Pad woon sen, a speedy stir-fry dish for when you don't know what else to cook!! Joking aside this is possibly one of the most versatile dishes you will find in the Thai repertoire. There is very little that can't be substituted or skipped. As long as you're frying a combo of meats and/or vegetables with fine mungbean glass (vermicelli) noodles, you can't go far wrong. There does seem to be a common theme of cabbage, beansprouts, tomatoes and Chinese celery but, whatever you have can go in. It's another cross over dish- very definitely exported from Chinese cuisine along the way.
*
I also want to give you a heads up that I'm going to be away on holiday for a few weeks- sadly, no not Thailand (although it is exactly one year already since I was in Malaysia- I do miss it and would love to go back to Kuala Lumpur again one day). This time we're going to be in the USA. We've been quite a few times already and tend to do big road trips; two years ago it was the Deep South, this time it's New England.
For the next three weeks, I'll be travelling and eating my way around Boston, Cape Cod, the Hudson Valley, the Adirondacks, Vermont/ New Hampshire, Mt Desert Island, Portland and Salem. Hopefully eating a LOT of fresh seafood, buffalo wings, popovers, pies etc. I am particularly looking forward to experiencing Boston's Chinatown; I hope to post from there.
If you've any recommendations- it doesn't need to be Thai/Asian food, I love all food- then I would be thrilled to hear from you. And now back to my version of Pad Woon Sen....
*
Okay so this recipe will make plenty for 2 and still enough for 3
You'll need:
- 2 sheets/nests of dried mungbean/glass vermicelli noodles (they're transparent)
- A small bag (200-250g) of raw king prawns/shrimp
- 2 small pork chops or steaks, fat trimmed off and cut into strips
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into coins
- About a 1/4 of a white cabbages, cut into large squares (cut a thin slice off one side, then chop)
- 3 or 4 stalks of Chinese celery, chopped into large pieces. Regular celery leaves are great too
- 3 or 4 spring onions, trimmed and cut into large pieces
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- A big splash of oyster sauce
- A big splash of light soy sauce
- A small splash of dark soy sauce
- A big pinch of sugar
- A big punch of black pepper
- Vegetable oil for frying
Soak your vermicelli noodles by submerging them in cold water for 10-15 minutes, breaking them up as they soften. Drain and keep handy.
Heat a wok up until very hot, almost smoking and add in the oil, swirling to coat the base. Throw in the pork and stir fry for 1 minute, until mostly cooked through. Add in the raw prawns and stir fry for a further minute until they've mostly turned pink. If by any chance you're using pre-cooked prawns, add them in later (at the point that the celery and spring onions go in).
Next in goes the garlic, just toss it very lightly for a few seconds before adding in the carrot and cabbage, stir frying for around 1 minute. Now shove all these ingredients to one side of the wok, leaving them for a moment and pour the beaten egg into the empty side. Let the egg start to cook before lightly scrambling it before letting it set again. Repeat the setting scrambling until it's 90% cooked before mixing all the ingredients back together again, making sure the egg's well distributed.
Now throw the celery and spring onions into the pan, stir fry them for minute before adding in the noodles, 3 sauces, pepper and sugar. Stir well,the sauces will soften and darken the noodles and mix all the ingredients today. Try and let the noodles stick to the base of the wok a bit; it'll give you some nice crunchy bits. Cook for a final minute or two and serve.
