Wide rice noodles stir-fried with Chinese broccoli, soy sauce and egg — Bangkok's most beloved street wok dish.
⭐Inspired by Jet Tila · 🇹🇭 ThailandThis recipe is inspired by Chef Jet Tila's championship of Thai-American cooking and his work as the first Culinary Ambassador of Thai Cuisine to the United States. Pad See Ew — literally 'fried with soy sauce' — is one of Thailand's most beloved street dishes: wide flat rice noodles charred over screaming heat, tossed with Chinese broccoli, eggs and dark soy sauce. The soul of the dish is wok hei — the smoky 'breath of the wok' that comes from extremely high heat and split-second timing.
Serves 4
If fresh: separate the noodles gently with your hands. If dried: soak in hot water 8 minutes until pliable but still firm. Don't oversoak.
Toss the sliced meat with oyster sauce, cornflour and a splash of water. Rest 10 minutes.
Whisk dark soy, light soy, oyster sauce, sugar and white pepper in a small bowl.
Heat the wok over the highest heat possible. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Stir-fry the marinated meat for 90 seconds until just cooked. Push to the side.
Crack the eggs into the centre of the wok and scramble loosely. Add the garlic and Chinese broccoli stems (cut into 4cm pieces). Stir-fry 60 seconds until the stems just soften. Add the leaves and toss.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the noodles. Don't stir for 30 seconds — let them char on the bottom (this is wok hei). Pour in the sauce and toss vigorously for 60 seconds until everything is glossy and the noodles have caught some char.
Tip onto warm plates. Serve with prik nam som (chili vinegar) and sugar on the side — Thai diners typically add their own at the table.
Don't overcrowd the wok — work in 2 batches if making 4 servings at once.
Char is the soul of the dish — let the noodles sit motionless for 30 seconds.
Fresh wide rice noodles >> dried — find them at Asian groceries refrigerated.
Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles): same noodles with Thai basil, holy basil and chilies — the spicy sister.
Vegetarian Version: substitute crispy tofu and use vegetarian oyster sauce.
Best eaten immediately — leftover noodles stiffen and lose char.
Pad See Ew is Bangkok street food dating to the early 20th century, when Chinese immigrants adapted southern Chinese stir-fried wide-noodle dishes to local Thai ingredients. Jet Tila, a Los Angeles-born Thai-American chef, was named the first Culinary Ambassador of Thai Cuisine to the United States by the Royal Thai Consulate-General.
Wok hei (literally 'breath of the wok' in Cantonese) is the smoky, slightly charred flavour that comes from stir-frying over extreme heat in a well-seasoned wok. It is essential to authentic Thai and Chinese stir-fries and is the difference between restaurant and home noodle dishes.
Yes — soak in hot water 8 minutes until pliable but still firm. Fresh wide rice noodles are noticeably better; look for them refrigerated at Asian markets.
Cantonese for 'breath of the wok' — the smoky, slightly charred flavour that comes from stir-frying over extreme heat. It is the single biggest difference between restaurant and home stir-fry. Most home stoves cannot produce enough heat; outdoor propane burners and well-seasoned woks help.
Pad Thai uses thin rice noodles, tamarind, fish sauce and tamarind for a sour-savoury balance. Pad See Ew uses wide flat noodles, dark soy sauce, Chinese broccoli and egg — sweeter, smokier, less acidic. They're entirely different dishes despite both being Bangkok street food.
The Royal Thai Consulate-General appointed him in 2010 as the first such ambassador to the United States, recognising his work bringing Thai food to mainstream American audiences. His family had run the first Thai grocery and restaurant in Los Angeles in the 1960s.
Per serving (420g / 14.8 oz) · 4 servings total
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