Thai Beef Pad See Ew
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This restaurant-quality Pad See Ew is easy and comes together in under 30 minutes. Made with Thai wide rice noodles, beef, Chinese broccoli, and scrambled eggs, all tossed together in a savory and sweet Pad See Ew sauce!
Why I Love this Recipe
There is no secret that I am a big fan of Thai food. Along with Pad Thai and Pad Kee Mao, this is one of my all-time favorites, and for good reasons too!
- Quick to make: Ready in less than 30 minutes, perfect for a quick weeknight meal!
- Restaurant quality: A few simple tips will guarantee success every time!
- Easy to customize: Other proteins (chicken, pork, shrimp, or tofu) and veggies work perfectly.
Looking for more quick Asian weeknight dinner ideas that take less than 30 minutes? Try my Chicken Pad Thai, Kung Pao Beef, Mapo Tofu, and Chow Mei Fun.
What is Pad See Ew?
Pad See Ew is a Thai stir-fried noodle dish made with wide rice noodles, beef (or chicken), Chinese broccoli, and scrambled eggs. These ingredients are sautéed together with a savory and sweet sauce.
If you’ve ever visited Thailand, you’ll know this dish is a popular street food that has made its way into restaurants around the world.
About Pad See Ew Sauce
The sauce is the secret to Pad See Ew’s unique taste! Traditionally, the sauce is a mix of oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and vinegar. It’s savory and sweet, perfectly balancing out the slightly bitter taste of the Chinese broccoli.
Fish sauce creates an authentic Thai taste, but some people might not like the smell out of the bottle. Once cooked, it tastes amazing. You can find it at most Asian grocery stores, but you can also order it online. To substitute: Use an equal amount of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce.
Other sauce ingredients are easily accessible in most supermarkets. To make life easy, I skipped dark soy sauce and doubled down on light soy sauce.
The Wide Rice Noodles
Authentic pad see ew is made with Sen Yai or Sha Ho Fun noodles. These are fresh wide and flat noodles about ½ inch in width. But for most of us, they’re difficult to find. I used the dried wide rice noodles for this recipe. Simply soak them in hot water to soften up before stir-frying.
Once soaked, they taste just like the wide rice noodles found in restaurants. Bonus: they have a long shelf life shelf so you can stock up to have a ready supply at home!
Other Pad See Ew Ingredients
- Chinese broccoli (gai lan): This is the signature vegetable used in authentic pad see ew recipes. It’s a leafy green with thick stems. It can be labeled as Chinese broccoli or gai lan at your local Asian supermarkets. It adds a pleasant bitterness and crunch to the dish, balancing the sweet and savory flavors of pad see ew sauce.
- Beef: I used flank steak as it’s a great cut for stir frying. You can substitute other proteins like chicken, shrimp, pork or tofu.
- Eggs: It’s briefly scrambled and mixed with the rest of the ingredients.
- Garlic adds a nice aroma and enhances the over depth of flavor in this dish.
How to Make Pad See Ew
This dish cooks very fast, so having all your ingredients prepared and ready to go before you start cooking is key:
Soak the Noodles: Follow the package instructions to cook noodles until tender. Rinse under cold water.
Tip: Be careful not to overcook the noodles. Soak them until tender but still have a slight chew to them. Overcooking can make them mushy.
Prepare Chinese Broccoli: Trim the tough ends of the stem. Cut the leaves from the stems and slice the stems into diagonal pieces.
Make Sauce: Stir together the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
Saute Beef: Heat oil in a pan over high heat. Add beef slices, and saute for about 3-5 minutes until it’s nicely browned.
Stir-fry Chinese Broccoli: Saute minced garlic for about 30 seconds. Add the stems from Chinese broccoli and cook for about 1 minute, then add the leaves and cook another minute. Tip: The stems cook longer than the leaves, so add them first.
Scramble Eggs: Push the vegetables to one side. Add the eggs and scramble the eggs, breaking them into small pieces.
Stir-fry Rice Noodles: Add the prepared wide rice noodles and stir fry.
Combine and Toss: Add the prepared sauce, cooked beef, Chinese broccoli, and scrambled eggs. Toss everything to combine.
Tip: Taste the dish and adjust the seasoning before serving. If you add more soy sauce or sugar to your taste.
Serve: Garnish with green onions. Serve immediately, as it tastes the best when served hot and fresh. Enjoy it as a stand-alone dish or pair it with other Thai side dishes Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing.
Make Ahead and Storage Suggestions
If you want to make it ahead, you can prepare your Chinese broccoli, slice the beef, and mix the sauce ingredients ahead of time. You CANNOT soak the dried noodles ahead of time!
To store, let the dish cool down to room temperature and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Recipe Variations:
- Use other proteins like chicken, pork, and shrimp.
- Use other vegetables such as bok choy, cabbage, celery or bell peppers.
- Vegan: Leave out eggs. Substitute beef for tofu, and use more soy sauce to replace fish sauce.
More Delicious Asian Recipes
Thai Pad See Ew – Wide Rice Noodles Stir Fry
Ingredients
The Noodles
- 8 oz dried wide rice noodles*, 230g
Pad See Ew Sauce
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce, you can use half with dark soy sauce if you want a darker color
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce**
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
Stir Fry
- 4 stalks Chinese broccoli ***, (labelled as Gai Lan in some grocelry stores)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, (divided)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 8 oz beef****, 230g, thinly sliced
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 green onions, sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the Noodles: Cook the noodles according to the package instructions. Place the wide rice noodles in a large bowl and cover them with boiling water. Let them soak for about 10 minutes or until tender but not fully cooked. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Set aside. (Don’t let them sit for too long: no more than 10 minutes.)
- Prepare Chinese Broccoli: Wash your Chinese broccoli and cut off the tough ends of the stalk. Cut the leaves from the stems. Then cut the stem into diagonal slices.
- Make Pad See Ew Sauce: Mix all the sauce ingredients in a small mixing bow. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Set aside.
- Cook Beef: Heat a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add beef slices, and saute for about 3-5 minutes until it's nicely browned. Remove the beef from the pan. Leave the oil in the pan.
- Stir-fry vegetables: In the same pan, add minced garlic and stir-fry for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add Chinese broccoli and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until they start to become tender.
- Scramble eggs: Push the vegetables to one side. Add the eggs to the pan and scramble using a wooden spoon. Once the eggs are mostly cooked, mix them with the Chinese broccoli. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Stir-fry rice noodles: Add the rest of the oil to the pan. Once hot, add the well-drained wide rice noodles to get pan. Stir fry for about 2 minutes, so that they are nicely caramelized.
- Combine and toss: Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss them together. Add back the cooked beef, Chinese broccoli, and scrambled eggs to the pan.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with green onions. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Equipment
Notes
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