Pad Si Ew - Where will i find ingredients

dvdfan · 29-03-2008 3:52pm #1

Ok below is a recipe for a thai dish called Pad Si Ew, i tried it before in Thailand and i absolutely loved it, had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but im struggling to find the ingredients. Im in Athlone but unfortunately i dont eat out very often so i doubt calling up one of Thai restaurants and asking them to get them for me is going to be successful.

Also out of the marinade id presume i could buy all that stuff in bulk without worrying about it going off quickly?? Ill higlight in red all the things i know i can get and maybe someone can point me in the right direction where i might find the other ingredients, Dunnes, Tesco, Spar, Centra etc

I also know someone who runs a restaurant so i can get some stuff that way but they mostly deal with irish food so no supplier is going to give them small quantities as its not worth their while.

Id say the noodles would be hardest to find, ive tried tesco and dunnes and although their is any amount of noodles i couldnt find the ones used for this dish, is their a specific name? What about the brockley, are they found in most grocery stores?

Lastly would it be a high calorie meal or somewhere in between? So hopefully someone can help or maybe theres even an online store that deliver Thai food?

Pad Si-iew~

Marinade

3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 tablespoons sweet dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly ground ginger
1 tablespoon chopped green onions, What are these????
1 tablespoon chopped shallots (or small red or purple onions)
1 tablespoon thinly sliced Thai chile peppers (optional)

Marinade 8 ounces of thinly-sliced beef in the marinade for about an hour.

Ingredients

marinaded beef (above) Well i use Pork instead
8 ounces fresh wide rice noodles, if available, or you may use our rice noodles
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons sweet dark soy sauce //Is this just standard Soy Sauce
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup coconut milk (optional)

Cook the noodles until tender, in warm water, then put in cold water to halt the cooking process. Heat a wok and a little oil to stir fry the marinaded beef until it just begins to cook (this will happen quickly). Add the noodles and the remaining ingredients, and stir until blended and heated through. Taste the sauce for balance of flavors (it should be just on the sweet side with a salty tang).

Serve with rice and the usual Thai table condiments as well as ground Thai chili powder and sugar.

Edit// Been doing some research on the Tesco Online Store

is Ambrosia Creamed Tapioca 425g Tin the same as Tapioca starch?
For rice wine id imagine that would be hard to get, any alternatives?
will Blue Dragon Fish Sauce 190ml do for the fish sauce?
For soy sauce is Amoy Dark Soy Sauce 150ml ok?
Amoy Oyster Sauce 150ml is that fine?
Palm sugar, whats this any substitutes?
For sesame oil hows this Tesco Toasted Sesame Oil 250ml?
Green Onions are these hard to get or can i substitute?
Thai rice noodles, these are hard find on Tesco theres 2 options 1) Amoy Straight To Wok Rice Noodles 300g ive tried these and there just not the same 2) Amoy Straight To Wok Singapore Noodles 2x150g or what type of store would be best for picking these up, if they have a long shelf life i could buy bulk

For brockli florets tesco have fresh or frozen, what shelf life have these, i guess if they have a long life i can go fresh.

Faith · 29-03-2008 4:20pm

1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Coconut milk
Rice noodles

You should be able to get all of those in Tesco, or perhaps an Asian store. Broccoli florets are just the small heads of broccoli, not the stem.

dvdfan · 29-03-2008 5:09pm

Hi Faith, Thanks for that, theres lots of noodles available but no thai noodles on tesco, same with rice wine and palm sugar, maybe i might find them in Dunnes.

Does anyone know of any asian stores around the midlands

cookiequeen · 29-03-2008 5:12pm

Dvdfan, head to tesco or your local supermarket like faith said and go to the ethnic food section. You should be able to get most stuff there, you'd be surprised, I know the tesco in Galway is brilliant for ethnic food.

Green onions=spring onions
Ambrosia tin of tapioca is not the same as tapioca starch
For the palm sugar, not sure, I'm guessing its an unrefined sugar so maybe dark muscovado sugar?
Broccoli doesn't keep very long but then I hate it as soon as it goes limp. To get the best nutritional value I'd go with frozen
Rice wine? Not sure but ask in the asian food store if they don't have it they'll be able to point you in the direction of an alternative.
All the others that you have sound good to me. Give it a lash and you can always change things around if its not quite right.

