Tag Archives: pork

Pad See Ew

For years I pretty much only ordered curry from Thai restaurants–green curry, red curry, yellow curry, Panang curry–I loved (and love) them all. Then something happened. In May of this year, our Bible study leaders David and Beth ordered a smorgasbord of Thai food for our group. As I sampled all the new flavors and my taste buds sang a song of celebration, I realized that I had been shortsighted in my years of curry exclusivity. I’d been missing out on fantastic dishes such as Pad Kra Pao, Pad Woon Sen, and the awesomest of awesomes: Pad See Ew.

Pad See Ew has become one of our staple orders from what is hands down our favorite Thai restaurant in Chicago, Siam Noodle and Rice. At $6.50 for a dinner-sized portion, it’s a great deal and it has a fabulous flavor.

Pad See Ew is very simple: Chinese broccoli, wide noodles, pork, and egg are its main ingredients. I’ve been hankering to reproduce this dish at home for quite a while now. I even briefly considered accosting the owners of the restaurant and demanding a no-pay internship in their kitchen so that I could learn the secret of this dish. Though I have yet to take that bold step, my recent trip to Golden Pacific Market enabled me to make it at home. It’s not 100% like what we get at the restaurant, but it’s in the ballpark, which I am very happy with for now. Further experimentation will ensue, but I couldn’t withhold this from you until that future and possibly unattainable point of perfection . . . so here is an excellent version you can toss together in 20 minutes at home. Simple ingredients, minimal prep time, and quick cook time make this a great and interesting weeknight meal. An added plus–for you vegetarians out there, I have also made this substituting the pork chop with 2 extra eggs, and it’s equally fantastic. Let’s have at it!

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

2 TBS peanut oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pork chop, thinly sliced

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 TBS sugar

2 TBS light soy sauce

2 TBS dark soy sauce

1 tsp fish sauce (optional)

1 lb fresh flat rice noodles

1 lb Chinese broccoli (can substitute kale or regular broccoli)

The dish comes together very quickly, so first prep all your ingredients: mince the garlic, thinly slice the pork, beat the 2 eggs together, and mix the two soy sauces, sugar, and fish sauce in a small bowl or cup.

Wash the Chinese broccoli–you can substitute kale (so I’ve been told) or regular broccoli, but this stuff is amazing and you should get your mitts on it if at all possible.

Now chop the broccoli in 2-inch slices.

You can use the broccoli stems if you split them lengthwise down the middle and then give them a rough dice, or you can just use the leaves.

Take the large flat noodle (which in my case, came in one big sheet) . . .

. . . and slice it into rectangles about the length and width of two fingers put together.

Make sure to peel the noodles apart so that they’re not stuck together. This is much easier to do if the noodles are room temperature, so if you can remember (I never do), take the noodle sheet out of the refrigerator an hour or so before you start making this.

Let’s get cooking! Heat the oil in a wok or large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When very hot, add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add the pork slivers and fry for another 1-2 minutes.

Very quickly, the pork will start to cook through:

While it’s still pink in places, add the noodles and stir to incorporate for another minute.

You’ll notice in the picture above that I hadn’t separated the noodles, thinking they would naturally come apart once they were heated. I was wrong, and this caused problems for me, but that’s why I’m here. To be your guinea pig. To help you avoid the pitfalls. So read my lips: all your noodles should be separated before you add them in!

Add the sauce mixture:

Stirfry for 2 minutes until well incorporated. Quick note–I’ve made the sauce both with and without the addition of fish sauce, and it’s really good both ways. Fish sauce is awesome and very important in Thai cooking, but its effects in this particular dish are very subtle and you may only notice its presence/absence if you’re really thinking about it.

Make a well in the middle of the pan or wok, and add the eggs.

Let them set into a half-cooked “omelette” before breaking them apart and stirring them into the dish.

Finally, add the broccoli stems (if you’re using them) and stirfry for a couple minutes before adding the leaves and stirring them in until wilted.

Give ‘er the old taste test, and if you like the dish sweeter or saltier or saucier, simply add a little more sugar and/or soy sauce.

Isn’t it beautiful? I love the bright green broccoli leaves.

Who would have though that such a simple sauce could create such a wonderful flavor?

*Note: Many recipes I found online include oyster sauce. I asked the owner of a Thai restaurant in town I frequent (Azha) about this, and he told me that their chef doesn’t use it. However, he does use a Thai sweet soy sauce, which I’ll be searching for on my next trip to Golden Pacific Market. The experimentation is not over, and if I find a better version you can be sure I will share it with you all!

