As the boyfriend drives over for dinner after work, he generally gives me a call. We’ll talk about our respective days at work, his newest brilliant ideas, items on my to-do list, and various other random things. Then our conversation inevitably turns to what’s for dinner.
Many times it will be a new Thai dish that I’ve been researching and wanting to try. In these cases, his response is generally something wary along the lines of, “Okay… but I’m not sure if you can make it the way it’s made in Thailand.” He then proceeds to give me a little education on exactly how it should taste and advice for how to make it that way.
But other times, I’ll tell him that I’m making a dish that I’ve made before and already perfected. In these cases, his response is always an enthusiastic, “Oh yeah! I can’t wait! It’s so yummy!” This was exactly his response when I told him I was making pad see ew for dinner one day a few weeks ago.
Truthfully, pad see ew is a dish that we both get pretty excited about. It’s a common noodle dish in Thailand that’s made by stirfrying wide rice noodles with sweet dark soy sauce, chicken, and Chinese broccoli. The key to this dish is cooking it over super high heat so that the noodles take on a rich, smokey, almost charred flavor.
Although the boyfriend and I eat pad see ew for dinner during the week, it really is considered more of a lunch dish in Thailand. Most Thai noodle dishes are, because they’re great one-dish meals that don’t demand the requisite rice, soup, dips, and other condiments that generally accompany a real dinner.
The ease of a one-dish meal combined with the boyfriend’s pre-approval make pad see ew a natural choice for dinner… especially on those nights that I’m not quite up to trying something new!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces fresh wide, flat rice noodles (sen yai)
- 1/2 cup chicken, sliced thinly
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
- 2 cups Chinese broccoli, chopped coarsely (with stems sliced very thinly on diagonal)
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons sweet dark soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons thin soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
Instructions
- Prepare your sauce by mixing the sweet dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, thin soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar together. Set aside.
- Prepare your rice noodles by blanching them in simmering water for a few seconds. Use your fingers to separate each noodle if they are stuck together.
- Add a bit of oil to your wok and heat it to high heat. Add the garlic and saute until it's almost golden brown. Then add the chicken and saute until it's cooked through.
- Push the garlic and chicken to the side of the wok. Add a little more oil and once it's hot, crack an egg and scramble it in the middle of the wok.
- Push everything to the side and add the blanched rice noodles and sauce you prepared earlier. Mix everything together and stir fry until there is not much liquid left in the wok.
- Next add the Chinese broccoli to the noodles and cook until wilted. During this time, just let the noodles sit for a minute or so to get a nice char on them. Once done, take off the heat and serve immediately!
Recipe modified from SheSimmers.com








lovethaifood June 21, 2012 at 9:02 pm
If I don’t want to use oyster sauce, do you have any suggestions for a substitution? (I don’t eat/like seafood)
bumble bê August 10, 2012 at 3:45 pm
lovethaifood, you can use vegetarian version of oyster sauce. I use it and it came out really good
Rachel June 21, 2012 at 9:11 pm
I’ve seen quite a few recipes for pad see ew that don’t use oyster sauce, so it might be fine to just leave it out (I haven’t personally tried this though). Alternatively, there are some vegetarian oyster sauces made with mushrooms that you could try: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_sauce#Vegetarian_oyster_sauce. Let me know how it goes!
Sarah June 22, 2012 at 9:45 am
Love pad see ew, but I never saw anyone eat it with chopsticks in my year in Thailand! It was the spoon/fork deal.
Alyssa (Everyday Maven) June 22, 2012 at 2:23 pm
This is one of my favorite dishes – so glad to have your recipe to try!
Rachel June 22, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Oh, interesting Sarah. I guess it’s always convenient to use a spoon and fork
Rachel June 22, 2012 at 11:19 pm
Thanks, Alyssa!
Riley June 23, 2012 at 9:51 am
I never know what to do with the bottles of oyster sauce and soy sauce in my refrigerator. This recipe,oops perfect, thanks for sharing!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious June 23, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Pad see ew is one of my favorite thai dishes! So glad I can make it at home now
Vicky June 25, 2012 at 9:10 am
Seriously pad see ew is one of my all time favorite dishes! Will have to try making it your way!
ally June 25, 2012 at 9:40 am
incredibly wonderful job, as always! so fresh & divine yet simple enough!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.ca/
Callie June 25, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Hi Rachel! Just found your blog on tastespotting – cute concept and wonderful recipes! This pad see ew looks amazing; thanks for sharing!
