Pad Ki Mao, the Drunkard's noodle

Commonly called Drunken Noodles, they really are named after the people who are consuming them.  Drunkard's.  I read somewhere that they are salty and spicy but without a ton of flavor, because drunks don't have an amazing palate, they just really like salty spicy food.  Myself?  I'm a big fan of salty, spicy food, and losing my sense of smell made my palate pretty simple.

This is my go-to Thai order, and I recently acquired a Thai delivery addiction, and the only cure for the addiction seemed to be to make it myself at home.

Here's how it goes:
Boil some water.  While waiting for the boil, get out some tofu, an onion, a jalapeno (or a thai chili if you have it), maybe a bell pepper, whatever vegetables are on hand that might be good in this dish.  And a ripe tomato.  The tomato is your key ingredient.

Timing is key: you should throw your rice noodles into the boiling water, turn off the heat and cover it, right at the moment the oil in your wok is hot enough to start.  Hot.  Not medium.  Not Medium-high.  High.

First I throw in the cubed tofu, and I chop my onion into wide wedges while stirring the tofu occasionally and then throw in the onion.  Then the jalapeno, and other vegetables.  Tomato last.  You should be constantly stirring in between chops, and the moment you add your tomato you should pull your rice noodles pan off the stove and rinse them in cold water.

Drain the noodles well, then throw them in the pan and sprinkle them with soy sauce to taste.  (I use a lot.)  If your jalapeno wasn't hot enough, you can also add some garlic chili paste.  Stir.  Cook.  Stir.  When it looks like drunken noodles, you're ready to eat.

Sometimes I joke that my favorite Thai restaurant can deliver faster than I can boil rice noodles.  But this dish is pretty quick to cook.  My favorite quick dinner.