Get drunk on J's Noodles
No one knows for sure how drunken noodles got its name. Some say it’s because of the liquor diners need to consume to extinguish the overwhelming spices; others blame the original chef who was surely loaded when selecting his ingredients; still others insist it’s because drunken noodles are the street food du jour for revelers who’ve been partying all night on the beaches of Thailand. What’s not in question, however, is the fact that carb-loading is a great way to stave off the effects of a few too many, making drunken noodles a healthy part of a three-martini lunch.
In Denver, diners can get their noodle on at J’s Noodles, a tiny restaurant conveniently located between a Chinese noodle house and a pho joint; one right next to the other, like rival schools in a kung fu flick. And if noodle-making was a martial art, drunken style would be that deceptively simple form that delivers the viscous kick at the movie’s climax.
Broad, rectangular noodles are stir-fried with chicken, beef, or tofu in a mixture of soy and fish sauces, which gives the dish a flavor that is brothy and savory, but not especially spicy at first. Certainly not what the diner would expect, given the dish’s reputation. The glistening, caramel-colored noodles are topped with a mound of bean sprouts. Sprouts can sometimes scrub away a meal’s more exciting flavors, but the sprouts here are a merciful countermeasure on the part of the kitchen.
For deep within these noodles, minced and mixed discretely among the green and red peppers, are the noodles' finishing move: Thai bird chilies. Make no mistake, these chilies, while delicious, are hot. Break-a-sweat, clear-your-sinuses, training-in-a-Shaolin-temple-on-a-sweltering-summer-day hot.
What this dish doesn’t have is a single drop of alcohol, which just seems wrong given the name. Luckily, J’s offers a variety of bottled beers, like Singha, a Thai lager with a mild, sweet flavor. Good thing, too, because friends don’t let friends scald their tongues needlessly.
