Pad See Ew is one of the most delicious Thai stir fry dishes! It uses wide rice noodles, garlic, eggs, sauces, and Chinese broccoli. This popular street food has a silky and savory flavor from the use of Thai sauces, making this Pad See Ew recipe delightfully memorable.
How do you pronounce Pad See Ew?
How do you pronounce pad see ew properly? Let’s break down the words. Pad = Stir fry, See Ew = Soy Sauce. Instead of Pad, it’s pronounced Pud, “See, Eew” with an emphasis on a higher pitch tone on the word “Eew.” The dish literally means, stir-fry soy sauce.
Is Pad See Ew the same as Drunken Noodles?
Pad see ew is not the same as the drunken noodles or Pad Kee Mao, though it is very similar in ingredients and flavor. Drunken noodles are known to be spicier, commonly referred to as great after-party food because the spiciness helps sober up the late-night drinking folks. (: Drunken noodles also have a tad bit more vegetables added whereas a pad see ew recipe tends to stick to one vegetable like Chinese Broccoli, broccoli, or broccolini. Pad see ew typically use the soft and wide rice noodles called Sen Yai Noodles. Drunken noodles typically use long wide noodles. For more information on the varieties of Thai noodles, check out my detailed blog post here.
What is the difference between Pad Thai and Pad See Ew?
Again, there is a difference between the world-famous Pad Thai and pad see ew. Pad Thai noodles are typically very thin, like linguini size noodles, whereas Pad See Ew noodles are wide, soft, and supple. The sauces used are also different between the two recipes. Pad Thai recipes call for tamarind pulp, fish sauce, and palm sugar, whereas Pad See Ew uses a few different types of soy sauces, sugar, and bean paste. Pad Thai also uses a few more vegetables as well. You can check out my delicious pad Thai recipe here.
How can I make this easy Pad See Ew recipe?
There are just a few Thai sauces that you will need for this recipe. A trip to your Asian market will most likely be beneficial to find some of the ingredients. So, plan out a couple of recipes and go on a little adventure! I recommend making my drunken noodles and my Pad Thai recipe along with Pad See Ew if you want to be efficient in using similar ingredients for your Thai noodle week! Check out my blog post for essential sauces for Thai cooking. Pictured below is the ingredient list you will need for my delicious Pad See Ew Recipe. Those ingredients include; chicken breast, wide rice noodles, Chinese broccoli, garlic, sugar, oil, eggs, ground white pepper, chili flakes- optional.
Ingredient Tips
- Sugar: You can use white or brown or palm sugar for this recipe. Honey and agave are also an option. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved in the sauce before cooking. Microwave for a few seconds to help melt the sugar if necessary.
- Black soy sauce. The black soy sauce helps with coloring the noodles with that beautiful golden-brown color that Pad See Ew is known for. The black soy sauce also has a very distinct deep, caramelized flavor that gives the recipe a little edge that I find missing in many Thai restaurants.
- Wide Noodles. Use the fresh noodles as soon as possible since they tend to harden up quickly. But if you can’t find fresh or supple wide rice noodles, microwave the noodles for 2-3 minutes first before separating the sheets.
- Soybean paste. I highly recommend you don’t skip out on this key ingredient when Making Pad See Ew. It really makes the recipe Authentic with its very distinctive umami flavor.
- Sweet soy sauce. Sweet soy sauce has a thicker consistency than regular soy sauce and adds a sweet flavor to the stirfry. You can use molasses instead if you can’t find the sweet soy sauce, just make sure to adjust your Pad See Ew taste towards the end.
- Rice wine vinegar. You can substitute apple cider vinegar, lime, or lemon juice. My recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of the rice wine vinegar, if you use a substitute, try adding just 1 table first, taste a small sample, then add more if necessary.
Pad See Ew Helpful Tips:
- Use a flat and thin edge wooden spatula for stir-frying. I find that the thinner tip will not break up the noodles or the eggs as much since they are both very fragile and soft and breaks easily during the tossing and stir-frying.
- Pre-make the sauce ahead of time is also an option to help speed things up. Just be sure to stir the sauce well before using it to help “wake up” all the pieces that have settled to the bottom. (:
- When you come to the steps where you are pouring the sauce into the stir fry, use only half of the sauce first, carefully stir the sauce into the noodles, wait a minute or two before you pour the rest of the sauce into the wok to finish it all off. This technique will help the stir-fry not get too mushy from the excessive sauce used all at once. This technique saves me time and time again.
