• ellabee on July 02, 2014

  Excellent run-down by the author of the differences between her blog and the cookbook: http://shesimmers.com/2014/05/drunkards-noodles-pad-kee-mao-simple-thai-food-book.html#more-5588 ...Pad Thai series: http://shesimmers.com/2011/05/pad-thai-recipe-part-one-pan-and.html

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Spicy grilled beef salad (Yam nuea yang)

  • kari500 on May 04, 2022

    We Loved this. I basically doubled it (2 rib eye, 4 tomatoes, 1 full UK cuc, double dressing). I also added a bag of salad greens. I'd add some oil to the dressing next time as the fat from the steak wasn't quite enough, but this is an excellent meal. I served with sliced baguette instead of rice.

  • twoyolks on July 09, 2019

    Other than marinating, this was quick and easy to make. The flavor was good but not quite excellent. I added mint and Thai basil as I had plenty and liked their addition.

• Chicken in brown sauce on rice (Khao na kai)

  • kari500 on April 12, 2022

    Agree, this is simple, good, comfort food. I didn't have any cilantro, and it was still delicious (we did love the sliced peppers - I used serrano). I used all thigh meat, marinated 10 hours. This is so easy, and delicious. Be careful about salting - it didn't say to salt, but I've been burned by books that assume you'll salt, so I salted. This made it a little too salty, so next time I won't salt, or will salt very sparingly.

  • bernalgirl on August 24, 2021

    What a sleeper recipe! This is perfect weeknight comfort food, after making this I understood her story in the head note about eating this all the time when she first moved to the US. I served this over brown rice without the egg, which would be delicious but wasn’t in the cards tonight. The cilantro and chile are key to adding some bright fresh flavors to complement the sauce, we also topped this with Thai chile vinegar. I had intended to make a stirfry of romano beans to go with but ran out of time, so I added them here. I blistered them in the wok, added the broth and brought that to a boil before adding the chicken mixture. They were perfectly tender, and it made a complete meal over brown rice.

  • twoyolks on September 23, 2021

    This was really fast to make and quite tasty. I only marinated it for 4 hours and I used Thai basil instead of cilantro all of which worked fine.

• Chicken-cashew stir-fry (Kai phat met mamuang himma-phan)

  • mziech on September 15, 2018

    Loved it. Can make this on weekdays, really easy and delicious.

  • meggan on January 05, 2022

    This was ok - I don't think so much oil was necessary and the cashews would have been just as good toasted.

  • Kduncan on March 23, 2021

    Simple quick recipe albeit a good amout of chopping. Results are great, will definitely be making again.

• Beef green curry with Thai eggplants (Kaeng khiao wan nuea)

  • sarahcooks on August 08, 2016

    I made this using Leela's green curry paste recipe. It was so so good. I had a timing issue so I added the beef and after simmering a few minutes, stuck it in a 250F oven for an hour, then finished when I got home. The beef was so tender and added a lot of flavor to the sauce.

  • wcassity on July 07, 2017

    Very delicious. I added way more curry paste than suggested, and it was still mostly mild with just a nice kick at the end. I added diced zucchini and green beans as well.

  • hirsheys on May 13, 2018

    This was good, though I used brisket, which was the wrong choice because it got chewy. I also got the little tiny eggplants, which are lovely, but full of seeds. The process of this curry was easy and worked well, and the taste was great with the homemade curry paste from the book.

  • pattyatbryce on February 25, 2022

    So easy! If you use remade curry paste, it's weeknight friendly. I might use more curry next time and had to sub regular eggplant (cut smaller). We both loved.

• Rice noodles with chicken and Chinese broccoli (Phat si-io kai)

  • sarahcooks on July 01, 2017

    The whole family loved this. I managed to make double it by turning my gas stove up to power boil, but I wouldn't really recommend it. I used leftover Chinese bbq pork instead of chicken and it was fantastic.

