A delicious quick and easy stir-fried rice noodles recipe
Inspired by pad see ew, this dish is a classic of Thai cuisine and one of the best possible uses for rice noodles.
Thai cuisine is one of the first cuisines I learned to cook, partly because the recipes are often quite simple and partly because the dishes are just de-li-cious.
I’m hooked. One of the main characteristics is the use of thick and flat rice noodles, even though you can use normal rice noodles, it adds a little something.
Tips for successful stir-fried rice noodles
The recipe is not only vegetarian but super quick to make. Without lying, it will take you barely 15 minutes! My record is 10. This dish, a cousin of Pad Thai, is one of the most eaten in Thailand. It is notably known to be consumed the day after well-watered evenings 🥂
For rice noodles, there’s a secret trick to make the cooking go wonderfully (and get a unique and authentic texture to these noodles).
If you’re feeling lazy, you can cook the noodles according to the package instructions, but I strongly advise you to try this one.
Roughly speaking, cooking the noodles happens in two stages:
- We immerse the noodles in hot water (not heating, just hot), and wait 5-10 minutes. The rice noodles should not be completely soft but just a bit flexible, it seems counterintuitive but you’ll see. You then drain them and set aside.
- The second part of cooking the noodles happens as the recipe predicts. Except here, as they are only partially cooked, the cooking will finish thanks to the juice and oil of the dish. This will give them a unique texture that is, honestly, inimitable.
It may take you several attempts to get the exact right timing/feeling of when to take them out of the water, but believe me, it’s worth it.
The main ingredients of Thai-style stir-fried rice noodles
Light and dark soy sauce: both are essential for the taste, if you don’t know what it is, I have a complete article on the subject.
Oyster sauce: if you’re not familiar with it, I assure you it doesn’t taste like oyster but the nuance it brings is essential to the final taste!
Sesame oil: be careful not to overuse it, the very powerful (and delicious) taste can easily change the name of the dish to “sesame oil rice noodles”. You can buy it here.
Fish sauce: same reasoning as oyster sauce. If you don’t know it, don’t be afraid of it, the taste and nuance it brings are essential to the final flavor of the dish. A good quality fish sauce brings a delicious iodized taste to the dish. You can buy it here
Thai-style stir-fried rice noodles
Matériel
Ingredients
- 300 g rice noodles pre-cooked
- 4 stems of Chinese broccoli replaceable with bok choy, thinly sliced
- 5 pods garlic minced
- 1 fresh chili thinly sliced
- Neutral vegetable oil for stir-frying
SAUCE
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon of white pepper
Procédé
- In a bowl, mix the sauce ingredients1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of white pepper
- Heat the oil in a wok over high heat and add the garlic and chili while it’s still cold5 pods garlic, Neutral vegetable oil, 1 fresh chili
- As soon as it starts to brown, add the broccoli and stir-fry4 stems of Chinese broccoli
- Once the vegetables have reduced in volume, add the noodles and the sauce. Stir-fry until the sauce has almost evaporated and the noodles have a nice browning300 g rice noodles
Notes
- Soak the noodles in hot water (not heating, just hot), and wait 5-10 minutes. The rice noodles should not be completely soft but just slightly flexible, it may seem counterintuitive but you’ll see. Then drain them and set aside.
- The second part of cooking the noodles happens as the recipe predicts. Except here, as they are only partially cooked, the cooking will finish thanks to the juice and oil of the dish. This will give them a unique texture that is, honestly, inimitable.
