Chicken pad see ew with Chinese broccoli
Written by Estelle & Alice for The Wok House
The noodles in pad see ew should catch a little on the wok. The brown patches, left for a few seconds without stirring, are what give the dish its caramelised soy flavour. I make it whenever I find Chinese broccoli at the Asian grocer's.
Pad see ew (phat si-io, "stir-fried with soy sauce") is a Thai street dish of Chinese origin: wide rice noodles stir-fried with sweet soy sauce, egg, Chinese broccoli and chicken or pork. Unlike pad kee mao, made with the same noodles, it isn't spicy. In Thailand, everyone adjusts it at the table with chillies in vinegar or a little sugar.
Chicken pad see ew (phat si-io)
Wide rice noodles stir-fried in sweet soy sauce until they caramelise in the wok, with chicken, egg and Chinese broccoli.
For 3 or 4 people, use a 32cm wok and stir-fry the noodles in two batches: they need to touch the metal to caramelise.
Ingredients
For the noodles and sauce
For the chicken
To cook and serve
Equipment
- 32cm carbon steel wok
- Wide spatula
- 1 large bowl for soaking
- 2 bowls (sauce and eggs)
Method
Soak the noodles
Cover 400g noodles with lukewarm water and leave them to soak for 30 minutes, until they bend without breaking but are still firm in the middle. Drain them well. They finish cooking in the wok: soaked for too long, they break. Fresh noodles just need separating by hand.
Make the sauce
In a bowl, mix 3 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, the sugar and 3 tbsp water, until the sugar dissolves.
Marinate the chicken
Cut the chicken into 5mm strips. Mix it with 1 tbsp light soy sauce and 1 tsp cornflour, then leave it while you prepare the broccoli.
Prepare the broccoli and eggs
Cut the broccoli stems on the diagonal into 1cm pieces and the leaves into 5cm pieces, keeping the two separate. Chop the garlic. Beat the eggs in a bowl.
Sear the chicken
Heat the wok over a high heat until it's lightly smoking. Add 1 tbsp oil, spread the chicken out in a single layer and leave it to brown for 2 minutes without touching it. Turn it and give it another 1 to 2 minutes, until cooked through, then set it aside on a plate.
Stir-fry the broccoli
Add 1 tbsp oil and the garlic and stir for 15 seconds. Add the stems and stir-fry them for 1 minute, then add the leaves with 2 tbsp water. After 30 seconds, when the leaves have wilted and turned bright green, set aside with the chicken.
Cook the eggs
Add 1 tbsp oil, then the beaten eggs. Let them set for 20 seconds, scramble them into large pieces and set them aside with the rest.
Caramelise the noodles
Put the wok back over a high heat. Stir-fry the noodles in 2 batches: for each batch, add 1½ tablespoons of oil, add the noodles and drizzle them with an equal share of the sauce. Leave them for 30 seconds without touching them, so they brown in places, then turn them. Repeat twice more and set each batch aside.
Put it together and serve
Return the chicken, broccoli and eggs to the wok, plus any noodles you set aside. Mix for 1 minute over a high heat, lifting the noodles from underneath so they don't break. Add ¼ tsp white pepper and serve straight away.
Wok tips
- The flavour of the dish comes from the brown patches on the noodles. Let them catch for a few seconds: it's the sweet sauce caramelising against the hot metal, not the noodles burning.
- Wide rice noodles break if you stir them too much. Slide the spatula underneath and turn them over in clumps, rather than stirring round and round.
- On induction or a ceramic hob, two small batches work better than one big one. With all the noodles in at once, the wok cools down and they stick together in a block.
- A well-seasoned carbon steel wok lets the noodles caramelise without tearing them. A new wok needs seasoning first: see how to season a wok.
Variations
- Pork: 400g pork shoulder, thinly sliced, instead of the chicken, seared the same way.
- No Chinese broccoli: Tenderstem broccoli, or 300g ordinary broccoli in small florets, with the stalks peeled and sliced.
- Thai sweet soy sauce (si-io dam) or kecap manis instead of the dark soy sauce and sugar: 2 tablespoons, with no added sugar.
- Vegetarian: 400g diced firm tofu, seared, instead of the chicken, and a vegetarian oyster sauce made with mushrooms.
Storage
One day in the fridge, no more: rice noodles harden in the cold. Reheat them for 2 minutes in the wok over a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of water to soften them. They don't freeze well.
The Kaikoma Wok Pan
Uncoated carbon steel, Ø 32cm, all hobs including induction
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between pad see ew and pad thai?
Pad thai uses thin rice noodles, a tamarind sauce and peanuts. Pad see ew uses wide noodles, a sweet soy sauce and Chinese broccoli. It's milder and more caramelised.
Where can you buy wide rice noodles?
In Asian supermarkets, dried (often sold as 10mm rice sticks) or fresh in the chiller, as sen yai or ho fun. Fresh ones are softer but don't keep long.
Is pad see ew spicy?
No, the classic recipe has no chilli. In Thailand, people add heat at the table with chillies in vinegar or dried chilli flakes.
Why do my noodles stick together in a block?
They were soaked for too long, or the wok was overloaded. Stop soaking as soon as they bend, drain them well and stir-fry them in small batches in a very hot wok.
