I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. I am not a doctor; please consult your practitioner before changing your supplement or healthcare regimen. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Paleo AIP Thai Beef Drunken Noodles are total Asian noodle comfort food! Get that amazing soft noodle fix, the perfect perfume of Thai ingredients and rich tender beef all in this one-pan delicious dinner — that’s also perfect for Keto and Gluten-free.
What are Thai Drunken Noodles
Despite the sound of the name, there is no alcohol in this dish. Actually, the source of the name is unknown.
What makes this dish irresistible is the confluence of classic Thai ingredients with soft, flat noodles and thinly sliced steak, both of which soak up the gravy-like umami sauce.
Garnish with fresh basil for the perfect balance of fresh and comforting flavors.
Ingredients in Paleo Thai Drunken Noodles
The flavorful sauce includes: coconut aminos, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, a little tapioca flour to thicken (with Keto/GF alternatives) … and two key ingredients: shiitake mushrooms and coconut sugar (with Keto alternative).
Plus:
- thinly sliced steak — sirloin, flank or skirt
- green beans — or asparagus if preferred and for AIP (green beans are re-intro only)
- noodles — traditionally flat, but I share in some detail below several noodle options for your diet
This dish is umami, meaty, rich, not quite sweet and earthy, with notes of garlic and ginger. You can perhaps imagine the depth of flavor in the Asian gravy.
And then, the plate is finished with fresh basil — a classic Thai stroke of genius, that keeps the whole dish fresh, exotic and exciting.
How to make Paleo AIP Thai Beef Drunken Noodles
Four easy steps create this dish:
- Sauté the mushrooms. Purée the sauce ingredients, including cooked mushrooms, together in the blender.
- Stir fry the meat and veggies.
- Boil the noodles until al dente, just slightly under-cooked. Drain.
- In large pot, toss together noodles and sauce over medium heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Add steak and veggies, and toss again until well mixed.
Serve, garnished with optional fresh basil.
Noodle options
Depending on your diet, many different noodles may be used in this dish! Choose whichever you love best. Here are some great options:
- For Paleo and AIP: Jovial’s Cassava Noodles (Find them here.)
- Keto, Paleo, AIP, Gluten-free: Daikon Noodles OR Cabbage Noodles (I love both of these.)
- For Keto and Paleo: Hearts of Palm (“Palmini”) Linguini (Find them here.) — These will not need to be boiled (so skip Step 3); they’re simply rinsed and then incorporated into Step 4 when the sauce is heated.
- Gluten-free: Jovial’s Brown Rice Fettucine (find it here) OR Organic Pad Thai Rice Noodles (Find them here.) — These two options look the most traditional.
Paleo AIP Thai Beef Drunken Noodles (Keto, Gluten-free)
Equipment
- large pot to cook pasta in (unless using Palmini) It's nice if this pot can be low and broad for later mixing together all of the ingredients. But it's also okay to use your large pan for this.
- large wok or skillet deep and wide
Ingredients
- 1-½ pounds steak skirt, flank or sirloin: thinly sliced against the grain
- 1-½ cups broth chicken, pork or beef
- 1 8-ounce package noodles: For Paleo and AIP use Jovial's cassava pasta; for Keto, use 2 cans Palmini linguine (rinsed) or favorite low carb noodles; for Gluten-free, I like to use Jovial's rice fettucine or Pad Thai white rice noodles
- ½ pound green beans cut into 2" lengths, or asparagus for AIP or if preferred (for AIP, green beans are reintro only)
- ½ bunch green onions cut into 2" lengths, omit whites so use full bunch for Keto
- 10 shiitake mushrooms fresh and sliced
- ¼ cup coconut aminos OR real fermented soy sauce for Keto/ Gluten-free is also fine, including tamari
- 3 Tablespoons fat of choice divided (I use butter, but for AIP and dairy-free, use lard, coconut oil etc.)
