Pad See Ew – the popular Thai stir fried noodles straight from the streets of Thailand made at home! While Pad Thai is sweeter and nuttier, Pad See Ew is salty, balanced with a touch of sour and a wonderful chargrilled flavour which you can create at home!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Pad See Ew
Pad See Ew, which means “stir fried soy sauce noodles”, is an extremely popular Thai street food meal and one of the most popular noodles dishes at Thai restaurants here in Australia.
Making a great Pad See Ew at home simply comes down to two things:
The right sauce. Basic recipes online will instruct you to use little more than just soy sauce and sugar. It takes a little more than that!
Caramelising the noodles – Getting a little caramelisation on the noodles makes all the difference between an “ok” and “wow, it’s JUST like you get at restaurants!”.
The trick? Remove the stir fry ingredients. Cook the noodles with sauce separately. Less stuff in the wok (or skillet) = easier to caramelise the noodles. At least, at home. If you’ve got a giant restaurant wok burner, you don’t need to do the noodles separately!
What goes in Pad See Ew
I can’t remember where I originally got the recipe from. Probably from David Thompson, the famous Australian chef who has dedicated his life to mastering the art of Thai cooking. I’ve made it so many times over the years, I can almost make it with my eyes closed. (Not really….but you know what I mean!)
So I had to actually measure the ingredients properly to share the recipe!
1. Pad See Ew Sauce ingredients
Pad See Ew has a sweet-savoury-touch-of-sour flavour, and this is made with a combination of the following ingredients:
Dark soy sauce – For flavour and staining the noodles a dark brown.
Ordinary or light soy sauce – For seasoning (salt) and a bit of flavour. Most of the flavour comes from the oyster sauce and dark soy sauce. More on different soy sauces and when you can substitute with what in this About Soy Sauces post.
Oyster sauce – Key ingredient, it’s like 10 difference sauces mixed up in one bottle!
Vinegar – To balance the sweet and savoury. Some form of sour is a key ingredient in South East Asian cooking!
Sugar – For sweetness.
2. Pad See Ew ingredients
And here are the other ingredients for Pad See Ew:
Noodles – Pad See Ew is traditionally made with Sen Yai, which are wide, thin fresh rice noodles that are not easily accessible. Even most Asian stores in Sydney do not sell them – you usually need to go to a Thai grocery store.
So it is perfectly acceptable, and just as delicious, to make them with any wide flat rice noodles. I use dried rice noodles labelled as “Pad Thai” Rice Noodles (pictured below) because they are the widest available at the supermarket.
Once rehydrated, they’re essentially Sen Yai Noodles – just not quite as wide.
Chinese Broccoli / Gai Lan – This is a key authentic ingredient in Pad See Ew. Otherwise known as Gai Lan or Kai lan, it’s leafy and looks quite different to broccoli, but you’ll notice a similarity in the texture of the stems (hence the name).
If you can’t find it, just sub with other Asian greens, or a combination of broccoli or broccolini + spinach.
Chicken and egg – Feel free to use other proteins if you wish. But chicken is by far the most popular.
How to make Thai Stir Fried Noodles
Usually when making stir fried noodles, we toss everything together in one big pan or a wok.
But for Pad See Ew made at home, I do things differently to best replicate a restaurant flavour and minimise noodle breakage:
Cook chicken and vegetables first, then remove
Add noodles and sauce, toss to caramelise (just 15 seconds), then add chicken and vegetables back in.
Reason: A signature flavour in Pad See Ew is the caramelisation of the noodles. Restaurants and street vendors achieve this with super powered gas stoves with fiery heat that you’ll never find in a home kitchen. The only way to replicate that caramelisation on the noodles on a home kitchen stove is to declutter the wok and cook the noodles separately – the noodles will caramelise in 15 seconds.
The other reason is that rice noodles break if you toss them too much. Doing the two-stage toss makes it much easier and faster to disperse the sauce and bring the Pad See Ew together.
Trust me on this point. I’ve made a LOT of Pad See Ew at home in my time, and the two-stage toss it the easiest and most effective technique!
Garlic, chicken and Chinese broccoli STEMS first – Using either a wok or large skillet set over high heat, heat the oil then sauté the garlic until it goes light golden. Add the chicken then once it mostly changes from pink to white, add the Chinese broccoli stems which take longer to cook than the leafy part.
Once the chicken is cooked (it should only take 2 to 3 minutes), toss the Chinese broccoli leaves in and cook for 30 seconds or so just until wilted.
Push everything to the side to make room to scramble the eggs on the side. This is the traditional Thai way of scrambling eggs in Pad See Ew!
Crack egg straight into the wok.
Scramble egg – Then mix to scramble it. Speed is of the essence here – we want scrambled egg not a sunny side up egg!
