These weeknight noodles are inspired by the silky richness of meaty tomato sauce and the fiery, tangy-sweet flavors of pad kee mao (a.k.a. drunken noodles). It's full-on explosive flavor in under an hour.
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What you’ll need
Sun Ramen Noodles
$5 At Instacart
Dutch Oven
$133 $80 At Amazon
Large Pot
$55 $48 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
6–8 servings
Ingredients
2
2
1
8
2
2
2
⅓
¼
¼
1½
2
Preparation
Step 1
Heat oil in a large wide heavy pot over medium-high. Add half of pork to pot, breaking apart into 6–8 large chunks with a wooden spoon. Cook, undisturbed, until well browned underneath, about 5 minutes. Turn pieces and continue to cook, turning occasionally, until pork is browned on 2–3 sides, about 5 minutes longer. Add ginger, garlic, sugar, and remaining pork to pot and cook, breaking up pork into small clumps, until meat is nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Add tomato paste and 2 basil sprigs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until paste darkens, about 2 minutes. Add chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar, and 2 cups water. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened and flavors have melded, 30–45 minutes.
Step 2
Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute short of al dente. Add to pot with sauce along with butter and a splash of pasta cooking liquid. Simmer, tossing occasionally, until sauce begins to cling to noodles, about 1 minute. Pluck out basil sprigs.
Step 3
Divide noodles among plates. Top with torn basil.
Leave a Review
Reviews (351)
Back to TopI do not understand the hoopla around this recipe. I followed the instructions to the letter, and it was fine but not great or special or worthy of making again. My two family members agreed. It was just "meh."
Anonymous
Austin, TX
4/17/2024
This has become a standard weeknight dinner recipe for me, ever since they published it in the magazine. I always make it as written, it’s super simple, and it always comes out GREAT!
Anonymous
Annapolis, MD/Brooklyn, NY
12/22/2022
I made this recipe as written a while ago and enjoyed it but found it to be a little oily for my taste. I made it last night with the recently published (in an article on reducing meat as a cost savings) substitutions of chopped mushrooms and lentils (I used drained, canned lentils as a time saver) for half of the ground pork. It was excellent! It’s a little tricky to get the pork brown at the beginning when the mushrooms are in the pan giving off liquid but, if you have patience, both the pork and the mushrooms will get very brown and this contributes significantly to the flavor. I stirred some basil into the dish as well as adding it on top at the end and using the sprigs as it cooked. I served us some edamame in the shell on the side. Excellent recipe and I will definitely make this again!
Theresa
Laguna Beach, CA
10/6/2022
maybe adamk is just a bad cook. it's a great recipe. source: culinary school graduate, former michelin-star sous chef, current menu consultant.
better than adamk
Chicago
8/26/2022
OK at best. I am not sure how this recipe received so many 5 star reviews. For me, 5 stars implies a perfect/foolproof recipe that tastes great as written. This recipe was edible and perhaps even a little tasty with some modifications. But it is definitely not the culinary masterpiece one would expect having over 300 rave reviews. If this recipe is truly being rated 5 stars, I wonder what kind of basic nonsense is being cooked up in the homes of the people that are giving it such high ratings. Perhaps we are using different rating systems?
AdamK
Miami
8/5/2022
OBSESSED! I’ve made this recipe over 5 times now. It’s easy to make, has great flavors, and yields a large amount!
LC
7/8/2022
I have made this more times than I could ever count. I love it, my husband loves it, our son, who moved out on his own and took the recipe with him, loves it. The leftovers are amazing; in fact, my husband will often take some of our leftovers to a co-worker who also loves it. I have always mostly followed the recipe to a T. I still watch the video every time I make it — I can’t quit it, apparently. ;) I have used just about every style of noodle over the years. Our favorite happens to be a specialty Italian pasta: Rustichella d’Abruzzo Fusilli col buco which I originally used out of necessity during the pandemic. It is amazingly long with tight curls and holds up really well to the meat sauce. The curls really snag the bits of meat. Any noodle works and is delicious but we have found that ramens and Yakisobas can break down a bit. Sometimes, if my ground pork seems a little fattier than usual, I might try to wipe some of the excess out of the pan before adding anything else. Otherwise, we adore it as is. Chris, you rock my world!
CarrieLouWho
Seattle, WA
3/17/2022