Pad See Ew Noodles is one of our favorite Thai dishes. Flat rice noodles stir fried in a savory soy-based sauce with a hint of sweetness, tossed with some greens and an egg. We have a deep love for Pad See Ew in our household, so I took on a challenge – make the Pad See Ew magic happen in our kitchen.
AND IT SURE HAPPENED. Let’s just say this Pad See Ew recipe is so legit, so MIND-BLOWINGLY GOOD, that it might be a long time before we will be ordering it at restaurants again!
What appliances are needed to make Pad See Ew?
Believe it or not, Pad See Ew is actually fairly simple to make. I highly recommend using a wok for this. However, if you do not have a wok, a large non-skillet that can withstand high heat will be your next best thing.
A large skillet enables the noodles to move around freely when stir frying (so that it cooks evenly). Rice noodles are super sticky so a non-stick surface will make your life easier.
How to make Pad See Ew Noodles?
Just like any other stir fry, prep your ingredients, because the actual stir frying process goes fast, and you want to make sure you have everything at arm’s length once you heat up that wok.
Two things you should do ahead of time (at least 30-45 minutes prior to cooking) – marinate the meat and soak the rice noodles.
We are using beef for this recipe but feel free to use chicken, pork, shrimp, or another protein. You will not need as long of a marinate time if using the other proteins.
First, put together the sauce, which is a combination of (regular) soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar, and mix well. Bring 2 tablespoon of the sauce to the sliced beef (we use sirloin) and let it sit for ~30 minutes. You can marinate for longer if you have the time.
As for the noodles, I am using wide flat rice noodles sticks (dry version) because they are easier to handle than the fresh ones. This is basically wider rice noodles than the ones used for Pad Thai. Soak the noodles in warm water for ~30 minutes (or see the package instruction for soak time, as it may vary).
At the end of the soak time, make sure the noodles are separated (not clump together) before cooking. You can use fresh noodles, and it will most likely need to be softened and separated too. Follow package instruction on how to do so.
The authentic version of Pad See Ew uses Chinese broccoli (gai lan), which is also one of my favorite Chinese greens.
Growing up, my whole family loves this and eats it often. Chinese broccoli really goes well with this dish, and you should try to use that. However, if you really cannot find Chinese broccoli, I find that broccoli is the next best thing.
Cut up the vegetables. If you are using Chinese broccoli, thinly slice the stalks as it will take a long time to cook if it is not thinly sliced. If the stalk is very large and bulky, slicing the stalk slightly slanted will help (see picture below).
Next, a small but incredibly powerful spice, garlic, is an important part of this dish. Mince the garlic, lots of them! I highly encourage you to use fresh garlic. Definitely do not substitute for garlic powder.
Line all the ingredients next to the stove before you start cooking, as the process will go really fast, and you want your ingredients at arm’s reach! Meat, rice noodles (drained), sauce, garlic, Chinese broccoli, eggs, and vegetable oil.
Add vegetable oil to wok, and heat up wok under high heat. Once the wok is heated up, add all the beef, stir fry until it is done, then remove promptly and set aside.
Next, I highly recommend cooking one serving at a time, because this will enable the noodles to move around freely in the wok, and they taste so much better that way.
Again, get the wok to high heat, add vegetable oil and garlic. Stir fry for 30 seconds or so, then add Chinese broccoli. Stir fry till Chinese broccoli turn darker green. Do not overcook – vegetable will look wilted if overcooked. Next, add rice noodles and sauce. Constantly move it around (it’s called stir fry for a reason!), then add the cooked beef to it.
Immediately after that, move everything to one side of the wok and crack an egg to the other side.
Break the yolk and let the egg cook for a few seconds, then move all the noodles onto the slightly runny egg. Let it sit for a few more seconds, stir the noodles around to mix the egg into it, then remove promptly. Do not overcook or the rice noodles will turn soggy!
