Beef Pad See Ew (Thai Rice Noodles)

I wanted to take a photo of the packaging so if you go to the Asian supermarket, you know what to look for. These rice noodles are already cooked, so that cuts your cooking time down. This is a whole 2 lbs of rice noodles! And each serving is only 45 calories (serves about 6).

The only time-consuming part of dealing with these cooked noodles is that you have to peel them until they are completely separated. It's best if you buy the noodles and keep it room temperature so the noodles are soft. If you happen to refrigerate it and it's too hard to peel, just put it in the microwave for about a minute to warm it up.

We chose to use beef (skirt steak) in our Pad See Ew, but you can add chicken or pork instead. We happened to have the beef marinating overnight with some soy sauce, plum sake, sesame oil, and garlic. This is optional and not necessary, but if you have the chance, it's always better to marinate the meat for added flavor.

We sauteed 2 cups of broccoli and 3 small carrots (shredded) until they got soft (about 7 minutes). To speed up the cooking time, add some chicken stock or water and cover the pan so it steams the veggies. Make sure it evaporates before adding the 2 eggs in the center of the pan (like shown). Scramble these eggs until just cooked, and mix it all together with the veggies.

Meanwhile, we cooked the beef in a separate pan until they're just about cooked through. Then we added the beef to the pan with the vegetables so all the flavors incorporate.

Before adding the noodles into the pan, I like to microwave it for a minute to get it warm so that it doesn't need to stay in the pan too long. The 2 lbs. of rice noodles gets added to the veggies and beef. In a separate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of light soy sauce with 2 tbsp brown sugar. Pour this into the pan and mix it together, trying not to break up the noodles too much. Taste the noodles at this point and add more soy sauce if you like it saltier (we added an extra 2 tbsp of soy sauce), because some people prefer it sweeter. Season with pepper.

The marinated beef really rocked this dish, so we highly recommend that. But overall, the flavors are great because you get a nice complete meal of carbs, meat, and veggies. (Add some hot chili sauce or pickled green chilies for a spicy kick). This may look harder than you think, but it's really simple once you get the hang of the steps and process. If at first you don't succeed, keep trying! You'll be glad you finally perfected it so you can make it again and again with different ingredients. Good luck!