Pad See-Ew (Thai Stir-fried Soy Sauce Rice Noodles)

Pad See-Ew (Thai Stir-fried Soy Sauce Rice Noodles) with beef, Chinese broccoli, and eggs.


Remember the Thai broccoli I got from the Farmers' Market in Alhambra? It sat in my fridge for several weeks before I got around to cooking with it. While this recipe is traditionally made with gai lan (Chinese broccoli), I've fallen in love with Thai broccoli for its sweeter and more tender taste. If neither varieties are available, you can substitute with broccolini, broccoli rabe, or regular broccoli. Yes, preferably in that order. (As an aside, did you know Albert R. Broccoli, whose family claims to have invented broccoli by crossing cauliflower with mustard, also created the James Bond series?)

Normally, I just lightly saute Thai broccoli with garlic. But since I had some fresh rice noodle sheets from the grocery store, I decided to make pad see-ew (sometimes spelled pad see-iew). The pad refers to anything stir-fried, see-ew means soy sauce in Thai-Chinese dialect. You know, Vietnamese-Chinese refer to soy sauce as xi dau... It's a slightly sweet Thai rice noodle dish with meat, broccoli, and eggs. My version uses oyster sauce for savoriness and hoisin sauce for the slight sweetness. You can use the traditional dark and light soy sauces with 1 tsp of sugar instead, but I've found the thicker oyster and hoisin sauces do a much better job of sticking to and flavoring the noodles and meat.

And vegetarian Pad See-Ew (Thai Stir-fried Soy Sauce Rice Noodles) with Thai broccoli and eggs.


Pad See-Ew (Thai Stir-Fried Soy Sauce Rice Noodles)



For 2 to 4 servings, you'll need:
1 bunch of Chinese or Thai broccoli, remove bottom inch of stems where it tends to get woody and cut in 2-inch sections, keeping flowers and leaves
1 lb package of rice noodles, either flat, broad rice noodles or rice noodle sheets
1/4 lb beef, sliced or 2 small chicken breasts, sliced
3 eggs, scrambled or use my scrambled egg omelet technique
About 2 tblsp oyster sauce, or more according to taste
About 1 tblsp hoisin sauce, or more according to taste

Optional: Instead of my oyster and hoisin sauce combo, you can use 2 tblsp soy sauce and 1 tsp sugar


Separate rice noodles. I used rice noodle sheets. While you can slice this into wide noodles, I find the stir-frying separates the noodles into smaller pieces so it saves me one step.


Turn wok or saute pan to high heat. Beat three eggs in wok, swirling wok so the eggs cook in a thin layer. When fully cooked, set aside.


Add a little bit of oil to the wok and stir-fry the beef or chicken. When the meat is near done, add both oyster and hoisin sauces. I did a 2/3 oyster sauce, 1/3 hoisin sauce ratio. Be a little generous with the sauce because it'll have to coat the noodles and broccoli later.


When chicken and sauce is thoroughly mixed, add noodles and make sure sauce is evenly coated. The rice noodle sheets will be broken up, but that's OK.


Add broccoli and mix again thoroughly.


Add the cooked eggs that had been set aside and mix again. You want to do this last so the eggs don't get mushy and overcooked, and the moisture from the broccoli doesn't make them soggy.


The rice noodles will have absorbed the savoriness of the oyster sauce and the sweetness of the hoisin sauce.



Enjoy!

Other noodle recipes you might like:
Mi Xao Don Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Crispy Chow Mein)  
Mi Xao Don Thit Bo (Vietnamese Crispy Chow Mein with Beef)  
Pho Ap Chao Bo (Vietnamese Pan-Fried Rice Noodles Sauteed with Beef)