LP @dishclips June 25, 2012 at 10:54 pm
This looks delicious and the presentation is amazing.
Joel Finkle June 26, 2012 at 8:52 am
Just use more of the “sweet dark soy” also labeled soy molasses or kecap manis. It’s really the key ingredient for the see-ew flavor — I don’t use the regular soy or oyster sauce. The tough ingredient to find is probably the rice noodles. Dried noodles will not work, you need the fresh noodle sheets.
Suchi June 26, 2012 at 10:25 am
Hi Rachel so glad to have found your blog. My husband and me, we love Thai food, I have started making it at home…bookmarking your blog for more home cooked Thai dinners
Dawn June 26, 2012 at 11:29 am
Can’t wait to make this for my two teenaged children – it’s their favorite dish when we go out for Thai food.
Ashley @CenterCutCook July 1, 2012 at 9:35 pm
Pad See Ew is one of my go-to recipes at any Thai joint I go to…. super excited to try this!
Debbie August 24, 2012 at 5:16 am
Hello, Are you using “black soy sauce” or “sweet soy sauce”? The dragonfly brand has these 2 and I am confused because they are both “sweet + dark”. Please let me know which is te correct soy sauce to use.
Thanks
Rachel August 24, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Hi Debbie, I use the “Sweet Soy Sauce” with the blue dragonfly label for pad see ew. The “Black Soy Sauce” is not as sweet and is generally used in things like gai pad grapow (chicken with holy basil).
Rebecca January 5, 2013 at 3:50 am
Can you cook everything (noodles, chicken, egg) and then freeze and stir fry at a later date?
Rachel January 5, 2013 at 11:46 am
Hi Rebecca – I’ve actually cooked pad see ew completely and then frozen it and it’s turned out well… not as good as freshly made, but perfect for after a long day at work when you don’t have time to cook!
Jackie January 13, 2013 at 7:14 am
Cool! Just found your site. I’m making this tomorrow night!
LBA242 January 27, 2013 at 12:29 am
This was so good! I’ve been looking for a recipe so we don’t have to always order this take out and this is perfect! I used beef marinated in a little soy and sugar instead of the chicken and was delicious! Thanks
Diana February 8, 2013 at 5:01 pm
Please subscribe me to your blog.
Amy March 5, 2013 at 3:06 am
Where can I buy sen yai? I tried making my own this evening. Epic fail. I ended up using dried rice noodles as a poor substitute.
Rachel March 5, 2013 at 4:38 pm
Hi Amy, I’m so impressed you tried to make your own! I find mine at Ranch 99, so I’d imagine any large Asian/Chinese store might have them.
Christine Woods April 9, 2013 at 11:25 am
Dear Rachel,
I returned from thailand last month and this dish was one of my favourites. I was delighted to find your website, however I cannot find anywhere in the UK to buy fresh wide, flat rice noodles (sen yai)
from. Can you help at all please?
Thank you.
Rachel April 9, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Hi Christine, I’m not familiar with Thai markets in the U.K., but did find this forum which lists a few: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=383309. I’m able to find fresh sen yai at Chinese markets in the U.S. as well, so it may be worth checking out your local Chinese or pan-Asian market. Best of luck!
Christine April 14, 2013 at 11:49 am
Thanks Rachel, the links are really helpful.
Best wishes,
Chris
Denise Kazen April 16, 2013 at 11:40 pm
I don’t even know where to begin! This is the 3rd time I’m making Pad See Ew (but 2nd time with your recipe). First recipe was really good…tasted close but not 100% “there”. I tried your recipe the second time. I did not have a wok yet so had a lot of the flavor sticking to the bottom of the pot. It’s such a forgiving recipe that adding extra sweet soy sauce helped and it came out better than the first recipe. Today I made this recipe again, but I am now the proud owner of a wok. OMG!!!!! This recipe seriously rocked! I double the garlic and add a little more egg, but WOW! I made a bunch of batches so we have leftovers to freeze. Some of the batches had a little excess of one ingredient or another from the sauce but it made no difference. My kids (who don’t take lunches to school EVER both asked to bring this tomorrow! My oldest rarely will even touch leftovers. Ok, you must get the hint how excited I am about this recipe. THANK YOU so much for posting!!!
Rachel April 17, 2013 at 2:13 am
Hi Denise, I’m so glad you and your boys enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know
Tammy April 20, 2013 at 3:01 am
This was great! Thanks for an easy and delicious recipe- turned out very much like the restaurants!!