Pad See Ew is a staple when you go out for Thai food. But it’s actually one of the simpler noodle stir fry dishes that you can easily make at home. The sauce is as simple as tossing ingredients in a jar and giving it a few shakes. And the stir fry uses thinly sliced chicken breasts, eggs, Chinese broccoli, and fresh minced garlic. This stir fry may not look the prettiest, but the flavors are out of this world!
What does Pad See Ew Mean?
Pad See Ew literally translated means soy sauce stir fry. It is common street food in Thailand that uses wide rice noodles, dark soy sauce, and pretty much any kind of protein you like. Vegetarians can use fried tofu or shiitake mushrooms to make this stir fry. Shrimp and steak are also excellent in this Thai noodle stir fry!
What do you need to make Pad See Ew?
Chicken: Either chicken breasts or chicken thighs would work for this recipe. You just need to be sure to slice the chicken thinly. You could even use thinly sliced sirloin beef if you prefer!Rice noodles: for this recipe, you can use fresh or dried rice noodles. Dried rice noodles are easier to find in mainstream grocery stores. For fresh rice noodles, you usually have to visit a specialty Asian grocery store. Keep in mind that you’ll need just under double the amount if you’re using fresh noodles for this Thai stir fry. Chinese broccoli: Chinese broccoli is called Gai Lan at Asian grocery stores. It’s a leafy green vegetable that has a stem similar to broccolini and wide, flat leaves. You may even see small florets that are similar to broccoli.Garlic: Pad See Ew is made with quite a bit of garlic in a couple of different forms! We use fresh garlic when stir-frying the noodles; then we add fried garlic on top right before serving. Fried garlic is sold in Asian grocery stores in jars (find it here) and is used as a condiment in many dishes.Eggs: We add scrambled eggs to this stir fry (similar to fried rice) before tossing the Thai stir-fried noodles with the sauce.Homemade stir fry sauce: I’ll share the ingredients for that below:
Homemade stir fry sauce ingredients:
Low sodium soy sauce: I like to use low sodium soy sauce for this recipe because all the sauces bring salt to the dish. Using the low sodium kind helps me make sure we don’t make the dish too salty!Dark soy sauce: this is a dark, viscous sauce that reminds me of molasses. It is not like traditional soy sauce. It has a deep palm sugar flavor and is often used in Thai cooking. You can buy black soy sauce here.Seasoning sauce: This is the one I’ve been able to find in mainstream grocery stores but Golden Mountain Sauce is another one you can use. This ingredient is one that you should keep on hand if you make Thai food often, I’ve used it in my cashew chicken as well.Fish sauce: adds umami to the sauceOyster sauce: Be sure to use oyster mushroom sauce if you are allergic to oysters. This is a vegetarian sauce made with oyster mushroomsSugar: The sugar helps balance all the umami and salty flavors of the stir fry.White pepper: ground white pepper adds a bit of heat and a unique flavor to the stir fry.
How to hydrate dried rice noodles:
When you purchase dried rice noodles, the instructions on the bag usually state to boil the noodles for a few minutes. I’ve done this and often find that the noodles end up overcooking if I boil them and then add them to a skillet to stir fry with a sauce. Now I just hydrate the noodles with hot water in a glass bowl instead of on the stovetop. All you need to do is heat a kettle with hot water until boiling. Then, add the noodles to a bowl large enough to hold the noodles and enough water, so the noodles are completely submerged. Once the water is boiling, I just pour it on top of the noodles and rehydrate the noodles for 1 minute more than what the package says to boil them for. For example, if the package instructions state to boil for 4 minutes, I usually rehydrate in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain immediately and keep the noodles ready to go before you start on the stir fry.
How to make homemade Pad See Ew:
Once you’ve rehydrated your noodles, it’s very quick and easy for the stir fry to come together.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Asian Sesame Chicken SaladMongolian Beef MeatballsGarlic Lovers Pepper Steak Stir FryCrazy Good Quick Garlic NoodlesSuper Tender Mongolian Beef 15 Minute Fried RiceBlack Pepper Chicken Stir FryBest Broccoli Beef Stir FrySesame Ginger Tofu Stir Fry20-Minute Teriyaki Chicken
You can use bok choy or broccolini if you can’t find Chinese broccoli in your area!
