Thursday, November 17, 2011

Pad See Ew


Pad see ew is a thai noodle dish that is often overshadowed by her more popular sister, pad thai.  For those who are willing to branch out from ordering pad thai in restaurants, I think you'll find that pad see ew is a surprisingly great alternate noodle dish.  While it shares  rice noodles as a base, pad see ew noodles acutally tend to be the big fat noodles and uses a sweet soy sauce to get its distinctive flavor.  I love using fresh noodles for this dish and while I had some in my fridge to make this dish, it seems I had them in my fridge for too long to make this dish.  I threw out the molded fresh noodles and grabbed a bag of dried rice noodles.  These are the skinnier ones that I use for pad thai, but aside from that similarity, the flavors are all pad see ew.

I will say that if you've had pad see ew in a restaurant or from a street vendor in Thailand, there is a flavor that is almost impossible for the home cook to replicate unless you are super duper brave or don't have an entire assortment of smoke detectors ready to go off at the slightest hint of smoke.  When they make this in restuarants there is a slight charred flavor that is so absolutely yummy that I watched a street vendor carefully to see what it was.  She actually set the entire pan of noodles on fire for a minute.  I would like to go on record stating that I don't advocate anyone set anything on fire in their kitchen.  But oh how pad see ew loves to be set on fire.  Yum.

Pad see ew traditionally uses chinese broccoli as a veggie.  I happen to always pick this up at the asian market when  I know I want to make this, but my mom used an alternative leafy green (collard greens?) from the regular grocery store when she was in a pinch.

Chinese broccoli...


The other key ingredient is this sweet soy sauce available at any southeast asian grocers.  I found out recently, that it was not at my local Korean grocer.   This brand comes in a couple of options...I always grab the bottle with the blue top.  The ingredient lists soy sauce and sugar, so it could probably be made at home. 


I had some lighting issues with the preparation photos unfortunately, but it's very similar in process to many stir fries....make a sauce, cook chicken over high heat until browned, remove from pan, cook veggie, then egg, return meat to pan and add noodles and sauce. While it's missing the slight charred flavor, the sauce makes it rather close to the restaurant style noodle dish.


Not sure why it cracks me up each time I look over to see this whenever I'm cooking, but this one LOVES to sit at the table.  All the time.  I think she likes to read on the computer which is why I got her a NOOK for Christmas.  And really I love to write things like that just so my father's eyes will roll back each time he reads things like that. I think the response that goes with it is "I wouldn't doubt it Mary."  C'mon dad--you know you just said that.

It's nature and not nurture that has her believing she's human I'm sure. 


Pad See Ew

8 ounces fresh wide, flat rice noodles (or half a bag of dried noodles)
coconut oil
3 garlic cloves chopped
1 chicken breast, sliced thinly
1 lb coarsely chopped chinese broccoli
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sweet dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons vinegar
  1. If using dried noodles soak for 15 minutes in hot tap water and then drain.  In large pan, boil  water and cook drained noodles for 4-5 minutes until tender but al dente.   Drain and rinse well with cold water and set aside.  If using fresh noodles, add to bowl of warm water to separate noodles, drain and set aside.
  2. Heat 1 tsp coconut oil and 1 clove of minced garlic in wok until garlic begins to sizzle.  Add chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through.  Remove from pan and set aside.
  3. Make suace by whisking together sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, low sodium soy sauce and vinegar
  4. Add 1 tsp of coconut oil and another glove of minced garlic until hot and add chinese broccoli.  Cook for 4-5 minutes until stalks are tender crisp (I know it's not traditional but I sometimes add a few tbsp of hot water periodically if it seems the pan is gettiing so hot it begins to smoke my poor little smoke detector infested kitchen) 
  5. Push to side of walk, add one 1tsp of coconut oil and last clove of garlic and let cook until garlic is light golden brown.  Add lightly beaten egg and scramble in pan
  6. Return chicken to pan, add noodles and sauce and toss, continuing to cook until all items are heated through (about 2-3 minutes). 

16 comments:

Lila said...

I had thai with a good friend recently and she ordered this and I ate it right out from under her. good friends are good friends for a reason. :) thanks for sharing a recipe. I'm going to try making this over the weekend.

Lila said...

I've been a long time reader and love seeing the photos of your sweet little Brooklyn but also of all of the recipes. This is my first comment but had to leave a note saying thank you. This is one of my favorite order out meals and always wondered how they made the sauce. I do know that char flavor you mention though, it does add a lot!

Lila said...

puppies should sit at the dinner table. :)

this looks wonderful! I never branch out and order anything except pad thai but I know I should.

Ellie said...

I've never tried this dish but have not had a thai dish I haven't liked. this one actually look easy enough to make at home!

Lila said...

Tried this dish just recently and loved it though the noodles were a bit strange at first. I didn't realize they were rice noodles at the time. Love the sauce for this. Wonder if I can throw it on other dishes or stir fries?

Bronwyn said...

Why shouldn't a Boston be able to sit at the table?! :) Riley thinks he's human too. It's probably nature. :)

Lila said...

Our dog loves to sit at the table too but really more just to sneak food when no one is looking. Seeing a 75 lb shepherd mix at the table tends to make you laugh too! Cute! And this looks so yummy that I think we're going out for thai for lunch.

Lila said...

Ha ha. Love it and love the recipe too!

Melody said...

love Brooklyn at the table...she told me she'd like an ipad for Christmas...just so you know! :)

sophia said...

I began cooking rice noodles when my son was diagnosed with celiac and now my family actually prefers the chewy texture of the rice noodles more than regular pasta. I stopped cooking both kinds. They'll love this. Thanks for sharing!

Lila said...

This looks so fantastically delish!

Lila said...

Wow this looks really good! Can't wait to give it a try!

Bronwyn said...

I'm a huge fan of pad see ew and order it too often when we go out for thai. beautiful photos too!

Monica said...

I saw dad's eyes roll too. I'm pretty sure that he was planning to get Brooklyn a Nook for Christmas...

Lila said...

I made this last night and it was so good and even my kids loved it!! Thank you!

Lila said...

This looks so good! I love Thai food, one of my favorites.