let’s blow this popsicle stand
Recipe: pad see ew
Thank you to everyone who left a comment and entered the CHEFS swag bag giveaway! It seems that the most popular summer snacks were watermelon, fresh tomatoes from the garden (omg, I’m so jealous of you people!), fresh seasonal berries, cherries, and ice cream. I’m all over the seasonal fruits and the homegrown tomatoes straight up!
Several of you have either commented or emailed asking about the next workshop. At this point, things are wide open and I haven’t had a chance to mull over which direction to take the workshop. Of course, if there is another Food and Light workshop, you’ll hear about it on urb. Thanks for your interest!
So let’s get to the winner of the giveaway… Believe it or not, Miss Kaweah’s metabolism is slowing down and the whole “pick a number/eat the treat” method has been phased out. Instead, we have opted for the “pick a toy that corresponds to a number”. It is decidedly and supremely random. When Kaweah picked a digit, we would insert a new toy to replace that digit for the next round (we’ve had issues with her returning to the same toy, so this is more fair).
first digit: 6 (the kong)
second digit: 3 (stick tiger courtesy of manisha)
third digit: 3 (giant hedgehog!!!!)
whew, that is hard work
The number is 633 mod 544 which gives us 89. SheilaM is our winner! Congratulations!! I’ll contact you shortly for your mailing address. Big thanks to CHEFS catalog for being such a wonderful and generous sponsor. Another thank you to all of you for entering!
Our yard is dotted with all manner of colors: reds, purples, blues, whites, yellows, oranges, different yellow, a greenish yellow, more whites, pinks… That’s pretty impressive considering how we do NOTHING to maintain our yard (then again, I wouldn’t recommend playing lawn darts in our yard). The afternoon thunderstorm cycle is revved up and the wildflowers beckon. When it is February and our deck is under three feet of snow, this is what I think of when my thoughts turn to summer.
kaweah inspects a handful of our wildflowers
Because it is so brief, timing is everything and I’m heading out into that there yonder. There is work to be done. Hopefully this recipe will tide you over until the next one – whenever that will be. It’s a noodle dish because I am a noodle grrl. It does require the use of heat, but I think you’ll find the brief blast of BTUs worth it. Totally. Worth. It. [Feel free to insert ZOMGs and noms as you see fit.]
chinese broccoli (gai-lan), wide rice noodles, pork, garlic
get saucy: fish sauce, thick soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar
I met with joyous success when I made Pim’s pad thai last year (oh wow, posted a year ago to the day). That was after years of crappy versions that just… sucked. It’s been a full year of pad thai bliss. A few months ago, I had a reader ask me if I knew how to make pad see ew. What’s that? I am the most pathetic kind of Thai food junkie. I love it and I have no idea what it is called. Some searching on the interwebs led me to a handful of trusted food bloggers and ultimately to Pim.
peeling the chinese broccoli stems
slicing pork
Turns out I’ve had it before, loved it, and never quite caught the name. A one-night stand… but no more! We’ve been reunited. I was worried that I would have to drive to
mix and marinate the pork
mise en place: noodles, chinese broccoli leaves and stems, pork, garlic, egg
I love my vegetables. I love my greens. What I really love are my Asian greens. Chinese broccoli is one of my favorites AND it is getting easier to find around here. Like Pim, I like to use the stalks. Some people throw them out which I think is a crying shame because the leaves and the stems are almost like two separate vegetables in your stir-fry. Eat them up, they’re good for you.
sauté the chinese broccoli
stir-fry the noodles
Those noodles were a little tricky to handle. The ones I bought were refrigerated and a tad brittle. Oh, and they stuck together like crazy. Prying them apart resulted in a lot of broken noodles – nothing longer than 3-inches. But they cooked up perfectly into a soft and chewy texture, soaking up the colors and flavors of the added sauces.
drop the egg into the pan when the pork is almost cooked
add the cooked vegetables back into the pan
The key to this dish is to have everything ready and on-hand. Each component gets cooked quickly and then removed until the end when it is all tossed together. The total cooking time was maybe 5 minutes, which is a good thing because the aromas rising from the pan will taunt you. We loved these noodles. I found this recipe easier than the pad thai by a smidge, but they both live in the “favorites” section of my brain.
toss with vinegar, fish sauce, and thick soy sauce to taste
pad see ew
Pad See Ew
[print recipe]
from Chez Pim
marinade
8 oz. (225g) pork loin, sliced thin against the grain
1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
splash of dark sesame oil
Mix together in a bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.
the rest of it
2-3 tbsps cooking oil
9 oz. (250g) Chinese broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces (use the leaves too!)
fish sauce to taste
11 oz. (300g) fresh wide rice noodle*
1 tbsp thick soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
ground black pepper to taste
* Pim says if you use dry noodles, that you should soak them in lukewarm water until they are pliable, but not soft. Drain them well before cooking to avoid oil splatter.