Click here for printer-friendly version: Pad See Ew

Golden Pacific Market: a treasure trove

I love–and let me emphasize love–my local Asian grocery store. Since college, I have shopped at many: the 10th street store, Saraga, and the College Mall store in Bloomington, Indiana. Wang’s Oriental Food in Newark, Delaware. And now, here in Chicago, I have found this blissful paradise: Golden Pacific Market on Broadway Avenue, merely 2 El stops south of us.

It’s the best Asian grovery EVER. It’s large. It’s well lit.

Lemongrass, Thai basil, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, galangal, Chinese cabbage, baby eggplant, Japanese eggplant, Thai red chilies . . . it’s enough to send me into a fit. A fit of Asian joy.

The employees (or maybe they are the owners?) speak English, and can help me find hard-to-locate ingredients. They accept credit/debit cards with no minimum charge. The aisles are wide enough for a cart. They have absolutely everything. When I go there, I’m in heaven.

The only less-than-heavenly part is climbing onto the Broadway bus with 6 bags of groceries that you can barely carry.

Yes, you will always leave with way more than what you planned on getting. But the red welts on your arms and hands will all be worth it as soon as you get home to your kitchen and can create the most fabulous dishes: Panang curry. Thai red curry. Pad See Ew. Delectable stirfries.

I went there a couple weekends ago to stock up on my basics, and ended up with a tablefull of stuff for a $58 total:

The prices are unbeatable: dark and light soy sauce, for about $2 per bottle.

Ok, the Wasabi peas were a spontaneous buy. But at $3 for a large, large tin, I couldn’t resist.

Have you ever tried them?

Pure green addiction.

These lime leaves will go into my Panang curry–I can’t wait.

Cheap ground pork for Ma Po Tofu.

Coconut cream (not to be confused with cream of coconut or creamed coconut) for a thick, wonderful Thai curry.

And of course, I couldn’t resist getting some new things to experiment with: glutinous rice (to make sticky rice). I’ve been adoring it from afar for way too long–it’s time to get down and dirty with that rice in my own kitchen.

Ginger syrup.

How helpful–the bottle informs me that it’s an ‘all time favourite.’

It is such an inspiration to come home with new ingredients–cheap ingredients–that you can experiment with to your heart’s content. I’ve been reading about Sriracha sauce for ages. It’s all over the blogging world, and now I’m going to try it myself.

These mushrooms are funky.

I bought four varieties to make some kind of delicious mushroom fry–crimini, shiitake, and white beech, as well as the weird little guys above, known as either “Enoki” or “the freak-shaped thingamagings.”

Though I must admit I’m afraid to ask the question that the above picture begs: what does it mean when a mushroom is described as ‘high tech’?

Maybe they are so high tech that we should start preparing our defenses against their carefully planned attack of the world, which will start in my very own refrigerator while I am sleeping tonight. I guess if I don’t show up with a post on Monday at 7am sharp, you can assume these mushrooms have something to do with it–in that case, please send a SWAT team at your earliest convenience.

And the pre-peeled garlic: yes. Yes, yes, yes. It makes me add 8 cloves where I would normally use 5. Peeling garlic is one of my banes. I always do it when my hands are kind of wet, the peels stick to my fingers, and I get extremely claustrophobic.

I knew I’d be hungry by the time I got home, so I also bought some instant soup with udon noodles. You prepare it just like ramen noodles, but it’s 50 times better.

As I boiled some water on the stove, I noticed that the stovetop was getting quite greasy.

“That’s disgusting!” I exclaimed. “Who’s responsible for this disgrace of a kitchen!?”

Then I realized that it was me. “Well,” I muttered, “it’s getting completely out of control. Someone had better clean up his or her act.”

I find it comforting to sermonize myself. It makes me feel very wise. Wise and prudent.

I chopped up part of a green onion for some fresh crunch. It was the perfect lunch: quick and satisfying.

Do any of you shop at your local Asian grocery stores? What are some of your recent ingredient finds?

Tuesday I will be posting a recipe for Pad See Ew, made from some of the lovely ingredients purchased: wide, flat rice noodles. Soy sauce. Garlic. Chinese broccoli. You don’t want to miss it.

In case you’re confused, the message of this post can be boiled down to the following: get your buns to your nearest Asian grocery and indulge your creative side.

And I’m sorry I just ordered your buns around–but try to remember that it’s for a higher good.

Have a great weekend everyone!