This is a recipe for a Thai noodle dish called Pad See Ew, which prominently features the use of gai lan (AKA "Chinese broccoli") which I grew up eating as a kid a lot. Personally I absolutely can't stand the stuff (probably from years of choking it down as a kid), so I substituted it with some plain old regular broccoli here.

More specifically, the version of pad see ew that we are hacking today is inspired by a restaurant here in Oakland called Neecha Thai, and adds to our series on Bay Area restaurant hacks. I used to live across the street from this place many years ago, so ordering takeout from here was a pretty regular thing for me for a few years. Hope you give this one a shot!

 

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 chicken breast (or thigh)

  • 2 heads broccoli (or gai lan/Chinese broccoli)

  • 12 oz wide rice noodles (chow fun noodles)

  • 1 tbsp ginger (about 1 inch)

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 2 eggs

  • 6-8 Thai chili (optional)

  • peanut oil (or vegetable oil)

INGREDIENTS (marinade)

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 2 tbsp shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)

  • 1 star anise pod (optional)

  • 1/2 tsp white pepper

  • 1/2 tsp corn starch

INGREDIENTS (sauce)

  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce

  • 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)

  • 2 tbsp black vinegar

  • 4 tbsp fish sauce

  • 2 tbsp sambal oelek

  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside

  • FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside

  • SLICE the chicken breast into thin slices, set aside

  • SLICE the broccoli into thin spears, set aside

  • WHISK the eggs, set aside

  • SLICE the Thai chili, set aside

  • If using fresh noodles, no preparation is needed. If using dried rice noodles, soak for 10 minutes in hot water while agitating for the first 5 minutes to prevent sticking/clumping

  • COMBINE all sauce ingredients, set aside

  • COMBINE chicken with marinade ingredients, set aside

ON THE STOVE

  • HEAT a wok as hot as possible, then add 4 peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the garlic and ginger and bloom until fragrant (about 15 seconds)

  • ADD Thai chili and chicken, and toss for 2-3 minutes

  • ADD the broccoli and noodles, and toss for 2-3 minutes

  • ADD the sauce and eggs, and mix until the noodles are coated in egg

 

tagged with woo can cook, pad see ew, soy sauce noodle, thai noodle, neecha thai, oakland, bay area restaurants