Thai Glass Noodle Stir Fry (Pad Woon Sen)

5 from 6 votes

Thai Glass Noodle Stir Fry (Pad Woon Sen)

Recipe video above. A big, family-size home-style Thai noodle stir fry using glass noodles, those thin clear noodles you probably bought by accident instead of rice vermicelli noodles and forgot about in the pantry - that's me! Classic Thai flavours, savoury with a touch of sweet, with a nice hit of garlicky goodness. I chose vegetables that make this fast to make, but feel free to use what you want, just keep it to about 5 cups total. Soy sauce works fine if you don’t have MAGGI seasoning (every Thai household will have this though!).

Adapted from this Pad Woon Sen on Hot Thai Kitchen. My recipe is scaled up, add-ins streamlined and sauce strength slightly tweaked to my palette.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Main, Noodles, stir fried noodles

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: Pad Woon Sen, thai glass noodles, Thai noodle stir fry, Thai noodles

Servings: people

Calories: 451cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

Glass noodle stir fry:

250g / 8 oz dried bean thread noodles (glass noodles), prepared per packet (Note 1)
2 tbsp canola oil , or other neutral oil suitable for stir fries
1/2 onion , cut into thin wedges
4 garlic cloves , finely minced (knife or crusher is fine)
1 big bunch Chinese broccoli (gai lan), or choi sum , cut into 5cm/2" lengths, thick stems halved lengthways, stems separated from leaves (~ 5 cups tightly packed once cut) (Note 2)
3 eggs , whisked

Chicken:

350g / 12 oz chicken thighs , boneless and skinless, sliced into small 5mm / 0.2" thin strips (Note 3)
2 tsp MAGGI seasoning or light soy sauce (Note 4)
Pinch white pepper (substitute black pepper)

Sauce:

2 tbsp oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp MAGGI seasoning , substitute light or all-purpose soy sauce (Note 4)
1 tbsp canola oil , or other plain flavoured oil
1 tsp white sugar
1/8 tsp white pepper (substitute black pepper)

Instructions

ABBREVIATED

Mix sauce, toss chicken in Maggi. In 30cm/12" pan, cook onion 15 sec, cook chicken ~ 2 min, adding Chinese broccoli stems and garlic towards end. Push everything to side, drizzle oil, scramble eggs, mix everything together. Add Chinese broccoli leaves, noodles, sauce, toss well. Serve!

FULL RECIPE:

Toss chicken with MAGGI and pepper. Set aside while you finish preparing everything else.
Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. (It won't seem enough for the volume of noodles but trust the process! It packs a ton of flavour.)
Cook chicken and onion - Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large 30cm/12" non-stick pan over high heat until very hot (see Note 5 if your pan is smaller). Add onion and stir for 15 seconds. Add chicken and stir for 2 minutes until almost cooked through.
Add garlic and Chinese broccoli stems. Stir for 1 minute or until chicken is cooked.
Scramble eggs - Push everything to one side of the pan, drizzle 1/2 tablespoon oil in the cleared space. Pour the eggs in and gently stir to scramble. When it's almost cooked, toss through the chicken.
Leaves, noodles and sauce - Add the Chinese broccoli leaves, noodles (on top, to weigh down) then pour the sauce all over the noodles. Use two spatulas to toss until the noodles are all stained with sauce and there's no water in the pan.
Serve immediately!

Notes

1. Bean thread noodles ("glass noodles") - sold labelled as bean thread vermicelli noodles or cellophane noodles. They become transparent once soaked, hence the name! I use Double Pheonix brand which is sold at everyday grocery stores (Asian aisle) and Asian stores. See photos in post. Substitute with vermicelli noodles.

Ignore packet if it says to soak in cold water. It takes “forever” / sometimes just doesn’t work at all.

2. Chinese broccoli (gai lan) - Substitute with other leafy Asian greens like choi sum (ideal), bok choy, pak choy. You can also use other vegetables like chopped cabbage, bean sprouts, julienned carrots.

3. Other proteins - I use chicken thigh because it stays juicy in stir fries without having to marinate or do anything to it. To use breast, I'd tenderise (velvet) else it is just not very pleasant to eat, too dry - see directions here, scale recipe to 350g/12oz chicken (tap servings and slide). For beef, I'd velvet that too (directions here). For pork, use a lean steak (chops, tenderloin, loin) then tenderise using the chicken breast recipe.

4. MAGGI seasoning - A savoury Asian sauce that is the "better soy sauce". Yes it has MSG in it, see in post for commentary about how even the USFDA now says it is safe to consume in normal levels. Staple in Thai cooking! Find it in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores (Coles, Woolies) or Asian stores. Sub with soy sauce (light or all-purpose, not dark soy).

5. BIG pan essential here, else it will get too crowded and everything will go watery instead of sizzling! I use a 30cm/12" one (this Pyrolux). See above video for why I love this pan.

Don't have a big pan? No problems! Once the egg is scrambled, remove everything from the pan. Heat a little more oil, then add the leafy greens, noodles and sauce. Toss until the sauce coats all the noodles, then add all the chicken etc back in. Toss through, serve!

Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in microwave.

Nutrition per serving assuming 4 servings.

Nutrition