  • wcassity on January 31, 2021

    Delicious! Basically pad see ew, but more rounded flavor. Bought the soybean sauce she recommends on Amazon. Added dashes of Korean chili flakes and fish sauce at the end. Used regular broccoli.

  • twoyolks on January 17, 2015

    It took me longer to cook than the time specified but my chicken was in larger pieces. He finished dish needs to be seasoned with fish sauce, dried chili pepper, and salt.

• Chicken and fried garlic on rice (Khao kai kra-thiam)

  • sarahcooks on April 12, 2022

    I agree with twoyolks. The white pepper was dominant without making it very spicy, and the fried garlic was at least a different taste to what I'm used to.

  • twoyolks on January 22, 2015

    This was tasty but wasn't particularly special. The dominant flavors were the soy and the white pepper.

• Curry noodles with chicken (Kuai-tiao kaeng sai kai)

  • TrishaCP on November 30, 2018

    I thought this dish was good. It is very saucey. The first night we ate it with noodles and the second night with rice and I liked it better with the rice. I used homemade yellow curry paste from the book, and store-bought red curry paste. I don't think the hard-boiled eggs are vital but you definitely need the fried shallots (crispiness and bite) and cilantro (fresh herbiness).

• Fish in red curry sauce (Chuchi pla)

  • TrishaCP on April 06, 2022

    This was just ok for us- though it was simple enough for a weeknight. I definitely wouldn’t make it without including the optional makrut lime leaves for additional flavor. The main problem seemed to be that the curry itself was quite thin, even though it was described as a “thick” curry. I would definitely wait to add the water next time.

  • patioweather on August 16, 2021

    Simple and delicious. Only takes a few minutes.

• Phanaeng curry with chicken and kabocha squash (Kaeng phanaeng kai kap fak thong)

  • TrishaCP on October 24, 2019

    This is a great version of a Panang curry. Pretty much flawless, though more veggies wouldn’t be bad. The squash is the best part.

  • patioweather on April 06, 2018

    Trust her timing and do not overcook the squash!

• Spicy basil chicken and fried eggs on rice (Khao rat phat ka-phrao kai khai dao)

  • bernalgirl on June 02, 2021

    Savory and delicious, a perfect easy dinner with steamed rice and sliced cucumbers

  • twoyolks on July 31, 2017

    Ground chicken just doesn't have enough flavor to stand up to the sauce ingredients. This is similar to Stir-fried minced beef with chillies and holy basil (Neua pat bai grapao) from Thai Street Food but I like that much better.

  • meggan on June 10, 2021

    Nice simple dinner. You will likely need to add stock as it is a little dry.

  • hirsheys on April 18, 2022

    I made 1/3 of this recipe tonight and very much enjoyed it. Otherwise, I made it as written, though I believe my basil was Thai, not holy, and I cooked my crispy eggs separately in far less oil than the recipe prescribed (using Julia Turshen’s crispy egg method from Small Victories - worked great!) I didn’t make the recommended chile fish sauce to serve with it, and ended up using a little sweet chile sauce instead, which nicely cut the richness of the runny yolk and the salt of the meat. I think the cucumber relish also would have been great with it, though. Maybe next time!

• Beef and vegetable curry, jungle style (Kaeng pa nuea sap)

  • bernalgirl on February 11, 2022

    This is a delicious curry. I’ve been interested in this recipe because the technique of simmering the curry paste in water at the start is new to me, and the use of ground meat makes for an easy weeknight meal. I didn’t have brined green peppercorns, or fingerroots, but I had fresh galangal, Thai lime, and Thai basil. I also changed the vegetables to please my eggplant-hating kids: green beans, baby corn, and Napa cabbage. Finished with lime juice, this is a wonderfully balanced dish.

• Ground pork omelet (Khai jiao mu sap)

  • bernalgirl on August 12, 2021

    My family absolutely loved the flavor of this dish, but did not like what the cornstarch did to the texture of the eggs. The mixture spattered into pieces when frying and the crispy bits were slightly grainy. Next time I’ll try rice flour in place of cornstarch (a suggested option).

