Pad See Ew (Can Too!)

I don't know why it's taken me so long to try to make this on my own. This is an incredibly easy recipe and the outcome is absolutely delicious. Pad See Ew is my go-to Thai dish, and we're fortunate enough to have an amazing Thai restaurant just a block away from our apartment. However, if you're looking for something fun and easy to cook, this is it! You may need to venture out to your local asian market to find some of these ingredients, but trust me...it's worth the trip. The key ingredient to this recipe is finding the right rice noodle to use. There are a few different types but the most important thing is to use fresh rice noodles.

just another day in Chinatown's Deluxe Food Market

After wandering around confused and overwhelmed at Deluxe Food Market on Elizabeth St, I found a homemade fresh broad rice noodle. I grabbed a 1lb bag which came in two big noodle pieces which I later had to spread apart and cut into smaller strips. There are also prepackaged noodles you can buy that are already cut into smaller pieces, but you will still need to spread them apart or maybe heat them up a bit before adding them into the wok. You'll also need: 6-8 stalks of gai lan (Chinese broccoli), 1lb of flank/skirt steak, 3 cloves of garlic, dark soy, light soy, brown sugar, fish sauce, white wine (or plum sake if you're a fancy asian), cayenne and black/white pepper.

Back in the kitchen, the first step is to prepare your noodles. You may need to heat them up if they're all stuck together and won't come apart easily. It's up to you to decide how big you want the noodles to be. In my opinion, the bigger the better. Heyyyy. Now set the noodles aside. It's optional to marinate the beef beforehand. But the longer it sits in the marinade, the more flavor you'll get. The marinade goes a lil' somethin' like this: a generous drizzle of light soy sauce (2-3 tbs), an equal part of white wine, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced, salt and pepper. Let that sit in the fridge while you prep/cook everything else.

broad rice noodles, cut them into strips before cooking

To make the stir-fry sauce: take a small bowl and combine 1tbsp of dark soy sauce, 2tbsp of light soy sauce, 3 tbsp of fish sauce, 2 tbsp of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp of cayenne, 1 tsp of black pepper and a dash of corn starch to thicken.

When you're ready to start cooking, start by cooking the beef first. You want to cook it until it's browned and a nice medium-rare (you'll cook it more later with the rest of the ingredients). Set aside the beef. Heat the wok with 2 tbsp of oil and 1 clove of minced garlic. Throw in the Chinese broccoli and cook until the leaves are wilted and the stalks are slightly tender.

wokin' the gai lan

Spread the greens aside, creating a hole in the middle of the wok and crack 2 eggs into the center. Scramble the eggs until they're cooked but still slightly gooey. Start folding the eggs into the greens and then add back the beef. When you have a good mix going on, throw in the noodles and stir. Take the pre-made stir-fry sauce you set aside earlier and throw that on top of the noodles. Mix together well and cook until the noodles are tinted brown from the soy mixture. Plate and serve with a lemon garnish. And uh...squeeze that lemon onto your pad see ew. Trust me, you won't regret it.

I think I'm going to have to pat myself on the back for this one. Well done, Wonton.