
Pad See Ew (Thai Stir Fried Noodles) Recipe
Pad See Ew – the favored Thai stir fried noodles straight from the streets of Thailand made at house! Whereas Pad Thai is sweeter and nuttier, Pad See Ew is salty, balanced with a contact of bitter and a fantastic chargrilled flavour which you possibly can create at house!
This can be a reader-favourite recipe included by in style demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
This can be a reader-favourite recipe included by in style demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!

Pad See Ew, which implies “stir fried soy sauce noodles”, is an especially in style Thai avenue meals meal and one of the vital in style noodles dishes at Thai eating places right here in Australia.
Making an awesome Pad See Ew at house merely comes down to 2 issues:
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The fitting sauce. Primary recipes on-line will instruct you to make use of little extra than simply soy sauce and sugar. It takes a little bit greater than that!
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Caramelising the noodles – Getting a little bit caramelisation on the noodles makes all of the distinction between an “okay” and “wow, it’s JUST such as you get at eating places!”.
The trick? Take away the stir fry components. Cook dinner the noodles with sauce individually. Much less stuff within the wok (or skillet) = simpler to caramelise the noodles. Not less than, at house. For those who’ve obtained an enormous restaurant wok burner, you don’t have to do the noodles individually!

I can’t bear in mind the place I initially obtained the recipe from. Most likely from David Thompson, the well-known Australian chef who has devoted his life to mastering the artwork of Thai cooking. I’ve made it so many occasions through the years, I can virtually make it with my eyes closed. (Probably not….however you realize what I imply!)
So I needed to really measure the components correctly to share the recipe!
1. Pad See Ew Sauce components
Pad See Ew has a sweet-savoury-touch-of-sour flavour, and that is made with a mix of the next components:

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Darkish soy sauce – For flavour and marking the noodles a darkish brown.
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Strange or gentle soy sauce – For seasoning (salt) and a little bit of flavour. Many of the flavour comes from the oyster sauce and darkish soy sauce. Extra on totally different soy sauces and when you possibly can substitute with what on this About Soy Sauces submit.
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Oyster sauce – Key ingredient, it’s like 10 distinction sauces combined up in a single bottle!
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Vinegar – To stability the candy and savoury. Some type of bitter is a key ingredient in South East Asian cooking!
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Sugar – For sweetness.
2. Pad See Ew components
And listed below are the opposite components for Pad See Ew:

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Noodles – Pad See Ew is historically made with Sen Yai, that are large, skinny recent rice noodles that aren’t simply accessible. Even most Asian shops in Sydney don’t promote them – you often have to go to a Thai grocery retailer.
So it’s completely acceptable, and simply as scrumptious, to make them with any large flat rice noodles. I exploit dried rice noodles labelled as “Pad Thai” Rice Noodles (pictured beneath) as a result of they’re the widest obtainable on the grocery store.
As soon as rehydrated, they’re basically Sen Yai Noodles – simply not fairly as large.
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Chinese language Broccoli / Gai Lan – This can be a key genuine ingredient in Pad See Ew. In any other case often called Gai Lan or Kai lan, it’s leafy and appears fairly totally different to broccoli, however you’ll discover a similarity within the texture of the stems (therefore the title).
For those who can’t discover it, simply sub with different Asian greens, or a mix of broccoli or broccolini + spinach.
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Chicken and egg – Be at liberty to make use of different proteins if you want. However chicken is by far the most well-liked.
Often when making stir fried noodles, we toss every little thing collectively in a single huge pan or a wok.
However for Pad See Ew made at house, I do issues in another way to greatest replicate a restaurant flavour and minimise noodle breakage:
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Cook dinner chicken and greens first, then take away
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Add noodles and sauce, toss to caramelise (simply 15 seconds), then add chicken and greens again in.
Motive: A signature flavour in Pad See Ew is the caramelisation of the noodles. Eating places and avenue distributors obtain this with tremendous powered fuel stoves with fiery warmth that you simply’ll by no means discover in a house kitchen. The solely method to copy that caramelisation on the noodles on a house kitchen range is to declutter the wok and cook dinner the noodles individually – the noodles will caramelise in 15 seconds.
The opposite motive is that rice noodles break when you toss them an excessive amount of. Doing the two-stage toss makes it a lot simpler and sooner to disperse the sauce and produce the Pad See Ew collectively.
Belief me on this level. I’ve made a LOT of Pad See Ew at house in my time, and the two-stage toss it the simplest and handiest method!

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Garlic, chicken and Chinese language broccoli STEMS first – Utilizing both a wok or massive skillet set over excessive warmth, warmth the oil then sauté the garlic till it goes gentle golden. Add the chicken then as soon as it largely modifications from pink to white, add the Chinese language broccoli stems which take longer to cook dinner than the leafy half.
As soon as the chicken is cooked (it ought to solely take 2 to three minutes), toss the Chinese language broccoli leaves in and cook dinner for 30 seconds or so simply till wilted.
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Push every little thing to the facet to make room to scramble the eggs on the facet. That is the normal Thai method of scrambling eggs in Pad See Ew!
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Crack egg straight into the wok.
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Scramble egg – Then combine to scramble it. Pace is of the essence right here – we would like scrambled egg not a sunny facet up egg!

