Pad See Ew With Chicken

Pad see ew (officially Romanized phat si-io) is one of the most loved one-plate dishes in Thailand, especially Bangkok where it’s a staple at shophouse eateries specializing in Chinese-influenced stir-fried noodles. It may not look like there’s anything to this dish—the ingredient list is short and the cooking method straightforward—but a good plate of pad see ew takes some skills to create. As I explain in my book, Simple Thai Food: Classic Recipes from the Thai Home Kitchen, from which this recipe is adapted, the key is using good-quality fresh rice noodles or rehydrated dried rice noodles with plenty of chew left in them so they don’t turn mushy when cooked quickly in a hot wok, which can involve constantly controlling the heat. The goal is to get the delicate noodles to absorb the seasoning before they get soggy and for the dish to take on the charred aroma associated with wok cooking. –Leela Punyaratabandhu