Pad See Ew is a delicious easy dinner packed with veggies, tofu and delicious noodles, and one of my favourite dinners, EVER.
Why you have to make Pad See Ew
Pad See Ew is the number one thing I ALWAYS order when we get Thai (and I’ll always follow it up with Hazelnut Gelato - don’t come at me with any other flavours, Hazelnut is the bomb). It’s my favourite dinner because I just LOVE the slightly chewy noodles, crisped up in the pan, and the sauce - oh the sauce is so so good I could drink it! It’s liquid gold.
Pad See Ew has the perfect “Sweet and Salty” flavour combination going on, and honestly, I’d say this would be my last dinner on earth, if I had to choose.
What is the difference between Pad See Ew and Pad Thai?
Pad See Ew is a soy based sauce, whereas Pad Thai is based on Tamarind, the sweet, bean-like fruit. Pad See Ew also traditionally uses thicker noodles which give you a more satisfying texture than thinner, Pad Thai noodles.
Truly great Pad See Ew is made with fresh noodles - to die for, but the noodles we’ll use in this recipe are dried noodles that we’ll cook in boiling water before adding to the wok. My biggest tip here is to make sure you don’t overcook the noodles in the boiling water. We want them bitey as they will also cook in the pan, and so we really don’t want to overcook them because then they will disintegrate in the second stage of cooking. Take them out of the boiling water before the packet instructions, and before you think they are ready (I recommend about 4 minutes, sitting in just boiled water).
What's the difference between Pad See Ew and Drunken Noodles?
Drunken noodles use similar noodles to Pad See Ew but are spicier, and Pad See Ew flavours are more about sweet and salty. Drunken noodles should also have more sauce to noodle ratio.
Pad See Ew Ingredients
- Pad See Ew Sauce - Brown sugar, vegetarian oyster sauce (or original), Dark soy sauce, Soy sauce, Fish sauce, Rice wine vinegar, Water. The fish and light soy give you that saltiness, the brown sugar, oyster and dark soy make it sweet, and the rice vinegar adds just the right amount of bitterness.
- Protein - Use silken tofu. We’ll break it up and it will have a similar consistency to scrambled egg. Alternatively you can use egg instead.
- Noodles - Use rice stick noodles. If you can find fresh ones, then go for them (often available in Asian specialty stores), otherwise dried stick noodles will work fine too.
- Vegetables - Broccoli, Carrot, Capsicum
- Aromatics - Lime, chilli, garlic and Thai Basil
Top tip
Apart from not overcooking your noodles, the other tip here is to liberally cover the base of your pan with oil then fry your noodles in that oil. Let them sit for a minute, the rice will crisp up and caramelise wonderfully - it’s lovely and sweet. Also make sure that you don’t overcook the other vegetables too, they only need a few minutes in the pan.
Substitutions
- Alternative proteins - Swap silken tofu for scrambled eggs if you prefer.
- Vegetarian - This recipe is vegetarian.
- Dairy Free - This recipe is dairy free.
- Gluten Free - Swap dark soy and soy for tamari, and gluten free oyster sauce.
Kid-Friendly Variations
- This is a very kid-friendly recipe, serve your child stir-fried noodles and vegetables.
- Skip the chilli and Thai basil.
Equipment
You will need a pot, a stovetop, a frying pan or wok.
More Thai Recipes
Recipe
Pad See Ew
Equipment
- Pot
- Stovetop
- Frying pan or wok
Ingredients
- 200 g rice stick noodles
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 carrot
- 1 capsicum
- 1 broccoli
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 tablespoon total for the recipe
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 tablespoon total for the recipe
- 300 g silken tofu
- ½ bunch Thai basil
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Place a pot of water on to boil. When it’s boiling, add noodles, take off the heat and sit for 4 mins, then drain.TIP: they shouldn’t be fully cooked at this point.200 g rice stick noodles
- Whisk together brown sugar, Oyster sauce, dark soy, light soy, fish sauce, vinegar and water to make a sauce.2 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce, 2 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 teaspoon fish sauce, 2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon water
- Peel and cut carrot in half lengthwise, then finely into half moons. Thinly slice capsicum. Cut broccoli into small florets, then slice the base. Mince garlic.1 carrot, 1 capsicum, 1 broccoli, 4 cloves garlic
- Heat a large frying pan or wok on high heat. Add vegetable oil, vegetables and water. Saute for 2-3 mins until veggies have softened. Remove to a plate and set aside.Option to serve your child’s vegetables now.1 carrot, 1 capsicum, 1 broccoli, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, ¼ cup water
- Add more oil to the pan. Add noodles, sauce and garlic to the pan and let the noodles crisp up without stirring for 30 seconds, then toss until noodles are covered in sauce (another 30 seconds).Option to serve your child their noodles now.200 g rice stick noodles, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 4 cloves garlic
- Add vegetables and silken tofu back into the pan, break up with your mixing spoon and stir fry to combine.300 g silken tofu
- Serve your child noodles and vegetables.For adults, tear over Thai basil leaves and slice lime into quarters. Serve with lime on the side and topped with Thai Basil.½ bunch Thai basil, 1 lime
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