Pad Se Ew

Pad Se Ew is a super easy and very tasty Thai stir fry.  If you don't have an Asian grocer for the Chinese broccoli, I've made this with regular broccoli and it's still excellent. 

It is typically made with Sen Yai, which are wide, thin fresh rice noodles you can find at an Asian grocery store.  But you can make them with dried rice noodles, just prepare according to package directions before adding to stir-fry.

The secret to wok cooking is the high heat.  You'll know it by the smell.  You simply can't make good stir-fried noodles without a well-seasoned wok and high heat.  It's impossible to do justice to this wonderfully fragrant dish justice with a non-stick pan.  That wonderfully toasty smell is the secret so don't be scared to work with it.  Don't let it get to the smoking point, if you do getting the hang of it, discard it.  Oil that reaches that heat is really not safe to consume in the long run.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons high heat oil (canola, grapeseed, safflower, sesame, sunflower)

2 cloves garlic, minced

A cup of thawed veggie "chicken" pieces

10 oz fresh flat rice noodles

6 oz Chinese broccoli (kalian/gailan) or local broccoli

Sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon Red Boat fish sauce
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
dash of crushed red pepper
drop of Scoville Brothers Heavy Metal Heat sauce (a robust pepper flavor)

1 Tablespoon honey

Instructions:

Slightly separate the fresh noodles so they are not sticking together.

Mix the seasoning ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Add the oil and the garlic to the wok and turn heat to high.  Heating the garlic in the oil helps infuse it with flavor, a nice tip anytime you are working with garlic.  Add the "chicken" and broccoli and stir fry for about a minute (for bite-sized pieces).

 Add the seasoning sauce and stir until everything is combined and heated through and serve immediately.