh! Such a lovely and heady gift. The baker took one sniff and begged for Drunken Noodle (Veranda in Portland is his favorite). I’ve had this Thai dish and I like it but I’ve never made it. So, in true Rock Bottom fashion, I winged it based on a culmination of recipes I researched. It turned out great – the baker was happy, the Thai Basil was amazing, fun was had by all.
As usual, I like malleable recipes based on whatever we have on hand. We went to the Farmer’s Market in hopes of veggies to add, we found some lovely banana peppers (a lovely bouquet), fresh tomatoes, green onions, and rainbow carrots but we would have also been happy with broccolini/broccoli/raab, the tatsoi in the garden, fresh peas in or out of the pod/snow peas, any kind or color pepper. Any wide noodle will work, not necessarily just the traditional rice noodle (some recipes used linguine – that could work, but we like it as wide as possible). And we happened to have the smattering of strange sauces in our pantry (soy/amino acids, fish, & oyster) and tubes of cilantro and lemongrass (I hate the plastic aspect but I love the ease and less waste of the tube – like the genius who made metal tube tomato paste and smashed anchovies). The amount of spice is up to you, my child likes some but not a ton (but she liked mixing up the sauce). We made it with local beef tips but it would be great with any meat or tofu or no meat.
I hope this pleases you and showcases the loveliness of Thai Basil! See what happiness gifts can bring – if we all grew one thing and shared it, we’d be a community garden…
Stone Broke Drunken Noodle
Serves 4-6
For the dish:
- 1.50lb of beef sirloin tips, cut against the grain in 1/4″ thick pieces
- 1 Large scallion/Green Onion, chopped small (saving some chopped greens for garnish, if desired)
- 4 thin new Carrots or 2 large, any color, chopped on a bias (diagonally)
- 4 tennis ball sized fresh Tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 2 cups Green Peppers (we got long Cubanelle style, but Bell works, too), chopped big and rough
- 1.5 cups or a really big handful of Thai Basil, removing big stems, ripping big leaves (leave a few out for garnish)
- 2 Tbsp (or 2 big cloves) minced Garlic
- 2 Tbsp frying oil (something mild, Grapeseed, Canola, etc)
- 1 lb Extra Wide Egg Noodle, cooked per package directions, set aside
- 1 Lime, cut into wedges (optional for serving)
For the Sauce:
- 2 Tbsp Oyster sauce (to substitute, double the fish sauce and add more soy to taste)
- 2 Tbsp Soy sauce/Amino Acids
- 2 Tbsp Water
- 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Cilantro (in a tube, or fresh minced, if fresh save a little for garnish, if desired)
- 4 tsp runny Honey (can warm thicker honey to soften) or use 2 tsp OG cane sugar
- 2 tsp Lemongrass (in a tube, or 1-2″ chunk, minced)
- 2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- (optional) add 1 Tbsp Sriracha or other Hot Sauce
Cook noodles according to package and set aside. Whisk sauce ingredients all together and set aside.
In a wide bottom pot or wok, heat the oil over High heat, add the Carrots and Scallions and fry for 2 minutes or until the edges of the Carrots start to get golden, add in the Peppers (or Peas or Broccoli) and Garlic and fry for 2 minutes. Then add the meat or tofu and cook until edges are crispy (for meat, you will have to move it more often to evaporate extra liquid, for tofu, let sit a little longer before stirring – using a stiff spatula). When meat is cooked to your liking 4-5 minutes, add the sauce and cook 1 minute more, stirring to combine and incorporate.
Take pan off of heat and add Basil and Tomatoes, cover and let sit 2 minutes. Then mix with Noodles, cover and let sit another 2 minutes. Stir again and serve, adding more Thai Basil, Cilantro, Green Onion, and Lime as garnish, if desired.
Rock Bottom Homestead 