Dominic's Pad See Ewe

Pad See Ewe
Pad=stir-fry, See Ewe=soy sauce

I was just leaving after shopping at Whole Foods when one of my customers stopped me to shower me and my restaurant, Saffron, with compliments. We got to talking about cooking and the young man, Dominic, told me how he loves Thai food and wanted in the worst way to learn how to make green curry. Somehow I sort of suspected that perhaps he should start learning something a bit simpler.
Dominic’s girlfriend, Nina was with him. One of her favorite noodle dishes is pad see ewe. “Why don’t you learn how to make it?” she said. Dominic responded by saying there is nothing to it, just noodles, soy sauce and egg. We’ll see, I thought to myself, as I invited Dominic to come and cook with me.
A couple of days later, Dominic showed up at my office, where I do have a kitchen. I went through the ingredients of pad see ewe and how to prep them, starting with how to smash garlic clove in order to mince it. I showed him how to separate the fresh noodle strands into ribbons from the neatly cut stacked rows. I taught him how to peel off the hard tough outer layers of both Chinese and regular broccoli and then slice them diagonally into thin pieces. We lined up the ingredients in a tray in the order in which they would be cooked and took them outside to where I have a propane cooker. Dominic thought cooking outdoors was unbelievably cool.
Standing beside him, I told Dominic that once he started, he had to work fast. In about five minutes, he learned how to stir-fry and how to make his first plate of pad see ewe. Afterwards, he ate every bit of his cooking, leaving his plate clean, and proclaimed it to be the best pad see ewe he had ever tasted. When he told me he was going to make it the next day for Nina, I sent him home with the rest of the noodles and Chinese broccoli. He can’t wait for our lesson on green curry.

Makes one serving

1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/3 cup thinly sliced chicken or pork
1 cup tightly packed fresh wide rice noodles, strands separated
2 to 3 tablespoons water
½ cup thinly sliced in diagonal Chinese broccoli or regular broccoli, put the stems and leaves separately on the plate
Mixture of 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce and1 teaspoon regular soy sauce
1 egg
Several shakes white pepper powder
1 tablespoon crispy shallot*
Chili in vinegar (see below)

Heat a non-stick skillet over high heat. Add ½ tablespoon cooking oil and wait for 20 seconds before adding the garlic. Stir-fry until golden and then add the noodles. Stir to mix and add a bit of water at a time until the noodles have softened and turned somewhat translucent. Keep stirring, and then add the broccoli stems and stir-fry until the color brightens. Add the leaves and stir-fry until they turn limp. Add the soy sauce. Continue to stir-fry. When the broccoli is tender but crunchy, push the noodle mixture to one side of the skillet and add the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil. Crack the egg over the oil and scramble. When the egg is almost cooked, push the noodle mixture over it and stir to mix well. Transfer to a plate, shake some white pepper powder over the noodles and garnish with crispy shallots. Serve immediately with Chili in vinegar.

Chili in Vinegar:
Makes about ½ cup

3 to 4 Serrano chilies, thinly sliced across
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup rice or distilled vinegar

Put all ingredients together in a container with lid. Close tightly and shake to mix. Let sit for about ½ hour before using it, or refrigerate. It will keep for several weeks.

Pad See Ewe is slightly sweetened by dark soy sauce which has molasses. A bit of chili in vinegar balances the flavor.

* Crispy shallots can be purchased in Asian markets, or make your own by checking out my recipe in Cracking the Coconut.