This innocent looking dish is not for the fainthearted. If you are a fan of very spicy food then this one is for you! Kee mao meaning 'shit drunk' in Thai might not be the most poetic name for a noodle dish but once you have tried this, you might be wondering how it got it's perculiar name. Here are a few theories;
1) It is so spicy that one would need to drink non-stop till he or she is 'shit drunk'
2) It can wake up the most 'shit drunk' person.
3) Invented by a 'shit drunk' person who happened to just chuck everything in the wok.
You may cut down on the amount of chillies used in your version, it will still be very delicious!
P.S I am not really in the mood of cooking up a storm but my late grandma used to say "it is alright to eat very simple food but it mustn't be dull" and this one is surely not dull! For my late grandfather's original version, triple the amount of bird chillies :)
Serves 4 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
1 kg of fresh thick rice noodles (hor fun), loosen and mixed with 1 tbs of dark soy
150 g of kailan, sliced
a handful of bean sprouts
1 chicken breast, sliced, marinated with dash of soy, oyster sauce and white pepper
5 garlic cloves, chopped
6 bird chillies, chopped (do check the spiciness first as they vary from batch to batch)
2 green chillies, chopped
1 bunch of Thai holy basil (bai kraphrao), picked
1 tbs of soy
2 tbs of fish sauce
2 tbs of oyster sauce
* Try to do your stir frying in batches for a better result.
Thai holy basil - bai kraphrao is crucial to the dish. If you can't find this use Thai sweet basil - bai haropa instead.
Place noodles in a hot wok and char the noodles on both sides, one can achieve the smokey flavour so desirable at a home kitchen this way. Set aside.
Saute chopped garlic and chillies for 30 seconds then add in the sliced chicken.
Next chuck in the kailan and continue to cook for a minute.
Return the noodles and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes, add seasonings and mix well. Finally add bean sprouts and holy basil, stir and mix well.
Serve immediately with a cold beer or two! Just don't get 'shit drunk' !
Check out phat si ew if you have to cook for others that dislike spicy food, the ingredients are pretty much the same.
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