Pad Woon Sen. Delicious, bouncy chewy clear glass noodles stir fried in a savory sauce with tender chicken, leafy greens and a red chili vinegar. Ready in 30 minutes! Perfect for dinner or lunch.
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What is Pad Woon Sen?
It's a classic Thai glass noodles stir fry that originates from Thailand. These stir-fried glass noodles dish are made of mung bean clear noodles, gai lan (aka Chinese broccoli), chicken or your favorite protein, eggs, and a stir-fry sauce. Then topped off with a simple chili vinegar that takes this Thai noodle stir fry to the next level!
Pad Woon Sen is a classic Thai noodle dish made of simple ingredients. It's served at any Thai Restaurant in Southeast Asia. The main ingredient of this dish is the silky smooth glass noodles. It's so scrumptious and satisfies all your taste buds! One of my favorite Thai dishes that I can't get enough of!
Ingredients
Please scroll down to full recipe card below for full measurements.
Note: The Asian market is likely to carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select local grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
- Mung bean noodles: these are clear glass noodles aka as cellophane noodles or bean thread noodles. They are made of mung bean starch and are completely clear when cooked. The star ingredient to an authentic pad woon sen.
- When you buy them at the Asian markets or your Asian local grocery store, they are very thin and look opaquer. I share an image below of what they look like below. It's one of those types of noodles that is commonly used in Asian cuisine
- If you can't source these noodles, feel free to substitute with sweet potato glass noodles. These particular noodles are made of potato starch sourced from sweet potatoes.
- Chicken thighs: preferably boneless skinless chicken thighs to make the preparation process easier. You may also substitute with chicken breast for a leaner option or replace with any protein you enjoy like pork or beef.
- Eggs: please feel free to omit if you can't eat eggs.
- Gai Lan aka Chinese Broccoli: Feel free to substitute with any leafy green of your choice, such as Bok choy, Yu Choy or Choy Sum, or Napa cabbage.
- Neutral oil: any neutral tasting oil like avocado oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil. Please avoid using olive oil, coconut oil or sesame oil as they carry a slight scent and taste.
- Garlic
Chicken Marinade
- Regular soy sauce: This helps season the chicken, so we won't be adding salt. Regular soy sauce is an all-purpose soy sauce. The label should simply say 'Soy Sauce". You may sub with low sodium soy sauce. If you use light soy sauce, please reduce the amount by half as light soy sauce is much saltier than regular soy sauce.
- Sesame oil: This oil will add a nice nutty flavor to your chicken. ingredient.
- White pepper or black pepper
Stir Fry Sauce
- Regular soy sauce
- Dark soy sauce: This type of soy sauce adds color to our pad woon sen recipe!
- Fish sauce: This adds a wonderful deep umami flavor to our pad woon sen sauce. If you can't find it, add more regular soy sauce to taste.
- Sweetener: a teaspoon of white sugar, or brown sugar will work to balance out the salty flavors in the sauce.
Chili Vinegar for Pad Woon Sen
- Red chili: Fresh chili is the key for this. You can use red chili or green chilis if you'd like. To make it less spicy, feel free to de-seed them before chopping.
- White vinegar or rice vinegar
How to Make Pad Woon Sen
Marinate Sliced Chicken
Marinate sliced chicken thighs with regular soy sauce and white pepper. Set aside as you prepare other ingredients.
Create Stir Fry Sauce
In a small bowl, combine Stir-Fry Sauce ingredients. Set aside.
Make Chili Vinegar Condiment
In a small bowl, combine red chili and white vinegar. Set aside.
Soak Mung Bean Noodles
In a large bowl with dried mung bean noodles, add hot boiling water and let this soak for 2 minutes until loosened and slightly softened. Do not over soak.
Strain and Rinse Noodles
Strain immediately. Rinse off with running cool water and strain.