Empty wok – Remove the chicken and vegetables onto plate. As mentioned above, the best way to cook Pad See Ew at home is to cook the noodles separately so we can get some nice caramelisation on them. If we don’t do this, then the noodles just stew instead of caramelising.
Add noodles and sauce into the wok.
Toss quickly for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until the sauce is dispersed throughout the noodles and you see some caramelisation on the edges.
PRO TIP: You want to be quick here because the longer and more you toss, the more noodle breakage you have. You’ll notice restaurants typically toss the noodles in the wok without using a wooden spoon or other tool for stirring – this too helps to minimise noodle breakage.
A note on Noodle Breakage – That said, you WILL get some noodle breakage, and that is normal / perfectly acceptable. Ever notice how the wide, flat noodles in Pad See Ew served at Thai restaurants are not long strands? That’s just the way it is. In fact, traditionally, Pad See Ew is served in Thailand with a FORK or spoon instead of noodles for ease of eating.
Add chicken and veg back in – Once the noodles are caramelised, add the chicken and vegetables back in. Give it a quick toss just to disperse, then serve!
As with all stir fries, once you start cooking, it moves very fast! So have everything prepared and ready to throw into the wok because there’s not time to be scrambling around the kitchen!
If you want to add a fresh side, try this Asian Slaw – it’s a great all rounder that goes with all Asian foods. – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Pad See Ew – Thai Stir Fried Noodles
Ingredients
Noodles
- 200g / 7 oz dried wide rice stick noodles , or 15 oz / 450g fresh wide flat rice noodles (Sen Yai) (Note 1)
Sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (or all purpose, Note 3)
- 2 tsp white vinegar (plain white vinegar)
- 2 tsp sugar (any type)
Stir Fry
- 3 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil , separated
- 2 cloves garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- 1 cup / 150g / 5oz chicken thighs (boneless, skinless), sliced (Note 4)
- 1 large egg
- 4 stems Chinese broccoli (Note 5)
Instructions
Preparation:
- Chinese Broccoli – trim ends, cut into 7.5cm/3" pieces. Separate leaves from stems. Cut thick stems in half vertically so they're no wider than 0.8cm / 0.3" thick.
- Noodles – Prepare according to packet directions and drain. Time it so they’re cooked just before using – do not leave cooked rice noodles lying around, they break in the wok.
- Sauce – Mix ingredients until sugar dissolves.
Cooking:
- Heat oil: Heat 1 tbsp oil in a very large heavy based skillet or wok over high heat.
- Cook garlic and chicken: Add garlic, cook 15 seconds. Add chicken, cook until it mostly changes from pink to white.
- Chinese broccoli STEMS: Add Chinese broccoli stems, cook until chicken is almost cooked through.
- Chinese broccoli LEAVES: Add Chinese broccoli leaves, cook until just wilted.
- Scramble egg: Push everything to one side, crack egg in and scramble.
- REMOVE chicken from wok: Remove everything in the wok onto a plate (scrape wok clean).
- Caramelise noodles: Return wok to stove, heat 2 tbsp oil over high heat until it starts smoking (HOT is key!). Add noodles and Sauce. Toss as few times as possible to disperse Sauce and make edges of noodles caramelise – about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
- Add chicken back in: Quickly add chicken and veg back in, and toss to disperse. Serve immediately!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published 2014, updated 2016. Updated over the course of the years with improved photos, the addition of ingredients and process photos as well as a recipe video. Recipe also updated with a more effective cooking method – cooking the ingredients in two batches. No change to ingredients, but yields a better caramelisation and easier to cook – read in post for explanation.
MORE THAI TAKEOUT FAVOURITES
Love noodles? Me too! See my entire Noodle recipes collection.
Life of Dozer
When Dozer ate a VERY spicy piece of chilli biltong!!
Am teaching my son’s girlfriend how to cook. We did this Pad Se Ew together. It was amazing – better than any I have bought from a Thai restaraunt. The video and instructions were extremely helpful to a beginner cook. Thanks again Nagi
Awesome to hear Lisa, thanks so much! N x
Is white vinegar the same as distilled white vinegar? Distilled is what I have. Will that work?
Hi Kat, yes that will work fine 🙂 N x
I’ve made this three times in the last two weeks and I’m going to make it again later this week… I also managed to buy fresh flat noodles in my local Asian grocery store and the trick with caramelising the sauce + noodles is a game changer!!! These noodles are so easy to make but SO satisfying, and I even have the energy to make them after work as it’s so fast but tasty. I use tofu, mushrooms and Chinese broccoli. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Near-perfect recipe. Delicious! It could be a tad more intense and add green onions on top.
