Pad Woon Sen
This Thai Pad Woon Sen recipe belongs in your Asian repertoire because it's downright delicious, easy, customizable, and can be on your table quicker than driving to your favorite restaurant! This recipe is a soft tangle of chewy glass noodles, chicken (or sub your favorite protein), and veggies, enveloped in a savory, slightly-sweet stir fry sauce. Today, I’m going to teach you how to make it at home with step-by-step photos, tips and tricks and a pantry friendly sauce. Serve it up with Tom Kha Gai to complete the feast!
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
Quick Chicken Marinade
- 1 pound chicken thighs cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil for cooking
Glass Noodles
- 6 ounces dried glass noodles also known as mung bean, cellophane, bean thread noodles (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
STIR FY
- 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 cups sliced cabbage
- 2 medium tomatoes, seeded, sliced into strips (not too thin)
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 eggs, whisked
Pad Woon Sen Sauce
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (may sub light)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon molasses (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 tsp EACH ground coriander, ground white pepper (may sub black pepper)
- 1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
FOR SERVING
- chopped green onions
- sliced chilies or chili sauce
Instructions
- Prepare chicken: Whisk together the Chicken Marinade ingredients in a medium bowl (soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch, pepper). Add chopped chicken and toss to evenly coat; set aside.
- Prepare the glass noodles: Soak the noodles in a bowl of hot water until tender, stirring occasionally so they don’t stick together, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and rinse the noodles in cold water. Toss with 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil. Set aside.
- Make the sauce: Meanwhile, whisk the sauce ingredients together and prep the veggies, set aside.
- Stir fry the chicken: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok over high heat or a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and stir fry until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes; remove to palate.
- Stir fry the veggies: Heat another tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add onions and stir fry for 3 minutes, until starting to caramelize. Add cabbage, carrots and bell pepper and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, ginger and garlic, and stir fry for 1 minute, until vegetables are almost to desired crisp-tenderness (they will cook a little more with the noodles).
- Cook the eggs: Push the vegetables to the perimeter of the pan. Add a drizzle of oil to the center of the pan. Add the beaten eggs to the hot oil and scramble in the center until cooked.
- Stir fry everything together: Add chicken back to the skillet, along with the noodles and sauce and toss to combine. Stir fry everything together until evenly coated in the sauce. Adjust to taste (I like additional white pepper).
- Serve: Garnish with green onions, chilies, and sesame seeds if desired.
Video
Notes
- Glass Noodles: These give the dish its quintessential chewiness. When shopping, look for bright white, very thin noodles with mung bean starch listed in the ingredients and not rice (which makes rice vermicelli noodles), and not sweet potatoes (which makes Korean glass noodles). If you can't find glass noodles at your local Asian market, you can purchase them on Amazon HERE.
- Oyster/fish sauce substitute: If you’re allergic to shellfish/vegetarian, use Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce instead of oyster sauce and fish sauce.
- Soy sauce + molasses + brown sugar: This trio creates an easy substitute for Thai sweet soy sauce. Do NOT skip the molasses, it is what makes this recipe taste authentic! Use low sodium soy sauce or your noodles will be too salty.