Most people know about Pad Thaï ; fewer are lucky enough to have tried its tasty, Chinese-inspired cousin, Pad See Ew.
The fresh, wide noodles, the same as in Rad Na, are a game changer. They make for a slurpy, slighly gooey and comforting sensation when you gobble them, which constrats with the crunchier carrots and Chinese broccoli.
Taste-wise, the charred, umami noodles with beef, whose flavour is strenghtened by soy-based and oyster sauce seasoning, are exactly what you want from a savoury stir-fry. Less nuanced than Pad Thaï, but more intense, Pad See Ew is in my top three of the all-time best stir-fries.
The recipe is particularly simple and quick, and only 2 ingredients can be tricky to find : Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli), which you can easily replace with broccolini, and fresh wide rice noodles.
Unpopular opinion here : I don’t recommend making this dish if you cannot find fresh wide noodles. I’m usually all for replacing and finding appropriate solutions, but the noodles’ gooey and moist texture, absorbing all the delicious sauce, is central to the pleasure of this dish.
Authentic Pad See Ew – Recipe
Ingredients – Where to find them
I’d advise you to go to a well-stocked, quite large Asian store, which will likely fresh wide noodles (in the refrigerated section) and gai lan.
Ingredients – Advice & key points
- If you cannot find Gai Lan, replace it with broccolini.
- Can’t find Rosdee powder ? Replace it will a small pinch of msg, or powdered chicken bouillon, or mushroom powder.
- If your Asian store doesn’t store fresh wide noodles, as written before, I don’t recommend making this dish. Try Pad Thaï instead, for example, that’s perfect with dry noodles !
- The wok part goes quite fast ; I recommend you get all your ingredients ready and nearby before your start cooking.
- My favourite choice of protein is beef for this recipe, but feel free to replace it with another you like. Use tofu to make it vegetarian !
All set ? Let’s heat that wok up !
Authentic Pad See Ew
Description
One of the best stir-fried noodles ever. Savoury, umami, with charred, tender noodles and crunchy veggies, I give you : Pad See Ew. The real deal.
Ingredients
For stir-frying
For the noodles
Seasonings
Instructions
-
Chop it up
Mince garlic and slice your gai lan (thinly & diagonally for stems ; roughly chop the leaves).
Thinly slice your beef.
-
Noodles time
Separate your fresh wide rice noodles. If they're too dry (too cold) and break easily, slightly steam noodles for a few minutes or microwave them with a wet paper towel on top, in 30 seconds intervals.
Mix noodles with the dark soy sauce.
-
Onto the wok
Fry garlic in hot oil over medium heat until fragrant. Add beef until half cooked.
Lower the heat. Push the meat to the side and crack the egg in the empty side.
Meanwhile, add your Chinese broccoli and carrots.
30 seconds later, lower the heat. Add the noodles, then the seasonings. Turn up the heat and char them a little while stir-frying, around 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve.
Et voilà !! You're done !