Ramen Pad See Ew
Pad See Ew is the Thai stir-fried noodle dish that doesn't get the international recognition that Pad Thai does, which is genuinely unfair because Pad See Ew is better. Where Pad Thai is sweet and tangy and complex, Pad See Ew is dark and savory and caramelized, built around the combination of wide rice noodles, dark soy sauce, egg, and Chinese broccoli cooked over the highest flame available. The char on the noodles, which the Chinese call wok hei and the Thais just call correct, is what makes it. This version uses ramen noodles instead of wide rice noodles, which produces a chewier result with a different but equally valid char situation in a hot pan.
Wok hei at high flame—dark soy stains the noodle black—egg folds through the char
Let Me Tell You...
Wok hei is the smoky, slightly scorched quality that comes from cooking in a very hot wok over very high flame, and it is the reason Thai and Chinese stir-fry restaurants produce food that tastes different from the same dish made at home on a residential stove.
The flame in a restaurant wok station is enormous and the wok is thin steel that superheats in seconds, and replicating that environment at home is impossible.
What is possible is getting a cast iron skillet hot enough to produce some of what wok hei does, which is the Maillard reaction happening very fast on the surface of food that has maximum contact with maximum heat.
Don't crowd the pan.
Do cook in batches.
Do have everything ready before anything goes in.
Wet noodles steam in a hot pan rather than charring.
Dry noodles char.
This is the most important variable you can control at home.
Dark soy sauce is not regular soy sauce with extra color.
It's a different product, thicker and less salty and slightly sweet from added molasses, and it's what turns Pad See Ew its distinctive deep caramel color.
Substituting regular soy sauce makes a fine stir-fried noodle dish that is not Pad See Ew.
If you don't have dark soy sauce, the variation tip has your answer.
Buy a bottle and use it for this dish and every other dark stir-fry you make.
The egg goes in after the noodles have taken some char, cracked directly into the pan and scrambled quickly before being folded through the noodles.
The goal is ribbons of egg throughout the noodles rather than distinct scrambled pieces, which means you break the egg, push the noodles aside immediately, scramble very briefly, and then fold everything together before the egg sets fully.
This produces the specific partially-set, streaky egg texture that Pad See Ew is supposed to have. White pepper goes on last, directly from the grinder, and it's the ingredient that most clearly signals this is Thai rather than Chinese, because Thai stir-fry dishes use white pepper the way the rest of the world uses black.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried ramen noodles (2 bricks, seasoning packets discarded)
- 8 ounces boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced thin
- 2 large eggs
- 6 ounces gai lan (Chinese broccoli) or broccolini, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil with high smoke point (vegetable or avocado)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- White pepper, to taste (generous)
- Lime wedge, for serving
Preparation
- Cook ramen noodles in boiling salted water for 2 minutes (slightly undercooked). Drain, rinse under cold water, and spread on a plate or paper towel to dry. Pat dry.
- Combine dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar in a small bowl. Stir until sugar dissolves.
- Blanch gai lan in salted boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast iron skillet or wok over highest possible heat until smoking. Add chicken and cook without stirring for 2 minutes until charred on one side. Stir and cook 1 more minute. Transfer to a plate.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and garlic to the pan. Cook 20 seconds. Add dried ramen noodles in a single layer. Press down and cook without stirring for 2 minutes until the bottom noodles char slightly. Drizzle sauce over noodles and toss.
- Push noodles to the side. Crack both eggs directly into the empty space. Scramble briefly for 20 seconds until partially set, then fold into the noodles before fully cooked.
- Return chicken and gai lan to the pan. Toss everything together for 1 minute. Finish with a generous amount of white pepper. Divide between bowls and serve immediately with lime wedge.