It’s a good idea to get your mise en place (mess in place) because the cooking part happens rather quickly. Heat a tablespoon of oil in your wok or pan over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the Chinese broccoli stems and sauté for about a minute. Then add the leaves and a splash of fish sauce, sautéing until the leaves are wilted (this won’t take long). Remove the greens from the pan and set aside. Add another tablespoon (or more) of oil to the pan and toss in the noodles, coating them with the oil. Add thick soy sauce, a few splashes of fish sauce (like a tablespoon total?) and stir the noodles about until they are evenly cooked. You can even go for the charred bits by letting some of the noodles sit on the pan for a little longer. If the noodles start to stick, Pim says you can add more oil. Remove the noodles from the pan and set aside. Scrape off any remnants from the pan, add another tablespoon of oil and set over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir for a second, then add the pork. Stir-fry until the pork is almost cooked through. Push the pork to the side of the pan and add an egg to the middle. Let it cook for a few seconds then stir it together with the pork. Add the Chinese broccoli and the noodles. Stir together. Remove from heat. Add more soy sauce and/or fish sauce to taste (you may not need any) and then toss the noodles with a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar and a few grinds of black pepper. Serves 2.
July 6th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
My mom makes a Chinese dish vaguely like this with fresh wide rice noodles, and she always microwaves beforehand to soften them so that they don’t break when you separate them. Looks delicious, though!
July 6th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
This looks really tasty. If you’re in a pathetically small town and can’t find thick soy sauce, could you use regular plus a thickener, or reduce regular over heat? Or something?
July 6th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Jealous of your wildflowers… One of these days we need to move to the hills…
July 6th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Denver has several good Asian food stores. I’m going to hunt down the ingredients and give this a try. Looks delicious!
July 6th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
If you leave the refrigerated noodles out at room temp before using, they should be less brittle. At least that’s what my mom does.
I, unfortunately, live in a part of the country that does not have access to even the refrigerated stuff (maybe if I drive 1+ hours?) – don’t be fooled by what’s in the “refrigerated” section of the local asian mart, as those have been frozen en route.
Thanks for the link to chez pim’s! And for this recipe! My bf has yet to really try Thai food (the horror!) and I might make a celebratory meal of this one.
July 6th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
This I could definitely eat every day until your return :)
Have a safe trip and kick some wildflower butt :)
July 7th, 2010 at 12:19 am
Congrats to Sheila! That swag bag sure sounded good :D I love the way you pick the winner. It’s so different from other bloggers who usually use random.org! This pad see ew (pad? See? EW!) looks absolutely delicious, and NOT ew! :D
Wei-Wei
July 7th, 2010 at 6:16 am
I love it when Kaweah picks the winner! Love the photo with the flowers.
July 7th, 2010 at 6:54 am
I have to admit that I chuckled with the use of modulus (%).
I loooooove this dish. It’s the 1st or 2nd dish I learned to cook that actually turned out successfully a few years back and I’ve been cooking it at least once a month since. Sometimes I substitute regular broccoli if I don’t have Chinese Broccoli at hand. Fresh wide rice noodles are probably my favorite in most stir-fries, I’ve never met a wide rice noodle dish I didn’t like =P
And thanks again for bringing up the Pad Thai recipe…it’s been a couple months since I made that last, now I’ll remember to make it soon again!
July 7th, 2010 at 7:53 am
This is one of my favorite Thai dishes…and I’ve been missing Thailand like crazy lately so it seems like a perfect time to make it!
Love those pictures of Kaweah, adorable as always!
July 7th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Want want want!
July 7th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Oh kaweah is so so super adorable. Wish I could cuddle him right now!!!!!
July 7th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Love the dish. You know it.
Love Kaweah too.
Yeah, yeah, I say that all the time… sheesh. ;)
July 7th, 2010 at 10:50 am
If you’re taking requests, or up to delicious challenges, I vote for you to explore and then share the secret of the soup dumpling! I realize that’s more of a cold weather fare, but I think if I had the chance to eat good soup dumplings for the rest of my life during hot summers, I’d take it.
July 7th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Delicious! I wish I had a bowl of that right now.
