One of my favourite Thai dishes is this one which is basically rice noodles fried in black soy sauce. In Thai, this is called “pad si ew”. The main ingredients are pictured below. Starting from the top and going clockwise, you can see “sen mee” noodles, sliced chicken, garlic cloves, kale and two eggs. You can also use beef or pork. And instead of kale, which is also known as Chinese broccoli, you could use Chinese cabbage. There are also two different versions of noodles for this dish. You can have either “sen mee” as seen here, or my favourite “sen yai” which is a wider noodle.
Today we used the dried version of “sen mee” which you need to soak in cold water first for about four minutes. In roadside food shops, they usually use fresh versions which are obviously much better. In the picture at the top, you can see that my noodles have broken up a bit. We also prepared the baby kale by blanching it in hot water for a short time. To start cooking, add the chopped garlic to hot oil. As soon as it is golden brown, add the bit-sized pieces of chicken. To be honest, I prefer pork for this dish. Give it a good stir for a couple of minutes. Remove from the pan and add more oil. Next comes the noodles. Toss it well so it heats through. Push it to one side and add two lightly beaten eggs. Let it fry for a short while before breaking it up and then mixing with the noodles. Now add the kale and chicken. Season with black soy sauce (you could use the sweet version if you like) and some sugar. If it is too sweet, then add a dash of fish sauce. It is now ready to serve. The condiments that are commonly served with this dish are dried crushed chilies, sugar and “nam som” which is white vinegar with sliced spur chili.
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