• Mango and sweet coconut sticky rice (Khao niao mamuang)

  • wcassity on April 02, 2022

    Delicious! I used sushi rice and a can of coconut milk with perfect mangoes - really great.

• Fried rice with chicken (Khao phat kai)

  • twoyolks on January 30, 2015

    This isn't amazing but, at the same time, is quite satisfying.

• Rice noodles with beef and Chinese broccoli gravy (Rat na nuea)

  • twoyolks on March 08, 2018

    This was really soupy. I liked the beef the best. The rest was simply okay.

  • Lovestocook on December 17, 2015

    Really enjoyed this. Reduced the stock and cornflour (used instead of cornstarch) by 1/3 and still way too much liquid. Really flavourful gravy though and very tender beef.

• Rice noodles "drunkard's style" with chicken (Kuai-tiao khi mao kai)

  • twoyolks on November 29, 2015

    I made this with beef instead of chicken and with a poblano chile instead of a Thai long green chile. I also omitted the tomato. The sauce just wasn't quite right. It was a lot darker than what I'm used to.

  • meggan on April 26, 2018

    This was good and easy but I have had better drunken noodles.

  • chawkins on August 14, 2019

    This was absolutely delicious. My chicken breast was close to a pound and I used 3 Thai bird chiles from the garden. Instead of the Thai long chile, I used a poblano chile. This will be in regular rotation in our house in the summer as I usually have the chiles, tomato and Thai basil in the garden and I'll add shrimp to the mix.

  • patioweather on April 18, 2018

    We loved this recipe, and it was easy so I'm definitely going to make it again. I made it with half chicken and half seitan. The chicken is not contributing that much, so it's easy to swap it out for whatever protein you'd like. In the future, I will add bamboo shoots to improve the veggie to noodle ratio.

• Crispy wings with three-flavored sauce (Pik kai thot sot sam rot)

  • twoyolks on September 24, 2015

    The wings were very crunch with a good mix of hot, sour, and sweet. I used two "red Thai chiles" and it provided just about the right amount of heat. I think there's a typo in the recipe as I only needed to fry my chicken wings for 8 minutes instead of the 20 to 25 listed in the recipe.

• Northeastern minced chicken salad (Lap kai)

  • twoyolks on November 29, 2016

    This is extremely spicy. It calls for 2 tablespoons of chile powder for 12 oz. of ground chicken. It was too spicy to eat.

  • laurenlangston on July 09, 2016

    Really tasty -- I used cilantro instead of sawtooth coriander. I also used some ground chicken that I had in the freezer; I might do better by this recipe next time and whack it up myself, instead. Citrusy, spicy, herbaceous, great food for a hot day.

  • damjih on April 24, 2020

    This was pretty good, I halved the spice, the toasted rice powder is a must, which I made with the only rice I had (basmati) and it still worked out fine.

• Sweet-and-sour vegetable stir-fry with chicken (Phat priao wan kai)

  • meggan on July 09, 2020

    I felt the cukes became slimy so next time I would just garnish with them but otherwise this was good. I used jarred banana peppers and it was fine.

  • imaluckyducky on June 24, 2020

    5 enthusastic stars! This dish comes together quickly and is really easy to balance out. The addition of cucumber to the stir fry was something new for me, and a delightful surprise - it adds a really nice toothsome texture and a refreshing bite. I made a double batch and only a small portion remains (3 adults and one 4yo had seconds). Do not be scared about the amount of fish sauce in the sauce, it does not overpower the flavor of the sauce. The stir fry sauce is also more liquidy than, say, a Chinese stir fry that you may be used to. My Thai partner defends that this is normal.

  • patioweather on June 15, 2021

    Not my favorite stir fry in this book but extremely enjoyable. I garnished with the cucumber as another commenter suggested.

  • valbe on December 07, 2021

    Subbed zucchini for the cucumber, lime juice for the vinegar; added celery, lightly steamed broccoli, a tiny bit of Thai red pepper along with the red pepper, didn't use the tomato and added Chinese noodles cooked according to the package. With all the extras there could have had a bit more sauce! Delicious.