Alun · 29-03-2008 5:16pm

For rice wine, use dry sherry instead. For palm sugar, ordinary brown sugar. Green onions = scallions / spring onions. Tapioca starch is just a thickening agent, use corn flour or maize starch instead, NOT Ambrosia Creamed Tapioca :eek: The other alternatives you suggested are fine.

As for noodles, you'd have to shop around and try and find whatever most closely resembles what you're expecting. They generally last quite a long time so buy lots if you see what you want.

Alternatively just pay a quick visit one weekend to the Big Schmoke (aka Dublin) ... there's plenty of Asian supermarkets here where you'll get all those ingredients very easily and a whole lot cheaper than from the major supermarkets. If you need names and addresses let us know.

dvdfan · 29-03-2008 5:40pm

Thanks a million for the replies, looks like im sorted except for the noodles. I presume finding fresh noodles will be next to impossible. To be honest my favourite part of the dish was probably the noodles so i want to try and get them right, i think ill buy all of these and see which ones is best:

Amoy Straight To Wok Rice Noodles 300g
Amoy Straight To Wok Singapore Noodles 2x150g
Sharwoods Stir Fry Pad Thai Noodles
Sharwoods Stir Fry Noodles 2x200g

OHHH im so hungry now

catho_monster · 29-03-2008 7:27pm

Rice noodles are very different to all those noodles you get in Tesco - try a good health food shop.
Again a health food shop for the palm sugar, and possibly the tapioca starch.
Defo with the sherry instead of the rice wine.

All of the above are available in asian supermarkets - if you can find one!!

CodeMonkey · 29-03-2008 7:32pm

dvdfan wrote: »

Thanks a million for the replies, looks like im sorted except for the noodles. I presume finding fresh noodles will be next to impossible. To be honest my favourite part of the dish was probably the noodles so i want to try and get them right, i think ill buy all of these and see which ones is best:

Amoy Straight To Wok Rice Noodles 300g
Amoy Straight To Wok Singapore Noodles 2x150g
Sharwoods Stir Fry Pad Thai Noodles
Sharwoods Stir Fry Noodles 2x200g

OHHH im so hungry now

You can get them a lot cheaper in a chinese market if you are going to one. They are usually dried, you just hydrate them with water, drain, left to dry before you use them.

The Sweeper · 29-03-2008 11:42pm

You should be able to get rice noodles in a supermarket. They come in different sizes - vermicelli, like fine hair, then thicker and wider sizes. Buy the widest you can get. Put them in a bowl and cover them in just boiled water and leave them for 8-10 minutes.

I'd be suspicious that the Sharwoods noodles you've listed there will come with mix sauces and not just be straight noodles. The straight to wok noodles are different to rice noodles as well.

dvdfan · 29-03-2008 11:43pm

Yeah being in Athlone theres no Asian or Chinese Markets unfortunately, if they had a long shelf life id consider travelling somewhere in the midlands and stocking up, so if anyone knows anywhere let me know and dont be surprised if you hear about breakins in the Thai restuaurants in the Athlone area over the next few weeks:p

Minder · 30-03-2008 11:56am

dvdfan wrote: »

is Ambrosia Creamed Tapioca 425g Tin the same as Tapioca starch?

Tapioca starch is a flour, try using cornflour as a substitute

dvdfan wrote: »

For rice wine id imagine that would be hard to get, any alternatives?

Wing Yip chinese cooking wine or look for sake - the japanese rice wine

dvdfan wrote: »

will Blue Dragon Fish Sauce 190ml do for the fish sauce?

Yes

dvdfan wrote: »

For soy sauce is Amoy Dark Soy Sauce 150ml ok?

Yes

dvdfan wrote: »

Amoy Oyster Sauce 150ml is that fine?

Yes

dvdfan wrote: »

Palm sugar, whats this any substitutes?

Use any brown sugar

dvdfan wrote: »

For sesame oil hows this Tesco Toasted Sesame Oil 250ml?

Yes

dvdfan wrote: »

Green Onions are these hard to get or can i substitute?