- Another helpful technique is to pour the sauce on the outer edges of the wok during the second half of the sauce. This technique allows the sauce to cook and reduce slightly quicker while still seasoning the food in the wok.
Easy steps for making Pad See Ew recipe:
1. Prepare the noodles by cutting into 6 large pieces, microwave until soften then separate the sheets. Set aside. See note for more detailed instructions.
2. Mix all the sauces together in a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat a wok or large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until lightly browned.
4. Add chicken and cook until it turns slightly brown. About 6-8 minutes
5. Push the chicken to one side of the wok and add the eggs on the other side. Scramble the egg for 2-3 mins. Gently mix the eggs in with the chicken. Add half the sauce to the chicken mixture, stir lightly.
6. Add the rice noodles and Chinese broccoli, just the stems first, save the leafy part towards the end. Add the rest of the sauce and stir gently together. Cook for 2 minutes or so.
7. Add the remaining leafy part of the Chinese broccoli, stir well with the rest of the mixture, turn the heat off and remove from the stovetop.
8. Serve the noodles into serving plates, add ground white pepper and chili vinegar to add additional heat and zest. Enjoy!
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Pad See Ew Recipe
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Pad See Ew is one of the most delicious Thai stir fry dishes! It uses wide rice noodles, garlic, eggs, sauces, and Chinese broccoli. This popular street food has a silky and savory flavor from the use of Thai sauces, making this Pad See Ew recipe delightfully memorable.
Ingredients
3 Tbsp oil, vegetable, grapeseed, coconut, or canola.
4 cloves of garlic
10 oz Chicken breast
2 eggs
8 0z Chinese broccoli, about 5-6 stems
1 lb wide rice noodles. See note on preparation
2 Tbsp sugar, white, brown, or palm sugar
Ground chili flakes- to taste
Sauces:
3 ½ Tbsp light soy sauce.
3 Tbsp sweet soy sauce.
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp soybean paste.
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp black soy sauce
1 tsp ground white pepper
Instructions
1. Prepare the noodles by cutting into 6 large pieces, microwave until soften then separate the sheets. Set aside. See note for more detailed instructions.
2. Mix all the sauces, sugar and ground white pepper together in a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat a wok or large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until lightly browned.
4. Add chicken and cook until it turns slightly brown. About 5-8 minutes depending on your stovetop and cooking pan used.
5. Push the chicken to one side of the wok, make a little space on the wok to add 2 tablespoons of oil to it, then crack two eggs, add to the oil. Scramble the eggs lightly for 2-3 mins. Gently mix the eggs in with the chicken. Add half the sauce to the chicken mixture, stir lightly. (See notes on the sauce technique).
6. Add the rice noodles and Chinese broccoli, just the stems first, save the leafy part towards the end. Lightly stir everything together. Let cook for 2 minutes or so.
7. Add the remaining leafy part of the Chinese broccoli, Add the rest of the sauce, and again, very gently stir everything together, turn the heat off and remove from the stovetop.
8. Serve the noodles into serving plates, add additional ground white pepper, chili flakes or rice wine vinegar to add additional heat and zest. Enjoy!
Notes
- Chop the Chinese broccoli into two parts. The stems and the leafy parts. You will want to cook the stems first to help tenderize the stems. Then add the leafy part at the very end so that the leaf will wilt and not be overcooked.
- Great vegetables for substitute if you cannot find Chinese broccoli are: Broccolini or broccoli combined with kale or collard greens. For the broccoli, use part of the stems too by slicing it very thinly (around 2 inches long).
- Great proteins to use for this recipe are beef, chicken, or pork.
- Wide rice noodles: They are typically found in the refrigerated section of an Asian store wrapped up in saran wrap on a styrofoam board. Most will be in large sheets and more often than not are hardened. Fresh noodles are nearly impossible to find. For the hardened noodles, I usually cut the noodles into 6 equal large pieces for 1 recipe. (These noodles usually come in a 2 lbs package, so you can make 2 recipes with 1 package.) I find that this size is easier to handle and won’t break off easily during the stir-frying process. After cutting the noodles, microwave it for 2-3 minutes until the noodles are soft enough to separate the sheets. Wait until the noodles cool off before peeling them, and after doing so, set the noodles aside until ready to cook.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Authentic
- Method: Stir fry
- Cuisine: Thai
Keywords: pad see ew. pad see ew recipe. authentic pad see ew recipe. thai pad see ew noodles.