July 7th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
i second the microwaving of the noodles beforehand. my mom also does that. just watch out for hot noodles!
July 7th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
I had a similar experience with pad see ew – i had it once, kept asking for reminders on the name, and kept forgetting it! Maybe making it now will help me remember :)
July 7th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
I love the way you picked the winner too! Your dog is so cute. Do you think you could sub the pork for beef in this recipe? Thanks.
July 8th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
I love your translation of mise en place as “mess in place”- very accurate in my kitchen, anyway!
July 10th, 2010 at 10:58 am
OMG! I order Pad See Ew at EVERY Thai restaurant I go to, and I could never quite figure out the sauce on my own. So excited! But, I can never find the wide, flat rice noodles, just the skinny ones, even though I live in LA, land of Asian groceries. Any ideas where to find them online?
July 10th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Wow, great post! I just saw the photo on P.G., and clicked as this is one of my favorites when I eat at Thai restaurants. Really lovely progression photos/instructions-now I’m not so afraid to try it at home. Thanks!
July 10th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
I LOVE Pad See Ew! I never thought of making it on my own. Excellent
July 10th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
This is by far my favorite thai dish. LOVE LOVE LOVE! I attempted to make it at home per Chez Pim’s direction and it did not turn out as beautifully as yours. I wish I could find chinese broccoli more easily. Thanks for sharing!
July 12th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Thanks for the tips on separating the wide rice noodles (microwave!). I’ll definitely do that next time :)
Recipe for Delicious – yes, I believe I read somewhere that you can simmer regular soy sauce down – but I don’t know the exact techniques. Definitely google for it (thick soy sauce substitute or something like that).
Helen – thanks, although I think they kick MY butt ;)
Melissa – it doesn’t get old, hon. I’m gonna have to try your awesome recipe next. I never even knew!
ailo – oh boy, soup dumplings. I will not be posting soup dumplings for the next few months (it’s too hot here for that right now). But there is a gorgeous post here: http://brandoesq.blogspot.com/2006/09/work-in-progress-xiao-long-bao.html
Julie D – I’m sure you could sub whatever you want in for the pork! Try it, I’ll bet it’s great.
Janet – probably best to check the refrigerated section of your Asian markets (like Ranch 99). Or ask someone for fresh wide rice noodles.
July 12th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
My platonic ideal for this dish is from Su-Mei Yu’s Saffron in San Diego, but I’ve never made it at home. I may just have to now. Thanks for sharing. BTW, Saffron throws some fried shallots on top to gild the lily. It really helps make the dish. I’d usually get it with chicken (they use chicken that’s been roasting for too long to sell as roasted chicken at their sister store next door, but that makes it good and rich.
July 22nd, 2010 at 12:23 am
One dish stir-fries like this are just fantastic for busy nights!!!! We have quite a different name for this dish I believe!
September 22nd, 2010 at 12:19 am
[…] first, click here, features beautiful step-by-step photos to help you along in the process of making this meal for […]
December 23rd, 2011 at 9:01 am
Jen – you rock. My two favourite receipes from Chez Pim!
January 31st, 2012 at 9:58 pm
I didn’t know making pad see ew was this simple! I’ve been ordering takeout and I’ve spent $12 on a small plate of it each time! Now I can finally make it at home – it’ll be cheaper and healthier. Thanks for sharing! You just saved me thousands of dollars.
March 22nd, 2013 at 12:16 pm
I have one question about recipe before attempting my favorite dish…when it comes to salt/pepper I can do the “to taste” but fish sauce is not as obvious to someone who really hasn’t used it much. I don’t like anything that is fishy so I’m afraid that I’ll use too much and ruin the meal. How much is approximately correct 1Tbsp, 1/4 cup, etc. I’ve used fish sauce in Pad Kee Mao. There was an exact amount so I know if added correctly it’s needed, but I don’t know exactly what extra “flavor” it’s going to add since I just think fish?….LOL
March 22nd, 2013 at 12:22 pm
Denise – why don’t you try it without fish sauce first. See if you like it. If it’s lacking in “flavor” (mostly saltiness and a sort of umami) then you can add a splash (like 1/4 tsp at a time) and then mix it up and taste. That’s the best advice I can offer. I don’t think I actually add any in the last step – I just use the fish sauce in the marinade.
April 5th, 2013 at 11:26 am
[…] think I did with this one. And in finding this one, might have also found a yum recipe for Pad See Ew, which I also really dig. I’ll update when I make these! Share this:TwitterFacebookLike […]