- 3 Tablespoons coconut sugar OR for Keto: use brown sugar substitute like this
- 2 Tablespoons ginger fresh and finely grated or minced
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons tapioca flour or rice flour is also fine for Gluten-free; for Keto: use ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 cloves garlic fresh and crushed or minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Bring large pot of water to a boil over high heat, if cooking pasta. (Skip this step if using Palmini.)
- Meanwhile: Heat small skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add 1 tablespoon fat. Add sliced shiitake mushrooms, and reduce heat to medium. Sauté, stirring and tossing, until lightly cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Purée the sauce ingredients, including cooked mushrooms, together in the blender until smooth, about 30 seconds on medium-high speed: Broth, mushrooms, coconut aminos, coconut sugar, ginger, fish sauce, tapioca flour (or rice or xanthan) and garlic.
- Boil the noodles until al dente, just slightly under-cooked. Drain.
- Assemble sliced steak, cut green beans and green onions.
- Heat large skillet over high heat. Add final 2 Tablespoons fat. Add green beans, reduce heat to medium-high, and sauté/toss to cook constantly for 2 minutes. I like to use two spatulas for quick wok frying of ingredients. Add steak and sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt over all. Continue to toss and cook over medium-high heat until pink is just gone from the meat, about 5 minutes.
- In large pasta pot, toss together noodles and sauce over medium heat until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Add steak and veggies, and toss again until well mixed.
- Serve, garnished with optional fresh basil.
Nutrition
You can Pin this recipe here:
More noodle recipes you’ll enjoy:
- Cold Thai Noodle Salad with Easy Asian Lime Dressing
- Scallop Scampi with Zucchini Noodles
- Bun Bo Hue (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)
- Chinese Noodle Salad with Palmini
- Pad Thai with Zoodles
William S. says
When I saw this, I knew I had to attempt it! I’ve been eating AIP strictly since January, and I miss Thai food SOOOOO much. So, I gave this a shot with a few modifications:
1. I forgot to buy broth for the sauce, so I added an extra 1/4 cup of aminos (1/2 cup total), and just used 1 1/4 cups of water instead of any type of broth. This worked well for me! I didn’t find the sauce to be lacking flavor at all.
2. For veggies, I used a stir fry blend of broccoli, carrots, and snow peas (starting to reintro these)
3. For protein, I went with salmon cut into chunks. My mom and I (eating AIP together) don’t eat a lot of beef, and prefer seafood most of the time. Next time I might even try shrimp! The salmon was good though.
4. For noodles, I used Korean dangmyeon noodles. They are made from sweet potato starch, and are currently my go-to noodles when I want a quick stir fry.
5. My mom and I don’t like our food very sweet, so I only used 2 tbsp of coconut sugar instead of 3.
6. Since I recently reintro’d pepper, I added some fresh cracked pepper into the sauce just before heating it up to give it a little “spice”.
…I think that’s everything? Your recipe was a great base, and my mom REALLY liked the sauce! I love the idea of making a thick sauce with blended shiitake mushrooms. Just genius. I also found some fresh Thai basil at the grocery store where I work, and it really brought the Thai flavor to this dish. Definitely satisfied my longing for Thai food!
Megan says
All of that sounds amazing, William. Thanks for sharing! I’ve heard other good things about the sweet potato noodles, so thanks for that recommendation. Love the idea of salmon, and yes, the blended mushrooms are so great for this base. Yay for the fresh basil! So happy you loved the Thai recipe!
Dan says
This was really good. I made the AIP version with asparagus, green onions, Cassava noodles, and steak. The sauce was excellent. The only substitute I made in the sauce was for a few salty Crown Prince anchovies rather than the fish sauce. My husband and I *loved* this meal. (He asked me if the recipe was from “Megan’s blog” because at this point, any time I make a new recipe that is amazingly good, it is always from your blog — and yeah, my husband knows your blog by name now because I’ve referred to your blog so often!)
Thank you for another great recipe!
Megan says
This is so sweet to hear! Thank you, Dan, so so glad! 🙂