Glass Noodle Stir-Fry (Pad Woon Sen)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wok (carbon steel preferred)
• •Wok spatula
• •Tongs or long cooking chopsticks for handling noodles

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the noodles

   Submerge the dried glass noodles in room-temperature water for 10 to 15 minutes. Not hot water. Hot water turns them to mush before they hit the wok. You want them pliable but still slightly firm, with a bit of chew left. They'll finish cooking in the wok. Drain them, and if the strands are very long, cut them in half with scissors so you're not fighting a tangled mess in the pan.

   Glass noodles are mung bean starch. They absorb liquid like nothing else in the Thai kitchen. That's their purpose. They'll drink up every drop of sauce you put in the wok, so your seasoning has to be right before the noodles go in.
2. 2

   Heat the wok

   Get your wok hot over high heat. Add the oil. When it shimmers, crack both eggs directly into the wok. Let them set on the bottom for about ten seconds, then scramble them roughly with your spatula. Big curds, not small. You want pieces of egg in the finished dish, not a yellow paste. Push the egg to the side of the wok or scoop it out and set it aside.

3. 3

   Bloom garlic and sear protein

   Garlic goes into the hot oil. Always first. Two seconds of sizzle until it's fragrant and just starting to turn golden. Then the shrimp or chicken. Spread it in a single layer against the wok surface. Don't stir for thirty seconds. Let it sear. You want color. You want the wok to do its work. Flip, sear the other side. The protein should be about 80 percent cooked. It'll finish with the noodles.

   If using shrimp, they'll curl and turn pink in under a minute. Pull them slightly early. Overcooked shrimp are rubber. They'll get another hit of heat with the noodles.
4. 4

   Add vegetables and noodles

   Toss in the onion, wood ear mushrooms, and celery stalks. Stir-fry for thirty seconds, just enough to soften the onion edges. Now add the drained glass noodles. They'll hit the hot wok and immediately start absorbing. This is where it gets fast. Add the fish sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and sugar directly onto the noodles. Toss and fold with your spatula and a pair of tongs or chopsticks. Keep the noodles moving. They go from perfect to stuck-to-the-wok in seconds if you stop.

5. 5

   Finish and plate

   Return the egg to the wok. Add the tomato wedges, green onion, and celery leaves. Toss twice. The tomato should barely soften, the green onion should still have bite. Hit it with the white pepper. Toss once more. Plate immediately. The noodles should be glossy, translucent, every strand stained with sauce. No pooling liquid at the bottom of the plate. If the noodles did their job, they drank everything.

Chef Tips

• •Soak the glass noodles in room-temperature water, never boiling. Hot water breaks down the mung bean starch too fast and you'll end up with a gummy, disintegrating mess in the wok. You want the noodles soft enough to bend but still slightly firm. They finish cooking in the wok. Thirty seconds of stir-frying is all they need.
• •Fish sauce is the primary salt here, not soy sauce. Light soy sauce (si ew khao) plays a supporting role for a bit of color and depth, but if you lead with soy you'll push the dish toward Chinese flavors and away from Thai. The nam pla does the heavy lifting. Oyster sauce adds body, gloss, and a savory sweetness that coats the noodles. That combination is the backbone of Central Thai wok cooking.
• •Wood ear mushrooms (het hu nu, เห็ดหูหนู) aren't there for flavor. They're there for texture. That slippery, slightly crunchy bite against the soft noodles is deliberate contrast. Soak them in warm water for fifteen minutes, trim the tough stems, and slice them thin. If you skip them, you lose a textural layer the dish was designed to have.
• •White pepper (prik thai, พริกไทย), not chili, is the heat in this dish. Pad woon sen is one of the few Thai stir-fries where bird's eye chilies aren't standard. The warmth is gentler, more aromatic. A half teaspoon of ground white pepper stirred in at the end is traditional. If you want more heat, serve prik nam pla (chilies in fish sauce) on the side.

Advance Preparation

• •Glass noodles can be soaked up to 30 minutes ahead. Drain and keep them covered so they don't dry out. Don't soak them longer or they'll turn to paste.
• •Wood ear mushrooms need 15 minutes of soaking in warm water. This can be done while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
• •Have every ingredient prepped and within arm's reach before the wok gets hot. Once the oil goes in, you have about three minutes total. There is no pause button.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)