Pad Woon Sen

by Susan Hanna

This recipe from NYT Cooking is a quick and easy vegetarian dish. Prepare the noodles and combine the sauce ingredients. Quickly scramble eggs, then remove them from the pan and chop coarsely. Cook the cabbage and pepper and remove from the pan. Cook onion, garlic and carrot, return the noodles, eggs and cabbage and pepper to the pan and stir in the sauce. Garnish with chile and scallions. Cook’s note: I used rice vermicelli instead of glass noodles and omitted the carrot.

Serves 4-6.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I haven’t been able to find oyster sauce without additives, so I make my own. You can find the recipe here. I used Cock brand fish sauce and tamari instead of soy sauce. For more recipes using all-natural ingredients, visit Eye For a Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 (6.3-ounce/178 g) package dried mung bean glass noodles
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) oyster sauce
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) granulated sugar
• Grapeseed or another neutral-tasting oil, as needed
• 3 eggs, whisked
• Salt
• ¼ napa cabbage, cut crosswise into ¼ -inch (0.63-cm) slices
• 1 bell pepper, halved, deseeded and cut crosswise into ¼ -inch (0.63-cm) slices
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 medium yellow onion, halved and cut into ¼ -inch (0.63-cm) slices
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 Thai bird chile, sliced
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced

Preparation:

1. Place the noodles in a large bowl and cover them with hot (but not boiling) water. Let soak for 10 minutes to soften, then drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar until well combined.
3. In a large cast-iron skillet or wok, add a splash of oil and heat over medium-high until shimmering. Add the eggs and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove to a plate and roughly chop.
4. Add a splash of oil to coat the pan again, add the cabbage and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage has charred in spots and softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the egg.
5. Add another splash of oil to the pan and add the bell pepper and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to the same plate.
6. Add another splash of oil to the pan and add the carrot, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the drained noodles and stir well. Add the vegetables and egg and stir again to combine. Add the sauce along the perimeter of the pan and stir to combine. Keep cooking and tossing until the sauce evenly coats the noodles, 3 to 5 minutes.
7. Off heat, add the chile and scallions, toss to combine and serve hot, at room temperature or even cold.

From NYT Cooking