This recipe is amazing! The flavors were perfect and taste like my local Thai takeout. But I was wondering, do you have any suggestions as to how to make these noodles more spicy? Thanks!
Hi Sara, Pad See Ew typically isn’t spicy – but if you want spicy, try these drunken noodles: https://promotown.info/pad-kee-mao-thai-drunken-noodles/%3C/a%3E N x
Hi Nagi! Can I use rice vinegar instead of white vinegar here? Thanks! Love your recipes.
Yes 100% Sara! N x
This is the first recipe I made from your website, and it was so good that I kept coming back to see what else I can make! I think I’ve made this at least 10 times in the past few months. I started adding a whole bag of Gai lan (about 12 stalks), because my family loves the extra vegetables and the remaining bag would usually go to waste when I used fewer stalks. I add 1.5 times more sauce to account for the extra Gai lan plus 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper for just a hint of spice. Perfect every time. Thanks for the recipe!
I love this recipe!
I tried it a few weeks ago, and it tasted great. I didn’t know I needed to soak the noodles, so they weren’t as good as they should have been because I was too impatient to wait.
I couldn’t find oyster sauce the first time I made it, so I used a substitute I found online – soy sauce with 1/2 tsp sugar and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. I really liked how it turned out. It tasted just like the local Thai food place that I get Pad See Ew from!
I actually finally found oyster sauce and used that. I actually prefer the substitute for oyster sauce I think!
I also have to triple the sauce lol. I think I double the quantities from your suggestions, so need more of it.
Either way, this is such a great recipe and so delicious! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
What type of beef is best for beef Pas See EW? Should I marinate? If so, what ingredients are needed?
Hi Nikki, you can use any cut of beef – if you want it super tender, you can use a budget cut and use this technique here: https://promotown.info/how-to-tenderise-beef-velveting-beef/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi just wondering what size tbsp is used, I recently realised Australia has a different size to everywhere else. Do you use the 15ml or 20ml tbsp for this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Bell, That’s a really good question. The short answer is – I use 15 ml but in the vast majority of my recipes, it does not matter if you use 20ml or 15 ml. BUT if it does matter, I either specify as such or I say 4 tsp (which is 20 ml) or 3 tsp (which is 15 ml) instead (because teaspoons are more standard across the world). 99% of the time it’s baking recipes where it matters. Or where I use a very strong sauce like dark soy sauce. And in those cases, I always cater for the difference. N x
Thank you Nagi! I look forward to trying to recipe.
Can I replace the chicken with ground meat? Trying to save some money and empty out some fridge space, haha
I commend you! And absolutely yes 🙂 Sauce is strong enough to use for ground meat so use the same quantity. YUM! N x
Thank you! I love this recipe!! How can I make it beef instead??
Sure can Heba! N x
This was fantastic. Ayam has brought out a packet mix of Pad See Ew sauce, and in my unimportant and definitely unknowledgeable opinion, it is a completely different and wrong Flavour of what the dish should taste like. Your recipe is exactly like what I had in Thailand and is just delicious. Hubby loves it too!
Hi Nagi! I made this dish and ended up having to add more sugar at the end as it tasted very vinegar-y. Would it be better if I used rice vinegar instead of plain white? Thanks!
Hi KC, it shouldn’t be overpowering at all! You definitely only used two teaspoons? N x
I am planning on preparing this!
Is rice vinegar ok?
This is the first recipe on the site I tried, I have made it 4 times since. One of my daughters friends was over the first time I made this, and lat week out of the blue she asked when I was making it again. She was invited over for a family dinner the next night! Excellent recipe, not difficult, and the payoff is huge.
Nagi, your recipes are always a winner in this house and this one was no different!
Added some extra veg but it didn’t take away from what was a stellar recipe!
Thanks as always!
Hi Nagi
Had friends for dinner last night, we had your Spring Rolls and Pad See Ew. Absolutely the best. Thank you for your great recipes.
Made this last night and it was so good, better than a take-away! Used a potato peeler to get thin strips of courgette and carrot to add more vegetables and worked really well.
Thanks i have found out that i actually love cooking asian foods healthier than western foods less fats
I cooked this tonight, because I happened to have a pack of fresh noodles I’d bought recently in Melbourne. I’ve made it before with dried nooodles (which was very nice), but with the fresh noodles it was AMAZING! I used thinly sliced beef, broccoli and silver beet from the garden. The sauce was just perfect. The noodles were charred and chewy and the egg just brings it all together.
Living on a farm hours away from a major centre makes buying fresh Asian produce very hard, so this was a fantastic winner. Thank you so much, Nagi, for your wonderful blog and your generosity with your cooking.
(Please say hi to Dozer and give him an extra pat for me!)
That’s awesome to hear Fiona, thanks so much for letting me know! N x