Pad See Ewe is an adaptation of a Chinese dish shifted to match the Thai palette. It is not as spicy but has a beautiful Wok Hei smell, aka breath of the wok, which tastes exactly how you would think - alive. Isn’t that enough to want to hurry up and make this dish?

I know fresh wide rice noodles are a little hard to find in chicago and take a special trip to Asia town. Also, those fresh rice noodles aren’t even that fresh at the stores some time. They get hard and crumbly when in the cooler for too long. To counter that I microwave the noodles for 30 seconds to a minute under a wet paper towel to freshen them. Mine were a few days old which is why you see that they were a little crumbly.

Dried noodles do work in this dish but they don’t have the same chew. However, if you do go the dried noodle route, soak the noodles in cold water and trim them with kitchen sheers so the noodles aren’t overly long. Be sure to not over crowd you pan, you don’t want your noodles to fry in the soys auce, not boil.

This dish isn’t so hard to make but its the nuances that make it seem difficult. First you fry chicken until it’s almost cooked, scoot the chicken over to one side of the pan, scramble an egg on the other edge of the pan, toss in your seasoning, and gently fold so the noodles don’t fall apart. Turn the pan to a high enough heat so the oil burns a bit and gives noodles a golden crisp and Wok Hei, or breath of wok, taste.

I love this hint of white pepper powder here. Its gives it a really subtle bright spice to this dish. If you haven’t worked with white pepper powder before, definitely try sneaking it into a bowl of (canned) chicken noodle soup, you won’t eat it without it. Okay, back to Pad See Ewe talk. Sorry, I digress.

This dish is made to order in small batches for one or two people. This is to make sure that the noodles don’t crumble from over stirring. There is something special about knowing that this dish is made to order and ultra satisfying. Serve with dried chillis and vinegar on the side.

Quickie Tutorial is in my Instagram Highlights here.

Pad See Ewe (ผัดซีอิ๊ว)

Serves 2 | Prep Time: 15 Mins | Cook Time: 10 Mins

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil for frying, plus
2 cloves garlic, minced
10oz fresh wide rice noodles (Sen Yai) or 8oz dried flat rice noodles
4oz of sliced chicken or any meat you like, shrimp works well, also you could forgo this
1 handful of chopped Chinese broccoli (kailan) – I used about 2 stalks for dish and chopped them into 2 inch pieces. Broccolini also works too.
1 egg
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
½ teaspoon sugar, optional
½ teaspoon finely ground white pepper powder, black is okay
Serve with chili flakes and vinegar, optional

Instructions

Comb through the fresh wide rice noodles, Separate any clumps. If you are using dried rice noodles, soak them in cold water for twenty minutes,
Heat the wok (or frying pan) on a medium heat and add about 2 tablespoons of oil.
Add the chopped chicken to the skillet 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.
Push chicken to the side and add your eggs to fry in the opposite corner end.
Add your garlic in now so it gets an chance to hit the oil and release that amazing aroma.
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, 2 tablespoon of light soy sauce, 2 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, sugar and a ½ teaspoon of pepper,
Gently fold the the noodles, Chinese broccoli, and seasoning. Sliding a wide spatula from the bottom and flipping. Over stirring causes the noodles to break up.
Cook noodles for about 2 minutes. If it is dry, drizzle in a tiny bit of oil.
Now it’s time for the fun part. I crank up the heat on the stove and allow the oil to burn a little giving the dish that distinctive wok taste.
Let some of the noodles crisp to the bottom of the pan for 1 minute and serve.
Pad See Ewe is typically served with dried chillis and sliced chillis in vinegar.