Chicken Pad See Ew

Chicken Pad See Ew

This version of pad see ew, adapted from my book “Family Thai” (Abrams, 2025), written with Kat Thompson, is a kid favorite that I will never give up on. The char on the chewy rice noodles, the fresh and leafy gai lan, and the fluffy bites of egg make this dish a textural masterpiece. I’ve never gotten sick of it. “Pad” means stir-fry or wok-fry, and “see ew” means soy sauce, so the dish is exactly what it claims to be. One thing I love about it is that it goes with pretty much every protein: Chicken works great, and so do fatty cuts of pork, beef, shrimp or tofu. I even occasionally swap the rice noodles for pappardelle for a Thai-Talian twist I’ve coined “papp see ew.” In fact, you can use any size rice noodle (although wide, flat noodles are most traditional). Although pad see ew is hard to make at home without really high heat and a wok, it’s still possible to replicate it and get the street vendor vibes you want by using a stainless-steel skillet that can heat evenly and stay hot throughout the cooking process. In true Thai fashion, this dish gets finished with prik nam som (chile vinegar).

Yield: 4 servings

For the Noodles

1 (8-ounce/225-gram) package dried long, flat rice noodles or fresh noodles or dried pappardelle (see Tips)

For the Oyster-soy Sauce Chicken

½ cup oyster sauce

¼ cup Thai seasoning sauce or low-sodium soy sauce

¼ cup black soy sauce (see Tips)

2 tablespoons sugar

6 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs, sliced (about 2 thighs)

For the Stir-fry

2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as sunflower

2 large eggs

4 ounces firm or extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into ¼-inch-wide rectangles

¼ white onion, sliced

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

2 cups mixed mushrooms (4 ounces), such as trumpet, oyster, shiitake and cremini, trimmed and sliced

4 ounces gai lan (Chinese broccoli), cut into 2-inch pieces

4 scallions, pale green and white parts only, cut into 1-inch pieces

½ teaspoon ground white pepper, plus more for serving

Store-bought or homemade fried garlic, for serving

Store-bought or homemade prik nam som (chile vinegar), for serving (see Tips)

Make the noodles: If using dried rice noodles, put the noodles in a large bowl and pour warm water over them (for other types of noodles, see Tips). Let stand until soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and set aside. Just before cooking, fill a large saucepan three-quarters full of water and bring to a boil over high heat.

Make the oyster-soy sauce chicken: In a medium, nonreactive bowl, combine the oyster sauce, Thai seasoning, black soy sauce and sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Coat the chicken with ¼ cup of the sauce and let stand for 5 minutes to marinate. Reserve the remaining sauce.

Stir-fry the noodles: In a large skillet, heat the oil over high until it shimmers. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook until the whites begin to set and the yolks harden, breaking them slightly. They’re not scrambled in pieces but should look more like a broken omelet. Add the marinated chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the tofu, onion and garlic, and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, gai lan and scallions, and stir until combined. Stir in the white pepper.

Blanch the drained rice noodles in the boiling water for 10 to 15 seconds. Drain the noodles, transfer them to the skillet and stir together. Drizzle in as much of the remaining oyster-soy sauce as desired, adjusting to taste (and keeping in mind that the sauce will reduce and intensify as it heats), and cook, stirring, until the sauce deepens in color and the noodles are tender, about 2 minutes.

Transfer to a platter and then garnish with fried garlic and white pepper, and serve immediately with a side of prik nam som.

Tips: If using fresh noodles, place them directly into the skillet — there is no need to soak them or blanch them in boiling water. Or, to make “papp” see ew, cook pappardelle noodles according to the package instructions and place them directly into the skillet when the noodles are added.

Black soy sauce is a dark, less salty version of soy sauce used in Thai cooking to add savory flavor and a dark, rich color to dishes. Find it online or at Thai or Asian markets.

To make prik nam som, combine 1 cup distilled white vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt in a 16-ounce lidded glass jar. Cover and shake until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add 6 sliced large garlic cloves and 4 sliced large serrano chiles, then cover and shake again to combine. Store in the refrigerator overnight. Serve at room temperature. (The vinegar will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.)

In order to keep this authentic, the noodles should be cooked by themselves, and left alone in the skillet to develop that “wok hei”, which literally translates to “breath of the wok”. You need to get that slight char and caramelization on the noodles in order to do this. After I drain the noodles, I put a little bit of the sauce in there and mix it in and let it start the flavor the noodles, but also the sugar would help them caramelize. So my order of cooking was chicken with the sauce and garlic, out of the wok, vegetables, then eggs, then out of the wok, finally the noodles are just letting them sit without touching them because the more you touch them the easier they are to break. Try tossing them instead of using a tool. Then finally combine everything and serve. I did the fried garlic and I also use some delicious garlic chilipaste. Definitely fire this up again this was a winner!

If you are puzzling over the vague sounding “seasoning sauce,” that usually implies Golden Mountain sauce, which can be found in the Thai bottled sauce section of your neighborhood Asian Food superstore. [Imagine smiley emoji here]. But here’s a secret: Bragg’s Amino Liquid is practically indistinguishable, and perhaps possibly even Maggi Seasoning sauce. Also, if you are old enough to remember canned chow main by La Choy, that sauce was really Golden Moutain sauce disguised.