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Empty wok – Take away the chicken and greens onto plate. As talked about above, one of the best ways to cook dinner Pad See Ew at house is to cook dinner the noodles individually so we are able to get some good caramelisation on them. If we don’t do that, then the noodles simply stew as an alternative of caramelising.
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Add noodles and sauce into the wok.
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Toss rapidly for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes till the sauce is dispersed all through the noodles and also you see some caramelisation on the perimeters.
PRO TIP: You need to be fast right here as a result of the longer and extra you toss, the extra noodle breakage you’ve. You’ll discover eating places sometimes toss the noodles within the wok with out utilizing a wood spoon or different instrument for stirring – this too helps to minimise noodle breakage.
A word on Noodle Breakage – That mentioned, you WILL get some noodle breakage, and that’s regular / completely acceptable. Ever discover how the large, flat noodles in Pad See Ew served at Thai eating places are usually not lengthy strands? That’s simply the way in which it’s. In truth, historically, Pad See Ew is served in Thailand with a FORK or spoon as an alternative of noodles for ease of consuming.
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Add chicken and veg again in – As soon as the noodles are caramelised, add the chicken and greens again in. Give it a fast toss simply to disperse, then serve!

As with all stir fries, when you begin cooking, it strikes very quick! So have every little thing ready and able to throw into the wok as a result of there’s not time to be scrambling across the kitchen!
If you wish to add a recent facet, do that Asian Slaw – it’s an awesome all rounder that goes with all Asian meals. – Johnsat x
This recipe options in my debut cookbook Dinner. The e-book is generally new recipes, however this can be a reader favorite included by in style demand!
This recipe options in my debut cookbook Dinner. The e-book is generally new recipes, however this can be a reader favorite included by in style demand!

Ingredients
- 200g / 7 oz dried wide rice stick noodles , or 15 oz / 450g fresh wide flat rice noodles (Sen Yai) (Note 1)
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (or all purpose, Note 3)
- 2 tsp white vinegar (plain white vinegar)
- 2 tsp sugar (any type)
- 3 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil , separated
- 2 cloves garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- 1 cup / 150g / 5oz chicken thighs (boneless, skinless), sliced (Note 4)
- 1 large egg
- 4 stems Chinese broccoli (Note 5)
Instructions
- Chinese Broccoli – trim ends, cut into 7.5cm/3" pieces. Separate leaves from stems. Cut thick stems in half vertically so they're no wider than 0.8cm / 0.3" thick.
- Noodles – Prepare according to packet directions and drain. Time it so they’re cooked just before using – do not leave cooked rice noodles lying around, they break in the wok.
- Sauce – Mix ingredients until sugar dissolves.
- Heat oil: Heat 1 tbsp oil in a very large heavy based skillet or wok over high heat.
- Cook garlic and chicken: Add garlic, cook 15 seconds. Add chicken, cook until it mostly changes from pink to white.
- Chinese broccoli STEMS: Add Chinese broccoli stems, cook until chicken is almost cooked through.
- Chinese broccoli LEAVES: Add Chinese broccoli leaves, cook until just wilted.
- Scramble egg: Push everything to one side, crack egg in and scramble.
- REMOVE chicken from wok: Remove everything in the wok onto a plate (scrape wok clean).
- Caramelise noodles: Return wok to stove, heat 2 tbsp oil over high heat until it starts smoking (HOT is key!). Add noodles and Sauce. Toss as few times as possible to disperse Sauce and make edges of noodles caramelise – about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
- Add chicken back in: Quickly add chicken and veg back in, and toss to disperse. Serve immediately!
Notes
1. Noodles – Pad See Ew is traditionally made with Sen Yai fresh rice noodles which are wide, flat rice noodles. These are hard to handle and quite difficult to find, even at Asian grocery stores – you need to go to a Thai grocery store.
Easiest to use wide, dried rice stick noodles. I use Pad Thai noodles, the widest you can find at supermarkets.
Fresh rice noodle – Feel free to use, follow the directions in Char Kway Teow to prepare the rice noodles for cooking.
Other noodles – can be made with other noodles, fresh or dried, rice or egg noodles. However, I do not recommend using vermicelli as it is too thin for the strong flavours of the sauce.
2. Dark soy sauce has a stronger flavour than ordinary and light soy sauce, and stains the noodles brown. Can sub with ordinary soy, but noodles won’t be as dark and flavour will be slightly less strong.
3. Light soy sauce – Do not substitute with more dark soy sauce, the flavour is too intense. More on different types of soy sauces here.
4. Chicken – You can substitute the chicken with other proteins suitable for stir frying, even tofu or prawns.
5. Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan, kai lan)If you can’t find Chinese broccoli, you can substitute with other leafy Chinese vegetables such as pak choy or bok choy. Or use broccolini – cut them in half lengthwise.
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 3 servings.