Pad Kee Mao — Drunken Noodles

Where it comes from

No one fully agrees on why pad kee mao means drunkard's noodles. Some say it is the dish flung together after a long night from whatever the kitchen still holds; some say the chili is pitched to cut through a dulled palate; one tale blames a wife spicing her husband's dinner into a lesson. Everyone agrees on the medicine itself: wide noodles, a violent wok, Thai chili and holy basil. We cook it spicy enough to mean it.