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Easy 1 Pot Thai Skillet Noodles stir fry! These inspired drunken noodles come together in 30 minutes and don’t need noodles cooked separately. Everything cooks in 1 pot!
Thai cuisine has always fascinated me. The bold flavors, the use of different textures and colors, one pot meals, and above all the fact that most dishes come together super quickly.
My Vegan Thai Basil Fried Rice and my Thai pumpkin Curry recipe are some of my favorite recipes ever and I make them all the time. These easy skillet noodles are inspired from Pad kee mao (drunken noodles). They come together quickly and hit the right spots!
You know me, I am a huge fan of cooking pasta in a skillet! Have you tried some of my skillet lasagnas? Life-changing!
Preparing pasta in a skillet along with the sauce ingredients drastically shortens the total cooking time.
The exact cooking times will vary based on the noodles and brands, so keep an eye on them. If you are unsure, make them separately and add precooked noodles, then add to the veggies and sauces. See recipe notes for that method.
More Stir-Fry Recipes
Tofu Jalfrezi (Indian Smoky Tofu Bell Pepper Tomato stir fry)
Spiced Spinach Tofu Stir fry 1 Pot 15 Minutes
Sweet Sour Tofu Veggie Stir Fry
Thai Style Skillet Wide Rice Noodle Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
- 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced or minced
- 1 green chili (serrano, jalapeño or Thai), thinly sliced, (omit for less heat)
- 5 ounces thinly sliced mushroom
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, , tamari for gluten-free
- 2 cups water or broth
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, ,omit if using salted broth
- 6 ounces wide rice noodles, Thai style dry noodles
To add later:
- 1/2 of a bell pepper, , green or red or both
- 1 cup chopped broccoli, broccolini or Chinese broccoli
- 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, , tamari for gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon vegan fish sauce or 1 tablespoon vegan oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon corn starch, or tapioca starch
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 tablespoons Thai-basil
- chopped green onion for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 teaspoons of oil. Once hot, add onion, garlic, green chili and a good pinch of salt and cook until onion is starting to turn translucent. Then add the mushroom and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. (If adding tofu, add now and cook another 2 mins)
- Add the soy sauce/tamari and mix in, then once the sauce is sizzling add in the water and salt and mix in.
- Add the noodles and press them in until covered with water, then cover with lid and cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Check at the 7 minute mark if the noodles are cooked otherwise cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the type of noodle, they can get done anywhere from 7 minutes to 11 minutes.
- Then open the lid, add the vegetables and mix in.
- In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, molasses, fish sauce, brown sugar, corn starch and white pepper and mix. Add the sauce to the skillet and bring to a boil to thicken.
- Add in the chopped Thai basil and green onion and mix in. Switch off the heat, close the lid and let it sit for 1-2 minutes and serve.
Video
Notes
- Add more protein: You can also make this stir fry hearty by adding some tofu just after the mushrooms. Sauté and continue.
- Precook noodles: cook the noodles in a saucepan with water as mentioned on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside. Cook the onion garlic mushroom as written above, then add the veggies and sauce mixture from the “To add later section” and cover and cook for 2-3 mins so broccoli is cooked through and sauce thickens a bit. Add in the noodles and Thai basil and toss well. Take off heat. Add green onion, cover and let it sit for a min and then serve
- Fish sauce substitute: use a mix of 2 teaspoons soy sauce/tamari, 1/2 tsp molasses and 1 teaspoons lemon juice. You can also add a good pinch of mushroom powder or dulse/nori powder.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- For this recipe, I recommend wide rice noodles or other Thai-style dry noodles. You find them in the Asian section of your grocery store
- garlic, chili, and onion are fried to create a good savory and slightly spicy base for all the following ingredients
- veggies: a colorful mix of mushrooms, bell pepper, and broccoli or broccolini
- for the drunken noodle style stir-fry sauce, we mix molasses, vegan fish sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Cornstarch is added for thickening the sauce and a pinch of white pepper for heat.