Spring onions or scallions

dvdfan wrote: »

Thai rice noodles, these are hard find on Tesco theres 2 options 1) Amoy Straight To Wok Rice Noodles 300g ive tried these and there just not the same 2) Amoy Straight To Wok Singapore Noodles 2x150g or what type of store would be best for picking these up, if they have a long shelf life i could buy bulk

You really need the glass noodles made from mung beans, but other rice noodles will give a similar result. Wheat noodles are not a good substitute. After cooling the noodles in a bowl of water - make sure you dry them before adding to the wok. I tip them into a clean tea towel to get rid of much of the excess water. The water causes too much steam and the noodles become gluey.

Can anyone recommend an online seller for thai goods in Ireland?

dvdfan · 30-03-2008 7:38pm

Ok thanks so much for all the help, ive now got everything, i got 3 varieties of the noodles the Amoy Straight to Wok are 80% rice wheras the other versions are mostly made of wheat so that seems the closest although they are stringy rice noodles not flat. I also tried dunnes and there was all kinds of pasta and spagetti and them stringy noodles in the square small packets and the amoy straight to wok noodles but no other types of noodles.

An update, i have a chinese friend that works in a local chinese that is going to order flat rice noodles from their chinese supplier for me so ill have them next week so thats great.

Also have a look at this photo, it looks horrible and goey but its georgous and dont let the look fool you, im very fussy and its probably the only thai meal i tried other than noodle soup.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Pad_see_ew.jpg/800px-Pad_see_ew.jpg

Do you see the green cabage type veg near the bottom and the green stalky type veg, what is that, are they both chinese cabage? If so i might ask my friend to order some chinese cabage aswell assuming its used in chinese retuarants?

Last thing, about this recipe it dosent mention wheter i use oil or not in the wok, will the juice from the marinade do instead of oil? Also i have it steeping in the marinade for an hour but im wondering do i drain all the excess juice off from the marinade and all the chalots,onions etc or do i throw everything into the wok including the marinade. Im presuming i drain the excess so if thats wrong let me know whitin the next hour?

Apologies but cooking just aint my strong point.:o

Alun · 30-03-2008 8:12pm

dvdfan wrote: »

Do you see the green cabage type veg near the bottom and the green stalky type veg, what is that, are they both chinese cabage? If so i might ask my friend to order some chinese cabage aswell assuming its used in chinese retuarants?

Looks like Pak Choi or something similar. You can get that in most supermarkets these days.

Last thing, about this recipe it dosent mention wheter i use oil or not in the wok, will the juice from the marinade do instead of oil?

From the recipe you quoted ...

Heat a wok and a little oil to stir fry the marinaded beef ...

Also i have it steeping in the marinade for an hour but im wondering do i drain all the excess juice off from the marinade and all the chalots,onions etc or do i throw everything into the wok including the marinade. Im presuming i drain the excess so if that's wrong let me know within the next hour?

Yes, drain the excess marinade off first, or else when you put the beef in it'll more stew than fry. Also make sure the wok and oil is nice and hot first before you put the beef in for the same reason.

Hope this is in time

Enjoy!

Alun · 31-03-2008 9:23am

So, did you survive the ordeal?

dvdfan · 31-03-2008 4:35pm

Not so good, the amoy straight to wok stringy noodles just werent as tasty as i remember the flat rice noodles being, also i dont think id always have time for the marinade so ive been looking at this more basic recipe, which doesent include oyster and fish sauce and to be honest i think the flavour of the fish sauce was way to strong and i hate the smell of it.

http://www.realthairecipes.com/recipes/soy-sauce-fried-noodles/

So i will have the real flat rice noodles next week and im going to try them with that recipe and im also going to see if i can get some chinese broccolli of my chinese supplier which is the green cabage and stalk type veg you see in that picture. I really liked the taste of that when i tried it before.

If i find the flavour lacking i might try adding some fish/oyster sauce and ill keep updated of what i finally use and if it lived up the original

Tree · 31-03-2008 5:42pm

i find fish sauce needs to be used in small quantities and cooked off over a long time. all is tasty after that then

Minder · 31-03-2008 7:43pm

I spotted ground ginger in your first listed recipe - are you using ground ginger spice?

Also is the fish sauce at one tablespoon really that overpowering?

Your second recipe is very different to the first....