• Rice noodles with beef-tomato gravy (Kuai-tiao nuea sap)

  • meggan on May 06, 2022

    Very good - I opted out of the lettuce leaf part and I didn't have rice noodle so we just used pappardelle. Could have used some fresh herbs on top.

• Green curry paste (Nam phrik kaeng khiao wan)

  • hirsheys on May 14, 2018

    Green curry is my absolute favorite, and this paste came out really delicious. I was incredibly impressed with myself. I used my mini food processor to grind the paste, but I felt that I had to add a little liquid to help it puree. I used coconut milk, which worked well. It seemed like the paste was going to be super hot, but it wasn't at all - just a nice kick at the end, and some good umami from the shrimp paste. (Which smells absolutely disgusting, btw.) Note to self: next time, don't forget that you diluted the paste a bit with the coconut milk, so increase the amount in the curry.

• Chicken, water morning glory, and satay sauce on rice (Khao phra ram long song)

  • hirsheys on July 11, 2022

    Good “recipe” to use up satay sauce. (I made the less easy one this time - I actually prefer the other one!) Loved the water morning glory texture and taste. Couldn’t find the Nam prik even at a fantastic Thai grocery store, so I just used a little sambal oolek.

• Satay sauce, the easy version (Nam jim satay)

  • hirsheys on April 25, 2022

    I agree - this is SOOOO good and super easy. I used Maesri choo chee curry paste because I had no red curry paste as I'd thought, plus a smooth organic peanut butter. Also used the lower amount of sugar and would not want more. It is a fabulous sauce and makes a lot - I'm looking forward to the leftovers.

  • patioweather on April 17, 2018

    Everyone adored this. It makes a huge amount, so you can use it for multiple applications. The "easy version" was so delicious and easy that I'm not sure why I would ever make the non-easy version.

• Satay sauce, the less-easy version (Nam jim satay)

  • hirsheys on July 11, 2022

    This isn’t all that much tougher than the “easy” version, but also isn’t much better, and in fact, I prefer the vinegar flavor in the other one to the tamarind (feels sacrilegious to say that, but I do!) I had to add the coconut milk to my peanuts to grind them smooth, but that worked fine. The sauce is very thick. The taste is just as amazing as the other one, but it’s far easier to use commercial peanut butter. (Also, I used a lower amount of sugar, as I do with the other one, though this one calls only for the high amount).

• Pork satay (Mu sate)

  • hirsheys on April 25, 2022

    I really enjoyed this version. The flavors worked really well with the pork shoulder and it all ended up being delicious and tender. (I was worried it wouldn’t be, because I didn’t cut my strips quite as thin as she prescribed. Didn’t end up being a problem!) I used orange juice rather than pineapple, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly, broiling the meat to cook. I loved the pork, but chicken thighs would also work well. (Next time I broil, will use an oiled rack over a pan with aluminum foil. Also not sure extra coconut milk basting is necessary...) Delicious with easy peanut sauce and cucumber relish.

• Herb-baked cashews (Met mamuang himma-phan op samunphrai)

  • hirsheys on July 11, 2022

    Tasty and easy, but not necessarily something I need again. A bit sweet for my taste (and sticky, which isn’t great for a nibble). A good change from the usual spiced nuts though.

  • julesamomof2 on May 16, 2018

    A delicious, easy nibble. I should have made a double batch, my guests loved them so much.

• Chicken-ginger stir-fry (Kai phat khing)

  • imaluckyducky on November 09, 2019

    5 stars! So please know that this stir fry isn't dry or has a thick sauce - it ends up being quite brothy. That said, the flavor is beautifully nuanced despite it being heavy on ginger. White button mushrooms do well in this recipe. Thai boyfriend and 3yo enthusiastically approved.

