4 ounces of wide rice ribbon noodles (sen yai or jutaboon)*
handful of shelled shrimp (optional)
1 chopped chicken breasts 1/2" size or thigh meat
1/4 cup of firm tofu, cut into small cubes (optional)
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 sliced shallot (optional)
1/2 Red sweet pepper cut up in 1" square pieces
1/2 med. red onion cubed
Handful of cubed head cabbage
1 cubed seeded small tomato
1 whisked egg
Generous sprinkling of white pepper

The following coats the noodles with a "sauce" of great flavors

2 tablespoons Oyster sauce -(Maek Rua or Dragonfly Brands)
splash white (rice) vinegar
splash fish sauce (Nam Plah) (taste and add at the end)
squeeze or two fresh lime juice
½ to 1 teaspoon prik phom (ground red chillies) or Sambol Olek (ground chile in jar)
1/3 cup of bean sprouts (optional)
2+ Chopped red prik kee nue (Thai bird chiles)or Phrik Chee Fa (even the jarred ones are OK)

Garnish with any of these:
cilantro
green onions sliced
Handful of bai kaprao (holy basil leaves) or Bai Horapha (Thai basil)
a few cloves of pickled garlic, thinly sliced
2 red Thai Dragon Chiles, julienned and placed in ice water to curl
Toasted chopped peanuts
Reserve a handful of rice noodles and cut them into 3" lengths to fry in hot oil until crispy.

Method

Soak the noodles in warm water for about 15 minutes.Don’t over soak or the noodles become mushy.

Heat wok to smoking, add oil and swirl.

Then fry shallots and garlic quickly, do not brown. Add chicken breast and brown, add veggies, scoop onto sides of wok, add eggs; cook, then flip over and shred in long ribbons. Add everything else.

If you are uncomfortable with the speed required, I would suggest cooking your ingredients before hand then just add them all at one time to the noodles and sauce ingredients. Toss in the bean sprouts, tomatoes, and basil at the end toss to warm, don't overcook them.

If desired, the tofu can be marinated in some dark soy to which a couple
of sliced chilies are added. Also, there is a tofu available that is already flavored and kind of dry that is very tasty in this dish, but cut into smaller dice.

The fried noodles, sliced green onions, toasted chopped peanuts, a little coriander, basil leaves, and the pickled garlic are then added as a garnish.

* Sen Yai /Rice noodles: You can find these fresh in Oriental markets - don't put them in the refrigerator or they harden and you will go crazy trying to separate them. They also go sour if not used within a day. They are also available packaged dry - I always keep a package of the widest dry rice noodles handy for a quick Drunkards' Noodle fix.

**I much prefer using only Thai Bird chiles and Thai Dragons in this and all Thai cooking, but in some areas it is difficult to find these. Serranos can be substituted. I am in California and Thai chiles are available fresh year round. I grow them myself all year round by bringing the potted chile plants inside from about Dec. to March. I normally would use more chiles than suggested in the recipe, but start here and work up to your taste tolerance! Remember Capsicums are addictive - the more you eat, the more you want, and the more you eat, the hotter you want.

*** Fish sauce cooks out quickly and always needs to be added at the end. I prefer Golden Boy Brand Thai Fish Sauce.