Pad See Ew
When thinking of a common popular Thai noodle dish, people always think of Pad Thai. But long before Pad Thai came to play, Pad See Ew is one of the oldest street noodle dishes for Thai people. You can always count on Pad See Ew vendor to be there. This simple dish can be made easily with only 5 ingredients. You can always substitute other vegetables like bok choy, regular broccoli, collard greens, kale, or even thinly sliced zucchini. Traditionally, Thais make Pad See Ew exclusively with Chinese Broccoli or Gai Lan. Chinese broccoli is in the same family as broccoli, the leaves are thick, glossy, with a little bit of a slightly more bitter taste.
This stirred fry noodle dish is popular with kids because it has a slightly sweet taste to it. It is very easy to make and it is always a crowd pleaser. Pad See Ew is usually served with pickled serranos and dried roasted Thai chilies.
Pad Sea Ew
Ingredients:
3 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 lb. chicken/pork/beef/tofu, sliced into bite size
8 oz. dried wide or thin (vermicelli) rice noodle, I preferred Wai Wai brand for thin vermicelli.
2-3 tablespoon light soy sauce, add more if needed
3-4 tablespoon black soy sauce or dark soy sauce or thick soy sauce
2 eggs, warmed to room temperature
4 stalks Chinese broccoli, yielding 4-5 cups cut up (can also use bocchoy, regular broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and other veggies)
1-2 tablespoon sugar, to taste
pinch of ground white pepper
Pickled chillies (sliced serrano or jalapeno peppers pickled in white vinegar)
Soak noodles in hot tap water until soften, usually about 30-40 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat the pan until hot, add oil. Turn the heat down and add garlic. Sauté the chopped garlic in the oil for a few seconds until fragrant and brown, then add the meat, and turn the heat up. Stir fry until the meat is almost all the way cooked, about 2 minutes. Toss in the noodles along, stir fry for about one minutes. Add black soy sauce and light soy sauce. Stir and spread out over heated surface of the wok. Let noodles pan-fry about a minute, sautéing at all time until noodles are soften and have absorbed all the sauces. If noodles are taking a while to cook, add some chicken stock or water. Make space for eggs in the middle of the pan, crack in eggs and break the yolks, do not scramble. Let the egg fry for a minute and mix in with the noodles.
Add the broccoli, constantly fold noodles over broccoli until wilted. Sprinkle with sugar. Stir and mix well. Sprinkle with white pepper. Toss well. Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm with a pickled chili sauce. (To make pickled chili sauce, slice Serrano or jalapenos, add white vinegar to cover, let sit for an hour or more.)
