Pad See Ew — Thai Stir-Fried Wide Rice Noodles
Wide rice noodles charred in a hot wok with dark soy, egg and Chinese broccoli — smoky, savoury and lightly sweet Thai comfort food.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Serves
- 2
- Level
- Medium
By Maya Chen
Method
- 01
Mix the dark soy, light soy, oyster sauce and sugar in a small bowl and have it within reach of the stove.
- 02
If using dried noodles, soak them until pliable but not soft; fresh noodles need only to be gently separated by hand.
- 03
Heat a wok or wide pan until it is genuinely smoking hot, then add a tablespoon of oil and the garlic and protein. Stir-fry until the meat is just cooked, then push it to one side.
- 04
Crack the eggs into the cleared space, let them set for a few seconds, then scramble roughly and fold into the meat.
- 05
Add the gai lan stems first and stir for a minute, then the leaves, cooking until bright and wilted.
- 06
Push everything aside, add the noodles, and let them sit untouched against the hot metal for 20 seconds to pick up colour before tossing.
- 07
Pour the sauce around the edge of the wok so it sizzles, then toss everything together quickly so the noodles char rather than steam.
- 08
Finish with a dusting of white pepper and serve at once, with chilli vinegar alongside.
Pad see ew is the dark, savoury cousin of pad thai: wide rice noodles tossed in a hot wok with dark soy, egg, a little meat and Chinese broccoli. The flavour is gentler and less tangy, and its whole character rests on one thing the home cook has to chase, which is heat.
Chase the char
The dish is named for the soy it is cooked in, but its soul is wok hei, the smoky note that comes from noodles searing against blistering-hot metal. Get the pan as hot as the stove allows, let the noodles sit untouched for a few seconds to take on colour, and add the sauce around the edge so it caramelises. Constant stirring and a lukewarm pan both kill the effect.
Mise en place, then move fast
Because the cook takes only a couple of minutes once the wok is hot, everything has to be ready before the first ingredient goes in. Mix the sauce, slice the meat, separate the noodles and split the gai lan into stems and leaves. With everything within reach, the stir-fry becomes a quick, confident sequence rather than a scramble.
Noodles that slide, not clump
Fresh wide noodles clump when cold, so loosen them by hand and warm them slightly if they have stiffened. In the wok, enough oil and enough heat let them slide and char instead of gumming together, which is the difference between a clean plate and a sticky one.
