Shrimp Pad See Ew. Chewy tender wide rice noodles stir fried with juicy shrimp, egg and gai-lan in delicious savoury soy-based sauce. A tasty meal that comes together in 25 minutes or less!
I am a huge fan of Thai food especially Pad See Ew. In Thai, “Pad” means “fried” and “see ew” means “soy sauce” which makes sense since these noodles are fried in a soy-base sauce along with other delicious sauce ingredients.
Quick and Easy Recipe!
My Shrimp Pad See Ew Recipe is quite easy to make. The preparation of the ingredients takes about 10-15 minutes. The cooking time is very quick, less than 3-4 minutes in a hot flaming wok or 5-7 minutes in a non-stick wok that can only withstand medium heat.
I know there are many recipes for this dish online, but this is the best recipe for pad see ew with shrimp and I hope you enjoy it!
What Does Pad See Ew Taste like?
Imagine soft chewy rice noodles coated in a savoury salty slightly sweet sauce with a hint of tanginess. My noodles are then paired with egg, crunchy Chinese broccoli, juicy jumbo shrimp and garlic.
Where does Pad See Ew come from?
This popular iconic dish originates from Thailand.
Cooking Tips
Below are tips on making the best pad see ew recipe with shrimp:
Fresh or Dry Rice Noodles?
This preference is up to you and your experience in cooking with dry or fresh noodles. I prefer dried rice noodles for this recipe and you’ll understand why as you read below.
Traditionally, in Thailand fresh wide rice noodles called “ho fun” are used in this recipe. Usually, they are sliced in a wide manner, about 1 inch wide and the texture is chewy and tender! At the grocer, you'll often find the thinner version that is about ½ inch wide.
Why I didn't use fresh rice noodles for this recipe:
- They are tricky to find unless you’re lucky to be close to an Asian grocer that sells them so fresh that they are still soft. This is the most ideal as you'll be peeling those noodles later.
- Depending on how long they have been refrigerated at the grocer, even the fresh ones come rock hard. This means, you’ll have to microwave them for 60-120 seconds until warm (or soak in warm water). Then peel the noodles apart which takes time.
- They can easily go soggy if your heat is too high or you’re not quick enough to stir fry them.
- Fresh noodles tend to break apart EASILY. Therefore, it’s important to be gentle in the wok especially with the spatula. That’s why you’ll see most chefs, toss the noodles with the pan versus using the spatula.
But if you’re a pro when it comes to fresh noodles, use them!
Why I prefer dried rice noodles for this recipe:
- They are easy to find at most Asian and select Western grocers in the dried noodle aisle.
- You simply need to rehydrate the noodles in hot boiling water until they have loosened. Then strain the water.
- Since the noodles are still a bit stiff after soaking, this gives you additional time to fry them until chewy and tender without them going soggy quickly.
- These do not break easily in the wok
- They taste comparable to the fresh noodles, except for the fact that they are not as wide.
I would recommend dried rice noodles for beginner cooks who are not experienced in using fresh rice noodles.
Where do I buy dried rice noodles?
Any Asian or some Western grocers will carry this ingredient in their dried noodle section.
How to Rehydrate and Loosen Rice Noodles
To rehydrate your dried rice noodles, place them in large bowl and fill the bowl with hot boiling water until the noodles are covered. Soak for 4 minutes JUST until they become loosened. Just being the “key” word.
Prepare your Ingredients in Advance
I can’t stress this enough. When you’re cooking noodles in general, it’s important to prepare all the ingredients ahead of time so you can just toss them into the pan. This prevents overcooking the noodles.
Pre-mix that Noodle Sauce
I recommend to combine your noodle sauce ingredients ahead of time. This prevents time wasted fumbling around trying to measure out your sauces and trust me there’s several that go into this noodle dish. It also prevents overcooking your ingredients as well.
Cooking Process is fast!
The cooking process in a non-stick pan (that can only withstand medium heat) takes 5-7 minutes, however if you make this noodle dish over high flame it’ll take 3-4 minutes with careful attention.
Questions
Below are frequently asked questions about this quick pad see ew recipe:
Other Protein Substitutes?
Feel free to use tofu, fish cakes (not fish), chicken, pork or beef.
Can I use other Greens?
Yes, you may. I would only suggest leafy greens like choy sum, yu choy, or bok choy.
Can I Omit the Fish sauce?
You may but just add more regular soy sauce to ensure it’s salty enough.
What is Pad See Ew Sauce made of?
It’s usually made of soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, white vinegar and some sugar.
What is the difference between Pad Thai and Pad See Ew?