Phew – I feel like stir frying is this fast process that happens in a blink of an eye. If you take too long you will overcook it, but at the same time you want to make sure everything is cooked. It’s a balancing act, and one that takes practice to perfect it. But when you do, it’s so yummy and rewarding!
So keep practicing and you will get there! It definitely took me a little while to perfect my stir fry. 🙂
And here it is, the gorgeous, delicious end product.
I love the chewy texture of the rice noodles, combined with crunchy veggies and tender slices of beef. The sauce is savory, with hints of sweetness, and has a slight punch from the fish sauce, which I love. What can I say – I love me some Pad See Ew Noodles!
Make this Pad See Ew today right in the comforts of your own kitchen! It is completely doable, and taste so darn good!
Stir Fry Tips and Other Thai recipes
If you need additional stir fry tips, check out my article – 8 Tips to a Great Stir Fry!
Love Thai food? Check out these popular Thai-inspired recipes!
- Pad Thai
- Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
- Thai Mango Sweet Sticky Rice
- Thai Red Curry with Chicken
- Thai Grilled Chicken
- Simple Thai Noodle Bowl
- Thai Yellow Curry with Fish (from my blogger friend at Kitchen Sanctuary!)
More Southeast Asian Favorites
- Malaysian Curry Puff
- Mee Goreng Mamak (Malaysian Fried Noodles)
- Tom Yum Fried Noodles
- Vietnamese Noodle Bowl with Grilled Pork
- Vietnamese Egg Rolls
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Pad See Ew Noodles
Ingredients
- ~8 oz flat wide rick stick noodles (dry)
- ~1/2 lbs beef sirloin
- 3 tbsp oyster flavored sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 4 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp water
- 4-5 cups Chinese broccoli (gai lan) chopped
- 6-8 cloves garlic
- vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
Instructions
- Soak rice noodles in warm/hot water for 30 minutes (or according to package instruction). Noodles should be softened after soaking. Separate the noodles that are clump together. Drain water when done soaking.
- Slice beef sirloin.
- In a small bowl, combine oyster flavored sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and water. Mix well, make sure sugar is dissolve.
- Bring 1 tablespoon of combined sauce to sliced beef. Marinate for 30 minutes, or up to a couple of hours.
- Minced garlic. Should yield around ~3 tablespoon after mincing.
- Heat up wok under high heat. Add 1 tbsp vegetable oil to wok. Once wok is heated up, bring all the beef into wok, and stir fry until desired doneness. Remove promptly.
- Next, we will be cooking each serving at a time. The stir-frying process goes pretty fast.
- Heat up wok under high heat, and add 1/2-1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Once wok is heated up, add ~1 tbsp of minced garlic. Stir fry for 30 seconds or so, or until fragrant (do not burn garlic). Add 1/3 of the chopped Chinese broccoli to wok, and stir fry until it turns darker green (30-60 seconds). Do not overcook greens.
- Add 1/3 of the rice noodles and ~2 tablespoon of sauce (adjust according to taste), and continuously stir to evenly cook all the noodles. Noodles should softened further. Be careful not to over cook. This should only take a minute or two.
- Add 1/3 of the cooked beef back into the wok. Be careful not to add the liquid at the bottom of the cooked beef into the wok.
- Immediately after that, move everything to one side of the wok, and crack an egg to the other side. Break the egg yolk, let it cook for a few seconds, then cover the slightly runny egg with all the noodles.
- Let the noodles sit for a few seconds, then mix the egg into the noodles. Remove from heat promptly.
- Repeat steps 8-12 for two more servings.
- Serve and enjoy!
Dandy Don made this dish for me today. YYYUUUUUUMMMMMMMYYYYYY! I asked him to make mine sans steak. This is so good. I am not sure I have ever had this type of noodle. All the flavors just blended together so well. I even ate it with chop sticks:) Thanks MinShien for giving us such yummy meals to try. The only thing that would be better is if you would come and make it for me when Don is out of town.
I’ll be happy to Kris! 😉 I am sooo glad you guys enjoyed this! It’s one of our favorite Thai dishes and we LOVE it so much too!