Pad See Ew, literally stir-fired soy sauce, is a common Thai dish of rice noodles, Chinese broccoli, meat stir-fried in a soy sauce broth. I have a hard time refraining from ordering this in Thai restaurants (along with Tom Kha and Gaeng Mussaman) in the interest of broadening my culinary horizons. Last night was the first night I have made homemade Pad See Ew, and apart from needing a touch more sugar, I was thrilled with the outcome! This may have to be a regular in the rotation…Additional perks are that the dish is simple, quick, economical, and fairly healthy (if you are not tracking your sodium intake and use white meat chicken).  You can use any meat you would like, I opted for white meat chicken.

Most recipes will call for both dark soy and light soy. If you have a Chinese market near you, this will not be a problem. Dark soy is less salty and much thicker than light soy. You can use regular soy if you like and overlook this, but it is not a bad idea to have some on hand. Oyster sauce can now be bought at most grocery stores (in the ethnic aisle). Same goes for fish sauce (although an Asian market can provide better quality and good recommendations). All these ingredients keep for ages. If you can find fresh flat noodles (again Asian market), use those – and allow them to sit on the pan for several seconds to impart a nice texture – if not, boxed rice noodles are fine. When cooking rice noodles, you need to soak them for about thirty minutes in boiling hot water. After pouring the water over the noodles make sure to separate the noodles to avoid sticking.

Pad See Ew

Serves 3-4

For Marinade

One Chicken Breast
Five tablespoons Soy Sauce
One tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
Five tablespoons Mirin
Pinch Brown Sugar
Half Tablespoon (more to taste) Chinese Five Spice Powder

Mix all together and cover chicken, marinate for 20 minutes on each side, remove and cut into pieces. Reserve.

For Stir Fry

Three tablespoons dark soy sauce
One Tablespoon soy sauce
One tablespoon Oyster Sauce (one tablespoon or less)
One tablespoon Brown Sugar
Dash of Rice Wine Vinegar (or Mirin or Sherry Vinegar)
One large egg
One bunch Chinese Broccoli (aka baby broccoli or broccoli rabe)
Six garlic cloves, chopped
Three tablespoons Sriracha (more or less to heat preference)
One half small white onion (not traditional – just needed to use it)
Two shredded carrots
Squeeze of fresh lime juice (optional)
Eight ounces flat rice noodles
Two tablespoons Peanut Oil

Tip: this is easier if you have everything ready to throw in the wok. Before you start, make sure you have allowed adequate time for the noodles to soften (20-30 minutes); Chicken to marinate (can be skipped if desired otherwise up to an hour) and be sliced or cut; sauce made; and all veggies chopped. I like to do an assembly line that goes: oil, garlic, chicken, veggies, egg, sauce, noodle, garnish.

Make a sauce by mixing the oyster sauce, both sauces, sugar, sriracha and vinegar; reserve.  Heat peanut oil in a wok over a high heat, add garlic and onions and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken slices or pieces and continue to stir fry for about four minutes. Add the broccoli and carrots and continue stir frying (de-glaze with some broth if necessary). Make a small well in the wok and crack the egg into the center, immediately begin to scramble it. Add sauce and continue to stir fry very briefly. Make a large well and add the noodles to the pan. Allow to rest for about 30 seconds then mix all ingredients very well (now is a good time to check and see if you need more sauce, more sugar, chili sauce or lime juice). Garnish with fresh cilantro and green onions and serve immediately.