Cook chicken
In a wok or large skillet on medium-high heat, add vegetable oil or any neutral oil. Followed by garlic and marinated chicken. Cook chicken until 75% cooked. Move to the side of the pan.
Cook Eggs
Pour in beaten eggs. Cook and scramble them. Move to the side of the pan.
Add Greens, Noodles & Sauce
Add in Chinese broccoli, noodles, and Stir-Fry sauce. Toss everything together until noodles are well coated in sauce and greens have softened.
Mix in Chili Vinegar
Remove off heat and serve by mixing in some of the chili vinegar (start by adding 1-2 tablespoons and add more as needed to taste). Enjoy!
Storage & Reheatng
Up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Any leftover pad woon sen can be reheated on the stove top with a couple of tablespoons of water to help loosen the noodles. Or you can simply microwave it for a few minutes.
Expert Tips
- Do not over soak the noodles. 2 minutes is enough.
- Make sure to rinse the noodles. This helps them become bouncier.
- Do not overcook the chicken. Cook it till about 75% as we will be stir frying them again.
- Once noodles, sauce and greens come together, remove off heat. Do not overcook the noodles.
FAQ
Can I make this Pad Woon Sen gluten free?
Yes, by swapping out the soy sauce and fish sauce with a gluten free soy sauce, tamari sauce or coconut aminos. The mung bean starch noodles are already gluten free.
Can I add other vegetables to this dish?
Yes, feel free to add these other suggested vegetables:
- Nappa cabbage
- bean sprouts
- baby corn
- red bell peppers or any colored bell pepper
- bamboo shoots
- shiitake mushrooms
- green onions or spring onion
- green beans
- snow peas
Can I substitute with another protein?
Yes, pork, beef, shrimp or tofu will work.
Other recipes you may like!
- Pad See Ew (Stir fried Soy Sauce Noodles)
- Pad Kee Mao (Thai Drunken Noodles)
- Thai Spicy Basil Fried Rice
- Shrimp Pad Thai
- Authentic Chicken Pad Thai
📖 Recipe
Easy Pad Woon Sen
Ingredients
- 150 grams dry glass noodles (aka mung bean vermicelli noodles or bean thread noodles)
- 175 grams skinless boneless chicken thighs thinly sliced (or sub with chicken breast)
- 160 grams or 3 cups Chinese broccoli chopped into 1 inch pieces (or sub with bok choy, yu choy or choy sum)
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Chicken Marinade
- 2 teaspoon regular soy sauce or light soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
Stir Fry Sauce:
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce or light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon white sugar or brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
Chili Vinegar:
- 1 red chili pepper chopped
- ¼ cup white vinegar or rice vinegar
Instructions
- Marinate sliced chicken thighs with regular soy sauce and white pepper. Set aside as you prepare other ingredients.
- In a small bowl, combine Stir-Fry Sauce ingredients. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine red chili and white vinegar. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with dried mung bean noodles, add hot boiling water and let this soak for 2 minutes until loosened and slightly softened. Do not over soak. Strain immediately. Rinse off with running cool water and strain.
- In a wok or large skillet on medium-high heat, add vegetable oil or any neutral oil. Followed by garlic and marinated chicken. Cook chicken until it's 75% cooked. Move to the side of the pan.
- Into the empty space of the pan, pour in beaten eggs. Cook and scramble them. Move to the side of the pan.
- Add in Chinese broccoli, noodles, and Stir-Fry sauce. Toss everything together until noodles are well coated in sauce and greens have softened, about 2 minutes.
- Remove off heat and serve by mixing in some of the chili vinegar (start by adding 1-2 tablespoons and add more as needed to taste). Enjoy!
Never Ending Journeys
Mmmm, I love how this dish has a red chilli vinegar! Looks like such a flavorful combination of ingredients and flavors - I love it!
Mark
Absolutely delicious. Will be making again.
Rebecca Dillon
What a wonderful dinner idea!
christieathome
Thank you so much!