Pad See Ew, Thai Street Food

 

Pad see ew  is aThai fried noodle dish that’s extremely popular as a quick street food meal in Thailand.

2 Tlbs. oil for frying

3 cloves garlic

I red bell pepper, blackened, peeled

10 oz. wide flat rice noodles ( use Chinese chow fun noodles)

7 oz. chicken (or pork or beef)

1 handful of chopped Chinese broccoli ( Jie lan, gai lan, kai-lan  )

1 fresh egg

1 tablespoon soy or tamari

½ tablespoon dark sweet soy sauce (substitute a bit more sugar and dark soy)

½ teaspoon sugar

Garnish you pad see ew with cilantro, dry chili flakes, black or white pepper, and vinegar for sour.

Note: Due to the variation in the level of heat, it is almost impossible to cook this dish on electric unless you’re using induction. Secondly, the Vietnamese version, the noddles are thinner, which makes it harder to cook. Thirdly, you can probably find fresh wide rice noodles at most Asian supermarkets in major cities. The Thai sen yai noodles might not specifically be available, but you can substitute the Chinese chow fun.

The first step is too velvet the chicken in a bowl with some corn starch and egg white. Set aside.

Now cook the noodle if using dry in plenty of boiling water. Drain when tooth friendly. Add a bit of oil,  lubbing the noodles with your hands so the don’t stick.

If using fresh, comb through the wwide rice noodles, making sure any clumps are separated.

Peel then mince 3 cloves of garlic, slice the chicken into small bite sized pieces, and slice the Chinese broccoli into 1.5 centimeter strips.

Heat the wok (or frying pan) on a medium heat and add about 2 tablespoons of oil.

Wait until the oil is hot, and then fry the garlic for about 10 seconds or so, making sure it sizzles in the hot oil. ( I used some minced ginger with the garlic)

Add the chopped chicken to the wok and stir fry for it about a minute until the chicken is nearly all the way white in color and cooked pretty well though and through.

Now, turn down your heat (or if you’re using an electric stove you can even move your pan off the burner for a moment).

Toss in the rice noodles, the Chinese broccoli, 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, ½ tablespoon of dark soy sauce, and a ½ teaspoon of sugar.

Still on low heat, start to fold the noodles gently by picking them up with the spatula from the bottom, and folding them over (If you stir fry too hard, the stickiness from the noodles can make them turn into a big noodle blob.

Cook the noodles for about 1 -2 minutes. If it gets a little dry, you can drizzle in a tiny bit of oil.

After the noodles are well mixed, scoot the noodles to one side of the wok, and proceed to crack an egg into the empty side.

Now it’s time to crank up the heat on your stove - for the final step we want a little char on the noodles and egg for great flavor.

Scramble the egg, and then fold the noodles onto the egg, sort of when it's half cooked. Let the heat sear the egg for a few seconds and then start folding the noodles and egg together. With a hot flaming fire, you should get a little char to both the noodles and the egg.

Fry for about 30 more seconds, making sure to be gentle with the noodles, and then turn off the heat and dish it out.

Sprinkle a little freshly ground pepper on the top of the noodles. You can also eat pad see ew with a bit of chili flakes on top and some vinegar for taste.