Pad See Ew is my go to Thai takeout dish of choice. I love the wide, flat rice noodles that soak up all the delicious soy based sauce, the slightly crisp Chinese broccoli and the fluffy scrambled egg that picks up all the flavors of the dish! It’s such a delicious dish and couldn’t be more simple to make in the comfort of your own home!
What is Pad See Ew?
It’s a stir-fry Thai noodle dish with Chinese influence. It translates to “fried (with) soy sauce”. It’s one of the most popular Thai takeout dish and a great one to start with if you’re new to Thai food.
What Does Pad See Ew Taste Like?
Pad see ew tastes salty with a very subtle sweetness and a chargrilled flavor from the noodles caramelizing with the sauce against the skillet.
How to Make Our Pad See Ew
Process
SAUCE
- Combine all sauce ingredients and whisk together.
PORK
- Combine all pork ingredients and stir together until pork is evenly coated. Set aside and allow pork to marinate.
NOODLES
- Fill a pot with water, place over high heat and bring to a boil. Add noodles and boil until soft. Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.
ASSEMBLY
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add some oil. Add pork and sear on each side.
- Transfer pork pieces to a plate and set aside.
- Add more oil to skillet, pour in beaten eggs and scramble until eggs have just cooked through.
- Transfer eggs to plate with pork. Set aside.
- Add remaining oil to skillet and sauté broccoli stems. Season with salt and white pepper.
- Add pork and continue to cook.
- Add broccoli leaves and noodles and toss together.
- Pour sauce over noodle mixture and toss together until everything is well coated. Raise to high heat and continue to cook, constantly stirring/tossing, to caramelize the noodles.
- Gently fold egg into the skillet.
- Top with sliced green onions and serve.
Tools You Will Need
What is Dark Soy Sauce?
Dark soy sauce is darker, thicker and slightly sweet compared to regular soy sauce, from the addition of molasses. It not only adds a sweet, rich flavor to dishes but is also used to color a dish like fried rice or stir-fried noodles.
It can be found at some asian grocery stores (such as Chinese, Thai and some Korean), some specialty markets and online.
Variations
- We use pork in our pad see ew, but it can easily be swapped out for thinly sliced beef (flank or sirloin both work great), thinly sliced chicken breast, large shrimp, or cubes of firm tofu, for a vegetarian option.
- If you can’t find Chinese broccoli you can substitute it with broccolini or bite sized broccoli florets.
- If you aren’t able to find dark soy sauce you can replace it with more regular soy sauce (and an extra pinch of sugar), but the pad see ew noodles won’t darken as much.
Tips and Tricks for Pad See Ew Success
- Turning the heat to high when the noodles and sauce are added to the pan is important so the noodles can caramelize and get that classic chargrilled flavor.
- It’s also important to keep the pad see ew moving when the heat is turned up so nothing burns.
- Although dry rice noodles are easier to find and work great in this recipe, if you’re able to find fresh or fresh frozen, we highly recommend using them here. Fresh noodles will have a slightly better texture as well as absorb the sauce better.
More Delicious Noodles Recipes You Will Love
Pad See Ew
INGREDIENTS
noodles
- 8 ounces dry wide and flat rice noodles
sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 minced garlic clove
- pinch salt
pork
- 3/4 pound sliced pork shoulder
- 2 teaspoons mirin
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
assembly
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ pound Chinese broccoli, cut into 1 1/2" pieces
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- salt and white pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
noodles
- Fill a pot with water, place over high heat and bring to a boil. Add noodles and boil according to packaged directions until noodles are soft. Drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.
sauce
- Combine all sauce ingredients and whisk together.
pork
- Combine all pork ingredients and stir together until pork is evenly coated. Set aside and allow pork to marinate, about 10 minutes.
assembly
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add pork and sear for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
- Transfer pork pieces to a plate and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet, pour in beaten eggs and scramble until eggs have just cooked through, 2 minutes.
- Transfer eggs to plate with pork. Set aside.
- Add remaining oil to skillet and sauté broccoli stems, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper.
- Add pork and continue to cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add broccoli leaves and noodles and toss together.
- Pour sauce over noodle mixture and toss together until everything is well coated. Raise to high heat and continue to cook, constantly stirring/tossing, to caramelize the noodles, about 2 minutes.
- Gently fold egg into the skillet.
- Top with sliced green onions and serve.
NOTES
What is Dark Soy Sauce?
Dark soy sauce is darker, thicker and slightly sweet compared to regular soy sauce, from the addition of molasses. It not only adds a sweet, rich flavor to dishes but is also used to color a dish like fried rice or stir-fried noodles.
It can be found at some asian grocery stores (such as Chinese, Thai and some Korean), some specialty markets and online.
Variations
- We use pork in our pad see ew, but it can easily be swapped out for thinly sliced beef (flank or sirloin both work great), thinly sliced chicken breast, large shrimp, or cubes of firm tofu, for a vegetarian option.
- If you can’t find Chinese broccoli you can substitute it with broccolini or bite sized broccoli florets.
- If you aren’t able to find dark soy sauce you can replace it with more regular soy sauce (and an extra pinch of sugar), but the pad see ew noodles won’t darken as much.
Tips and Tricks for Pad See Ew Success
- Turning the heat to high when the noodles and sauce are added to the pan is important so the noodles can caramelize and get that classic chargrilled flavor.
- It’s also important to keep the pad see ew moving when the heat is turned up so nothing burns.
- Although dry rice noodles are easier to find and work great in this recipe, if you’re able to find fresh or fresh frozen, we highly recommend using them here. Fresh noodles will have a slightly better texture as well as absorb the sauce better.
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Michael
Made this last night and it was perfect- exactly what I was hoping for. I’ve been trying to make pad see ew that tastes like takeout for YEARS and I’ve failed every time until now!
Jenny Park
So happy to read this! Really glad you enjoyed it!
Laura
Would wide lo mein noodles be similar to the rice noodles?
Jenny Park
Hi! lo mein noodles are actually made of egg and wheat, so they’re denser than rice noodles. The dish will still be delicious but the texture and flavor will be a little different.
Amanda B
When you say dark soy sauce, do you have any preferred brand? I read somewhere that you can just use Kikkoman (apparently most Japanese soy sauces are dark soy sauce?), but if that’s the case – I realize it may well not be – what would you recommend for the plain “soy sauce”? I’m fairly new to Asian cooking and would definitely appreciate the help :)
Jenny Park
Hi! Sorry for the confusion! I should’ve probably written it differently! You can use “plain” soy sauce, which is basically “dark” soy sauce. I specified ‘dark’ bc i know some people like to swap out for “light”, but this recipe is really much better + has a better depth of flavor, if I’m using “dark” (aka “plain”)
Randee Churchill
What kind of noodles did you use?
Karen
They would be rice noodles, just make sure you get the wide ones.