Pad Woon Sen. Delicious, bouncy chewy clear noodles in a savory sauce with tender chicken, leafy greens and a red chili vinegar.
Quick & Easy
Pad Woon Sen is an easy recipe ready in 30 minutes or less! A classic Thai noodle dish that serves well for lunch or dinner. Any leftover pad woon sen will work well next day when reheated in the microwave or on the stove top.
A Popular Thai Dish
Pad Woon Sen is one of those tasty popular noodle dishes made of simple ingredients that you'll find at any Thai Restaurant in Southeast Asia. The main ingredient of this dish is the silky smooth glass noodles that are made of mung beans and they have a very chewy texture. The special thing about this type of noodle is that they are clear and very bouncy, unlike rice vermicelli which is opaque.
This thai glass noodle stir-fry is usually accompanied with crunchy vegetables, such as Gai-lan, nappa cabbage, bean sprouts, baby corn, or bell pepper. It also contains any type of protein like scrambled eggs, chicken thigh or chicken breast, with a flavorful sauce. The sauce has a salty flavor and is commonly made of a mixture of regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sometimes oyster sauce.
Great Weeknight Meal
It's a fantastic thai glass noodle stir fry that can be made in one wok and easily feed a family! Making it a perfect weeknight meal.
Pad woon sen is one of my favourite dishes in Thai Food because I love those glass vermicelli noodles! It's very similar to pad see ew in terms of taste but the main difference are the silky glass noodles. Pad see ew uses flat rice noodles.
Ingredients
You will need the below pad woon sen ingredients. Please scroll down to recipe card below for full measurements.
- Mung bean noodles: these are clear glass noodles. Sometimes they are glass vermicelli noodles or bean thread noodles. They are made of mung bean starch and are completely clear when cooked.
- 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
- 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.
- You can also add or replace with other vegetables like bean sprouts, bell peppers, baby corn, carrots, green bean, or broccoli. Traditionally, Gai-lan is used in Pad Woon Sen. Any Asian grocery store will carry this type of green.
- Neutral oil: any neutral tasting oil like avocado oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil. Please avoid using olive oil as it has a low smoke point, and it carries a slight scent.
- Garlic: garlic is a key ingredient in Thai cuisine and most of Asian cuisine. It adds a wonderful aroma and garlicky taste to many of my favorite Thai dishes.
- Black pepper or white pepper
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. Most Asian grocery stores, select Western grocers or online retailers like Amazon may carry this ingredient.
- 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. Most Asian grocery stores, select Western grocers or online retailers like Amazon may carry this ingredient. If you can't find it, add more regular soy sauce to taste.
- Sweetener: a tsp of white sugar, honey 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
- Thinly slice chicken and transfer to a medium bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together your marinade. Pour marinade over chicken and mix well. Set aside to marinate as you work on the other ingredients.
- In large bowl, soak your cellophane noodles for 2 minutes maximum in hot water. Not boiling. Rinse off with cold water to stop the cooking process. Strain and set aside.
- In a hot wok or large non stick pan on medium-high heat, add avocado oil. Fry chicken and garlic together until 75% cooked. Move the chicken to the side of the pan and pour beaten eggs into empty space. Cook and scramble them into bite size pieces.
- Add in Chinese broccoli, noodles and sauce. Mix together until noodles are coated in the sauce and greens are cooked. Season with white pepper. Serve hot with chili vinegar.
Chili Vinegar
- Slice red chili into small pieces. For a less spicy sauce, de-seed red chili first before chopping. In a small bowl, combine red chili with vinegar. Enjoy with noodles!
FAQ
How long will this dish last for?
Up to 4 days stored in an airtight container.
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.
Other recipes you may like!
If you enjoyed this Thai noodle dish, check out these Thai recipes:
- Thai Spicy Basil Fried Rice
- Shrimp Pad Thai
- Thai Drunken Noodles
- Authentic Chicken Pad Thai
- Tofu Egg Pad Thai
Easy Pad Woon Sen
Ingredients
- 150 grams glass noodles made of mung bean starch
- 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 eggs beaten
- 3 cups gai-lan chopped or sub with bok choy, yu choy or choy sum
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 2 tsp garlic minced
- ¼ tsp white pepper or black pepper
Chicken Marinade
- 2 tsp regular soy sauce not dark or light soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp white pepper or black pepper
Sauce for Noodles:
- 2 tbsp regular soy sauce not dark or light soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp honey or white sugar or brown sugar
Chili Vinegar
- 1 red chili pepper finely chopped
- ¼ cup white vinegar or rice vinegar
Instructions
- Thinly slice chicken and transfer to a medium bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together your marinade. Pour marinade over chicken and mix well. Set aside to marinate as you work on the other ingredients.
- In large bowl, soak your cellophane noodles for 2 minutes maximum in hot water (not boiling). Do not soak for any longer or they will go soggy. Rinse off with cold water to stop the cooking process. Strain and set aside.
- In a hot wok or large non stick pan on medium-high heat, add avocado oil. Fry chicken and garlic together until 75% cooked. Move the chicken to the side of the pan and pour beaten eggs into empty space. Cook and scramble them into bite size pieces.
- Add in Chinese broccoli, noodles and sauce. Mix together until noodles are coated in the sauce and greens are cooked. Season with white pepper. Serve hot with chili vinegar.
Chili Vinegar
- Slice red chili into small pieces. For a less spicy sauce, de-seed red chili first before chopping. In a small bowl, combine red chili with vinegar. Enjoy with noodles!
What a wonderful dinner idea!
Thank you so much!
Absolutely delicious. Will be making again.
Mmmm, I love how this dish has a red chilli vinegar! Looks like such a flavorful combination of ingredients and flavors - I love it!