When my friend came over last week to hang out with me, we decided to have a Thai cooking day. We both love Thai food so it was a no brainer. We made Pad Thai and Pad See Ew to eat and hubs made us Mojitos to quench our thirst. It was a fun day! Our bellies were full and our thirst sure was quenched. Nothing like cooking with friends or family and enjoying good food and good company.
What Is Pad See Ew
Pad See Ew is a very popular dish in Thai cuisine. It’s actually considered their fast food and trust me it is fast. See Ew means soy sauce and pad means to stir fry so pad see ew basically means soy sauce stir fry. Don’t you all just love learning new languages? This dish is usually made with fat wide noodles because they are really nice and chewy.
What Ingredients Are in Pad See Ew
There aren’t really that many ingredients for Pad See Ew when you think about it. You’ve got noodles, broccoli and a protein, then the sauce ingredients. I chose to use chicken here but you can use beef, tofu, or whatever you like. If you do use beef I would still recommend you toss the beef first with a bit of oil and soy sauce before cooking it. I do this because when you cook the beef or chicken this will ensure the meat will separate nicely and won’t stick together.
The noodles that are usually used are extra thick and flat rice noodles. What I usually do is place the noodles in a bowl filled with cold water, and let them soak for about an hour before using. Of course, you can use the thinner rice noodles, but these thicker flat noodles are more authentic and perfect for this dish.
If you cannot find Chinese broccoli just go ahead and use regular broccoli or broccolini. However, if you have a good Asian store or market nearby, I really recommend to go and buy the black soy sauce and Chinese Broccoli.
Black soy sauce can also be substituted with dark soy sauce, but keep in mind black soy sauce is a bit sweeter because it does have molasses in it. As a matter of fact when you open the bottle the strong molasses smell will hit your nose first.
How to Make Pad See Ew
Prepare the noodles first, by placing them in a large bowl with cold water and let them soak for about an hour.
In a small bowl toss the chicken with the tsp of peanut oil and soy sauce together, making sure the chicken is coated in the oil and soy sauce. This will ensure the chicken separates nicely when cooking and seasons it a bit.
Combine all the sauce ingredients together and set aside. Cook the chicken in the wok with a bit of oil until it’s no longer pink then remove it from the wok. Add the remaining oil and saute the garlic for a few seconds then add the eggs. Break the egg yolks then let it sit for about 15 seconds before starting to scramble them briefly.
Add the broccoli and toss to coat with the oil and the egg. Cook briefly for about 15 seconds.
Add the prepared noodles to the wok, the prepared sauce and the brown sugar to the pan. Turn the heat up and start tossing the noodles to coat evenly in the sauce. Spread the noodles over the entire surface of the pan, and let them sit without stirring or tossing for about 30 seconds. This will ensure you get some nice charred marks on the noodles, which will give them a beautiful toasty flavor. Flip the noodles and again let them sit cook for another 30 seconds to char the other side. Toss the chicken back in.
How to Store Leftover Pad See Ew
If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave.
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Pad See Ew
Ingredients
For Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts boneless and skinless, cut into small pieces (about 1 lb)
- 1 teaspoon peanut oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce low sodium
For Sauce
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoon black soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce low sodium
Stir Fry
- 3-4 tablespoon peanut oil divided
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 eggs
- 6 stalks Chinese broccoli
- 6 ounce rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the noodles first by following the instructions on the package. I usually place them in a bowl and add enough cold water to cover them and let them rest for 1 hour or until noodles are pliable but not soft. Drain well in a colander. They will change color from translucent to white.
- In a small bowl toss the chicken with the tsp of peanut oil and soy sauce together, making sure the chicken is coated in the oil and soy sauce. This will ensure the chicken separates nicely when cooking and seasons it a bit.
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl and set aside.
- Start by adding 2 tbsp of the peanut oil to the wok and heat it really well. Add the chicken and cook just until done, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the chicken from the wok and set side. Wipe away any excess liquid that's left in the wok with paper towels.
- Add the remaining 1 to 2 tbsp of peanut oil to the wok, then immediately add the minced garlic before the oil gets too hot. This will prevent the garlic from burning as soon as it hits the wok. Saute the garlic for about 30 seconds just until the garlic starts to get aromatic and turns golden.
- Add the eggs, break the egg yolks then let it sit for about 15 seconds before starting to scramble them briefly.
- Add the broccoli and toss to coat with the oil and the egg. Cook briefly for about 15 seconds.
- Add the prepared noodles to the wok, the prepared sauce and the brown sugar to the pan. Turn the heat up and start tossing the noodles to coat evenly in the sauce. Spread the noodles over the entire surface of the pan, and let them sit without stirring or tossing for about 30 seconds. This will ensure you get some nice charred marks on the noodles, which will give them a nice toasty flavor. Flip the noodles and again let them sit cook for another 30 seconds to char the other side. Toss the chicken back in.
- Remove from wok and serve with immediately. Sprinkle with some red Thai chiles if preferred.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Black soy sauce is a rich and thick sauce, made by fermenting regular soy sauce with sugar or molasses. If you don't have or cannot find black soy sauce, you can use dark soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is a bit saltier than black soy sauce, so I would reduce the amount a bit.
- Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale is a leafy vegetable that is thick and flat with big leaves and thick stems with flower heads. Similar to broccoli, so if you cannot find Chinese broccoli, use regular broccoli or broccolini.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Hi, I am excited to try this Pad See Ew recipe.. I was wondering if there are any other vegetables that would go well with this recipe to add to it and, if so, when I would throw them in in the cooking process?
Also, I have little red chile peppers from this past summer’s farmer’s market frozen in my freezer. Would chopping them up small and adding them complement the flavor of this dish well? My husband likes things spicy but I don’t want to add anything that wouldn’t be a complementary flavor.
Also, what is the green cooked leafy looking garnish(?) on the top of the dish as pictured in your photo of the completed dish?
Thanks for any input- can’t wait to try this!
Hi Misha! I suppose you could add other veggies to your pad see ew, but if you want a more authentic version or pretty close to it I would stick to the ingredients in the recipe. However, other veggies you could add are broccoli, bell peppers, spinach and maybe mushrooms. You could add your red chili peppers if you like spicy, it should be fine. The leafy looking garnish, that’s Chinese broccoli which you can find in any asian store. Hope this helps.
I’ve made this at least a dozen times in the last 6 months, its delicious! I just use regular broccoli sliced down the stem instead of chinese broccoli which can be hard to find sometimes.
The only thing holding it back from 5 stars is that the noodles absorb this sauce a little too quickly leaving them kind-of sticky, but this is as close to a restaurant as I’ve found!