The Sweeper · 31-03-2008 10:35pm

Maybe fish sauce is an acquired taste, but I find if it's added at the end of thai or vietnamese cooking as a sort of salt condiment, it brings all of the other flavours together. Yeah so it smells strong, but hey, it's fermented fish juice.

Also, your second recipe will be dull - see the note at the end where it says to serve with all the condiments at the table so you can flavour to taste? If you don't have all of those, it will be extremely plain.

If I was pressed to throw together a thai noodle dish, I'd use the following:

ingredients

Thinly sliced sirloin steak, trimmed of fat.
Bok choi or pak choi
A packet of beansprouts
A bunch of spring onions, topped and tailed and sliced thinly on the diagonal (horses ears)

For the sauce part of the recipe

Peanut oil for frying
Garlic - either two cloves or two teaspoons of one of those garlic tube pastes
Ginger - again either grate a 2-inch peeled cube into mush, or use two teaspoons of one of those tubes of ginger paste.
Chili paste - hotter the better for me, plain chili, no added bits and pieces - sambal oelek would be best. You add this to taste, I'd use two tablespoons.
Ketjap Manus - that's sweet dark soy sauce - about three tablespoons of it.
A tablespoon of fish sauce
A tablespoon of rice wine
Two teaspoons of palm sugar or any brown sugar

The noodles

A packet of rice noodles - the wider ones are better.

Egg or no?

One egg per person. On the question of the egg, you can either beat the eggs and stir them through the stirfry to coat the noodles, or make an omelette out of them, thinly slice it and serve each bowl of noodles with a topping of shredded omelette.

If you're mixing the egg through the dish, make sure your rice noodles are still a little chewy and underdone when they leave the bowl of water, because you'll be stirfrying the egg through them for a couple of minutes to cook it and they'll just turn to mush if you don't have a little space there for them to finish cooking.

Other toppings

One whole lime cut into quarters to be squeezed over the dish, a handful of crushed peanuts, some fresh chili sliced into thin rounds, some crispy fried shallots (if you can get these in a packet as opposed to doing it yourself).

Method

Place your rice noodles in a bowl of just-boiled water and leave to sit - untangle every so often with a fork. They'll take about 10 minutes in the cooling water to be perfect, but follow the instructions on individual packets.

In a bowl or a jug, mix the ketjap manus, fish sauce, rice wine and sugar and stir well so the sugar starts to dissolve.

Salt and pepper the sirloin strips. Add a swirl of peanut oil to the wok and heat until nearly smoking. Flash fry the steak strips and then REMOVE THEM FROM THE WOK AND LEAVE THEM TO ONE SIDE.

Wipe the wok out, add another good swirl of peanut oil. Heat, but don't allow to smoke. To the hot oil, add the garlic, ginger and chili paste. Stir fry until the garlic no longer smells 'raw', being careful not to scorch it.

If the rice noodles are done by now, drain them and leave them to dry.

The rest of this dish is a method of quickly combining the remaining ingredients.

Return the steak to the stir frying paste. Stir fry until coated with the paste, then add the mixture of liquids from the bowl or jug. Stir fry this until it begins to bubble (so you're sure it's heated), then add sliced greens - whatever you're using including the onions- and the beansprouts. Stir fry until combined, then add the rice noodles and stir fry until combined.

Remove from the heat so it doesn't turn into stodge. (If you were stirring the egg through it, you'd add it now and stir fry it until it cooks, but again you have to do that with rice noodles that still have some cooking to go.)

Divide into bowls, and then allow people to top with what they want - I like a good squeeze of lime, a heap of chilis and a scattering of crushed peanuts.

Minder · 02-04-2008 9:51am

dvdfan wrote: »

An update, i have a chinese friend that works in a local chinese that is going to order flat rice noodles from their chinese supplier for me so ill have them next week so thats great.

Dvdfan - would you do me a favour. I would like to make singapore noodles. I have all the ingredients but cannot find a curry powder that gives a result anything like the Chinese takeaway version. Would you be so kind to ask your chinese friend what spices to use for restaurant style singapore noodles?

The Sweeper · 02-04-2008 11:37am

+1 I can't get singapore noodles to work the way they did at my local...

Pad Si Ew - Where will i find ingredients

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