Charred Pad See Ew with Chicken

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Wide rice noodles cooked hard and fast so they blister and pick up smoky char instead of turning into a soggy pile. The whole trick is heat and restraint: one portion in the pan at a time, sauce mixed ahead, everything within arm's reach. Fresh sen yai noodles are ideal, but there's a reliable dried-noodle soak method here too.

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh wide rice noodles (sen yai), or 8 oz dried wide rice noodles
• 2 tsp neutral oil, for loosening noodles

• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp dark sweet soy sauce (kecap manis or Thai black soy)
• 2 tsp thin soy sauce
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp water

• 10 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 tsp thin soy sauce, for the chicken
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 6 oz Chinese broccoli (gai lan), stems sliced thin on a bias, leaves cut in 2-inch ribbons
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tbsp neutral oil, divided
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper

• Chili vinegar (2 tbsp rice vinegar + 1 sliced Thai chili)
• Dried chili flakes and sugar, for the table
• 1 lime, cut in wedges

• chili vinegar (2 tbsp rice vinegar with 1 sliced Thai chili)
• dried chili flakes and sugar, for the table
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Prep the noodles. If using fresh sen yai: microwave the sealed package or a covered bowl of noodles in 30-second bursts until pliable and warm, 60–90 seconds total, then gently peel the sheets apart into 1-inch-wide strands and toss with 2 tsp oil so they don't reknit. If using dried wide rice noodles: soak them in very hot tap water (not boiling) for 25–35 minutes until fully bendable but still firm and opaque at the core, then drain well and toss with the oil. They will finish cooking in the pan.
2. Whisk the sauce: oyster sauce, dark sweet soy, 2 tsp thin soy, sugar, fish sauce, and water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Set it beside the stove — you will not have time to measure once the pan is hot.
3. Toss the sliced chicken with 1 tsp thin soy and the cornstarch. Set up everything else in bowls within reach: garlic, gai lan stems, gai lan leaves, eggs cracked into a cup, noodles, sauce, white pepper. Divide the chicken, vegetables, noodles, eggs, and sauce into two equal piles — you are cooking two separate single portions.
4. Heat a 12-inch carbon steel or cast iron skillet (or a flat-bottomed wok) over the highest heat your burner has for 3–4 minutes, until a drop of water vaporizes on contact almost instantly. Turn on your vent hood.
5. Add 1 1/2 tbsp oil, swirl, and immediately add half the chicken in a single layer. Leave it undisturbed 60 seconds to brown, then stir 30–45 seconds until just cooked through. Push it to one side of the pan.
6. Add half the garlic and half the gai lan stems to the empty side and stir 30 seconds until the garlic smells toasty. Pour in half the beaten egg, let it set 15 seconds, then break it into large curds.
7. Add half the noodles and pour half the sauce directly over them. Now stop stirring: press the noodles flat against the pan with your spatula and let them sit 45–60 seconds. You want to hear a steady hiss and see the edges catch and blister — that char is the whole point of the dish.
8. Fold once, press again for another 30–45 seconds, then add half the gai lan leaves and half the white pepper. Toss just 3 or 4 times, until the leaves wilt but the noodles stay in distinct strands. Total time in the pan should be under 5 minutes. Slide onto a plate.
9. Wipe the pan with a paper towel held in tongs, reheat it for 2 minutes, and repeat with the remaining oil, chicken, aromatics, egg, noodles, and sauce for the second portion.
10. Serve immediately with chili vinegar, chili flakes, sugar, and lime wedges on the side so each person can adjust the sweet-sour-heat balance.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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