There are a few differences between these two iconic Thai noodle dishes:
- Pad See Ew uses flat wide rice noodles and Pad Thai uses flat thin to medium wide noodles.
- The taste profile is completely different Pad Thai is sweeter with more of a tang thanks to the tamarind. Pad See Ew is saltier without using tamarind.
- Pad See Ew usually contains Gai-lan or Chinese Broccoli, whereas Pad Thai uses bean sprouts.
What to serve with pad see ew?
I like serving it with a simple chili vinegar sauce. It’s simple to make. You’ll just need 1 Thai pepper sliced and combined with 3-4 tbsp white vinegar. That’s it! This sauce can be poured over top of your Pad See Ew.
Is Pad See Ew Healthy?
I can’t say it’s a health food as it’s high in sodium and fried. But it’s delicious and totally worth indulging for if you want to treat yourself.
Ingredients
For this Thai noodle recipe, you’ll need the following pad see ew ingredients:
- Dried Wide Rice Noodles, soaked in warm hot water until loose
- Jumbo Shrimp, peeled
- Gai Lan, roughly chopped
- Eggs, beaten
- Garlic, minced
- Vegetable oil
Pad See Ew Sauce:
- Dark soy sauce
- Regular soy sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Fish sauce
- Sugar
- White vinegar
- Water
How to make the Best Pad See Ew with Shrimp
- In a large bowl with your dried rice noodles, pour boiling hot water over top to cover the noodles. Soak until just loosened (about 4 minutes), strain water. Set aside.
- Wash and roughly chop gai lan on an angle into 1-inch-long pieces. Mince your peeled garlic cloves.
- Wash and peel your shrimp, removing tails if desired.
- In a small bowl, beat two cracked eggs.
- In another bowl, combine noodle sauce ingredients.
- Bring your wok to medium heat, as it heats add oil and minced garlic. Allow this to fry for 10 seconds or until fragrant.
- Toss in shrimp and fry on both sides just until pink. Then quickly sweep everything to the side.
- Into the empty space of the wok, pour beaten egg and scramble them. While eggs are still runny, mix into the shrimp.
- Quickly toss in gai-lan, rice noodles and noodle sauce.
- Toss everything together until noodles are coated in sauce. Cook until noodles are soft but chewy or to your desired texture. Serve and enjoy!
Other recipes you may like!
If you enjoyed my Thai noodle dish, you may enjoy these other recipes:
THAI GLASS NOODLE STIR-FRY
THAI RAILWAY FRIED RICE
GARLIC FRIED SHRIMP
PAD SEE EW WOON SEN
CHICKEN PAD SEE EW
AUTHENTIC THAI ICED TEA
THAI SPICY BASIL FRIED RICE
THAI DRUNKEN NOODLES
AUTHENTIC CHICKEN PAD THAI
Try it!
Well, I hope you give my quick Shrimp Pad See Ew a try! It always excites me when you make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
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Made this recipe and loved it?
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Take care,
Christie
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Easy Shrimp Pad See Ew
Ingredients
- 200 grams dried wide flat rice noodle soaked in warm hot water until loose
- 10 Jumbo Shrimp peeled (170 grams)
- 2 cups Gai-Lan (Chinese Broccoli) roughly chopped
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 1.5 tbsp Garlic minced
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
Noodle Sauce:
- 1.5 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Regular soy sauce (not light soy sauce or dark soy sauce)
- 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 2 tsp Fish sauce
- 2 tsp white granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp White vinegar
- 2.5 tbsp Water
Instructions
- In a large bowl with your dried rice noodles, pour boiling hot water over top to cover the noodles. Soak until just loosened (about 4 minutes), strain water. Make sure to separate your noodles if they're stuck together. Set aside.
- Wash and roughly chop gai lan on an angle into 1-inch-long pieces. Mince your peeled garlic cloves.
- Wash and peel your shrimp, removing tails if desired.
- In a small bowl, beat two cracked eggs.
- In another bowl, combine noodle sauce ingredients.
- Bring your wok to medium heat, as it heats add oil and minced garlic. Allow this to fry for 10 seconds or until fragrant.
- Toss in shrimp and fry on both sides just until pink. Then quickly sweep everything to the side.
- Into the empty space of the wok, pour beaten egg and scramble them. While eggs are still runny, mix it into the shrimp.
- Quickly toss in gai-lan, rice noodles and noodle sauce.
- Toss everything together until noodles are coated in sauce. Cook until noodles are soft but chewy or to your desired texture. Serve and enjoy!
Yum! Wide noodles are my favorite kind of noodle to cook with in Asian foods. What do you think about chicken instead of shrimp?
Thank you Rosemary! Yes chicken will work too for this dish.