Classic Pad See Ew: Essential Thai Noodle Dish
My mother and her sisters made this at home, and we found it at the street vendors, the same dish in both places, the wok always the center of it. You would hear the sizzle before you smelled it, and smell it before you saw it. At home when it was just us we ate at the table. When there were more people we sat on the floor. The meal always expanded to fit whoever was there. That is the kind of dish this is, it makes room. Make this for the people you want to sit down with. Get the wok hot, let the noodles do what they do, and put it in the center of the table. There will be enough. There always is.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces wide rice noodles fresh or dried
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 8 ounces chicken beef, or tofu, thinly sliced (optional)
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 cups Chinese broccoli Gai Lan, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Ground white pepper to taste
Optional garnishes:
- Fresh lime wedges
- Ground chili pepper or chili flakes
- Additional sugar and soy sauce at the table for personal seasoning
Instructions
- Prepare Noodles: If using dried rice noodles, soak them in warm water for about 8-10 minutes or until they are soft but still firm to the bite. Drain and set aside. If using fresh noodles, separate them gently and set aside.
- Stir-Fry: Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add the minced garlic and stir-fry for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add your choice of protein: (chicken, beef, or tofu) if using, and stir-fry until just cooked through, about 2-3 minutes.
- Cook Eggs: Push the ingredients to the side of the skillet/wok. Pour the beaten eggs into the center and scramble until set but still moist.
- Combine Ingredients: Add the Chinese broccoli and stir-fry for another minute until the greens start to wilt. Toss in the pre-soaked or fresh noodles, spreading them out to cover the surface of the pan for even cooking.
- Season: Pour the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar over the noodles. Stir well to combine and evenly distribute the sauces. Stir-fry for another 3-5 minutes until the noodles are tender and well coated in sauce.mSeason with white pepper to taste.
- Serve: Transfer to serving plates immediately. Serve hot with optional garnishes like lime wedges and a sprinkle of chili pepper or chili flakes for extra heat.
Video
Notes
- The wok must be very hot. This is the instruction that appears at the top of every Pad See Ew recipe and is the one most home cook cannot fully achieve on a standard home burner, commercial woks used at Thai street stalls reach temperatures that home equipment cannot replicate. The compensation is this: use the highest heat your burner will produce, let the wok heat for two full minutes before the oil goes in, and cook in smaller batches rather than crowding the wok. A hot wok with fewer noodles produces better char than a medium wok overwhelmed with too many. Do not stir the noodles immediately. The char, the slightly smoky, slightly caramelized edges that are the whole point of the Pad See Ew texture, comes from the noodles sitting in direct contact with the hottest surface of the wok. The moment you stir, the noodles lift off that surface and the char stops developing. Thirty to forty-five seconds of stillness before the first stir. Set a timer if you have to. The instinct is to keep everything moving. Resist it. The sauce is pre-mixed before the wok gets hot. Dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, a pinch of sugar, combined in a bowl and ready to pour. A stir-fry moves in minutes and there is no time to measure individual components once the noodles are in the pan. Mix it first. Pour it all at once. An evenly sauced noodle is the result. A noodle where the dark soy went in first and the oyster sauce went in separately is not the same dish. Pad See Ew is eaten immediately. The noodles clump as they cool. The char softens. The glossy quality of the sauce becomes sticky rather than silky. Make it, plate it, eat it. That is the right order and there is no correcting the order after the fact.
Nutrition
Serving: 4ozCalories: 320kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 16gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 800mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3g
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