- fresh Thai basil is used for finishing the dish
Tips:
- Add your favorite veggies to this, spinach, peas, snow peas, julienned carrots, or zucchini would be fantastic.
- If kids are eating with you, skip the chilies.
- If you don’t have vegan fish sauce, add a tad more soy sauce.
How to make Thai Skillet Noodles
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 teaspoons of oil.
Once hot add onion, garlic, green chili and a good pinch of salt and cook until onion is starting to turn translucent. Then add mushroom and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the sauces and mix in, then once the sauce is sizzling add in the water and salt and mix in.
Add the noodles and press them in until covered with water, then cover with a lid and cook for 7 to 8 minutes.
Check at the 7-minute mark if the noodles are cooked otherwise cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the type, the noodled can get done anywhere from 7 minutes to 11 minutes.
Then open the lid, add the vegetables and mix in.
In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, molasses, fish sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, and white pepper and mix in.
Add the sauce to the skillet and bring to a boil to thicken.
Add in the chopped Thai basil and green onion and mix in. Switch off the heat, close the lid and let it sit for 1-2 minutes and serve.
Add more protein:
You can also make this stir-fry hearty by adding some tofu along with the mushrooms. Sauté and continue.
Precook the noodle stir fry method
Cook the noodles in a saucepan with water as mentioned on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.
Cook the onion and garlic mushroom as written, then add the veggies and sauce mixture from the “To add later section” and cover and cook for 2-3 mins so the broccoli is cooked through and the sauce thickens a bit.
Add in the noodles and Thai basil and toss well. Take off the heat. Add green onion, cover, and let it sit for a minute and then serve.
Storage:
Rice noodles dry out on storing so preferably make and serve fresh.
If refrigerating , keep for upto 2 days. Reheat with more sauce and some broth.
Absolutely loved this recipe, next time I will cook my noodles separately but that’s only because my skillet isn’t big enough. Super delicious and easy to make ☺️
Yay!
I love that this is all made in one skillet, but I‘d recommend that you use a non-stick one. My noodles stuck to the bottom of the pan, but it was great otherwise.
Oh yes rice noodles can be sticky.
I made these noodles and although the noodles were a bit mushy (I should have watched the video) They were absolutely delicious. I will be making them again and get it right next time.
Glad you liked it!
Delicious! So good, even though we couldn’t find the right kind of noodles nor Thai basil (Genovese basil worked well). This tasted like take out (read comfort food!) in the best way and also makes for delicious leftovers….all in one pot!
awesome!
I’m addicted to Thai food and this sounds wonderful. I love the flexibility of your recipe and can hardly wait to try it.
🙂 thank you, Mara!
Yummm! I just made this and it’s fabulous. I had to substitute Coconut Sugar for Brown Sugar and Honey for Molasses but it’s fantastic. I also couldn’t find wide rice noodles so used Pad Thai sized which doesn’t make a difference.
Thanks for a another amazing recipe!
thank you for making it! glad you enjoyed
This recipe is amazing! I love this dish and always buy it when I go to a Thai restaurant and now I can make it at home. Wow! I doubled it and was so happy that I did.
Thanks for sharing this with us!
Shawn K
yay! thank you!
I made this today and it was a hit. We’ve been snowed in, so I used bok choy instead broccoli—since that’s what I had on hand that was Asian…and I used toasted sesame oil for the oil. I added tofu also. My picky partner really loved it.
Sounds yummy!
Has lots.of sodium. Do you have a variation with less sodium?
Reduce the sauces. Use lemon instead of fish sauce and omit salt. Low sodium soy sauces also have quite a bit of sodium. You can also reduce the serving size and serve it with some crisped tofu. So smaller portion of the noodles with a good portion of tofu
So delicious and easy. I didn’t have any vegan fish sauce so I used the substitute and it tasted amazing.
This is so moreish! I literally just wanted to keep eating it even after I was full. Highly recommended.
Thank you for the kind feedback, Nouran!