Pad See Euw

Seth Price

ingredients

For the marinade:
8 oz chicken, bone and skin removed and cut into med cubes (you could also use beef, pork, or tofu)
2 cloves garlic, minced or mashed through a garlic press
2 Tbsp rice wine
2 Tbsp oyster sauce (nam mun hoi)
1 1/2 tsp sugar (palm sugar would be traditional, I used white sugar)
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes—more if you like the heat
For the noodles:
1 Tbsp oil
8 oz wide rice noodles, preferably fresh (sen yai)*
1 egg
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce, plus a dash (see euw)
1 tsp oyster sauce (nam mun hoi)
1 tsp fish sauce, plus a dash (nam pla)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 1/2 cup Chinese broccoli (ka na), stems and leaves cut into one" pieces/ribbons

directions

1
Mix the garlic, rice wine, oyster sauce, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Add the chicken and let sit, covered, for a few hours.
2
Scramble the egg in a bowl, adding a dash (about three drops) of both soy sauce and fish sauce to the raw egg. Mix.
3
In another small bowl, mix the sauce for the noodles—adding the dark soy sauce, the oyster and fish sauce, and the sugar (I used 1 1/4 tsp, if you like it sweet you could go up to 1 1/2 tsp). Stir thoroughly, as the sugar will drop to the bottom, and set aside.
4
In a large pan or wok, add the oil and sauté the chicken at high heat. Don’t pour the chicken and marinade into the pan, rather take each piece out and add it to the pan. You want a slight crust and color on the chicken, so keep the heat high and stir as needed.
5
When the chicken is cooked through, move it to the side of the pan. Pour the egg into the remaining area and scramble, making sure not to stir the chicken into the egg (you don’t want the chicken coated in egg). You could remove the chicken if your pan is not large enough. When the egg is scrambled and cooked through, use your spoon or spatula to break it into smallish pieces.
6
Mix the egg and chicken and begin adding the noodles, one third of the noodles at a time. After each noodle addition, drizzle on some of the sauce (stir it first as the sugar will settle) and mix with the chicken. You might want to turn down the heat at this point. Add more noodles, drizzle on sauce, mix. Taste it to make sure you have the depth of flavor you want—you may prefer not to use all the sauce. Add the broccoli and stir to incorporate. When the broccoli leaves have wilted, remove from heat and serve immediately. Makes two portions.
7
*A note on rice noodles: I had never used fresh rice noodles before. If you can get your hands on them they really make this dish. They were soft the first day I bought them but hardened in the fridge over the next two days. A minute or so in the microwave restored them to their original soft texture. I do believe I am a convert. Of course, if you can’t find them I would go with dry rice noodles, as wide as you can get them.