• Stuffed egg crepes (Khai yat sai)

  • rmardel on November 09, 2020

    Love these! The filling can be made in advance which helps with the prep. They are a little tricky at first, but delicious. Marvelous on some lightly dressed greens.

• Fish with lime-chile-garlic dressing (Pla nueng manao)

  • stockholm28 on April 09, 2022

    This is very simple and makes a quick and easy weeknight dinner. I made 1/4 of the recipe with a halibut fillet. I baked the fish in a foil packet for easy clean up. I served it on rice; you need something to sop up the sauce. It had a bit of a kick from the chilis. It is not terribly exciting, but I’d make it again as it was very easy and healthy.

• Green papaya salad (Som tam malako)

  • laurenlangston on July 09, 2016

    This is a solid recipe -- everything I want in a som tam. It's the third som tam recipe I've made (the other two by way of Kurt Kahrs and Andy Ricker), and I'll probably check out a few more, but I absolutely see myself returning to this one.

• Duck red curry with pineapple and tomatoes (Kaeng phet pet yang)

  • runoutofshelves on October 31, 2019

    This was great. On a very hot night. I love recipes using bbq duck from chinese restaurants. We made the paste and stashed away two portions in the freezer.

  • MmeFleiss on April 12, 2018

    I used chopped roast duck from my local Chinese grocery store and a pineapple that I cut up a few days ago. Dinner took less than 10 mins and everyone raved about how good it was. A keeper for sure.

• Spicy crispy catfish with fried basil (Phat phet pla duk thot krop)

  • lkgrover on March 04, 2018

    This is excellent! The catfish has great flavor. The other ingredients seasoned the fish, but didn't create much sauce. I substituted jalapeno chiles for Thai chiles (for less heat).

• Stir-fried chicken with chile jam (Kai phat nam phrik phao)

  • lkgrover on February 24, 2022

    Good chicken stir fry. I used one red onion & one yellow onion; I liked the variety. Served over jasmine rice.

• Chicken kari "yellow" curry (Kaeng kari kai)

  • themasterkey3000 on May 13, 2018

    Pretty basic curry

• Sweet dry curry of pork and long beans (Phat phrik khing)

  • patioweather on April 09, 2018

    Recipe does not say when to add the shrimp. I did it when I added the fish sauce and sugar.

  • Chef_Penelope on September 23, 2021

    Per Leela's website, the dried shrimp should be pounded with a mortar until reduced to cottony flakes. The flakes should be added along with the oil and curry paste at the beginning. She also suggests serving with rice.

• Shrimp curry stir-fry (Kung phat phong kari)

  • patioweather on November 05, 2020

    I was dubious about the egg and while it felt a little strange, it was delicious.

  • valbe on January 18, 2022

    I was dubious, patioweather, about the whole milk so subbed coconut water and coconut milk. And was not disappointed. Great little recipe and I'll be making it again. The Note about reviving less than fresh curry powder is a good one and a good one to remember for other recipes.

• Cucumber relish (Ajat)

  • patioweather on April 09, 2018

    Delicious but extremely sweet, so serve alongside something tangy or spicy.

• Sweet chile sauce (Nam jim kai)

  • patioweather on April 04, 2018

    Flavorwise, this is exactly what I expect from a Thai dipping sauce for fried spring rolls. Next time I make it, I will dramatically decrease the amount of tapioca starch. After sitting it turned into a sludge.

• Boston Globe by T. Susan Chang

  ...what it says: unusually simple, and still really Thai. It’s written with grace, dedication, and humor, and there’s nothing like it on the market...if you want a single Thai book, this is it.

  Full review

• Advocate by Diane Anderson-Minshall

  ...a great new collection of 100 Thai recipes that are simpler, quicker, and easy to manage than we’ve seen before. The foodie that Saveur’s dubbed the best regional cuisine blog...

  Full review

• NPR by T. Susan Chang

  2013 Top Summer Cookbooks: ...seems to pull it off, coming up with recipes that are weeknight-doable yet electric with ingredients you can just about find...Shortcuts or not, they're delicious.

  Full review