Pad See Ew — The Warm, Simple Dinner That Got Us Through the Wait

I have passed my due date and entered what the medical literature calls expectant management with clinical understatement. My OB has moved me to twice-weekly monitoring. The twins are healthy. My blood pressure is fine. Everything is fine. I am forty weeks and five days pregnant with two babies and fine is doing a lot of work as a word right now. Ryan has started timing the space between my sighs. He says it is under two minutes. He says this with the tone of someone who has learned when to be funny and when to be quiet, and I have married the right man.

Kristin flew in from New York on Tuesday. She drove over Wednesday morning with coffee and we sat at my kitchen table and she just talked to me like a normal person, which I needed more than I knew. No advice. No statistics. She asked what I was scared of and I said everything and she said that sounds about right and we drank our coffee. She is good at this in ways different from what I expected.

Matt called from Springfield to report he has Googled signs of labor and is ready to drive. Babcia Rose sent a card with a holy medal tucked inside, St. Gerard, patron of expectant mothers, and wrote two lines in Polish that Patty translated as God holds them already, you just carry them a little longer. I put the medal on the kitchen counter next to the salt. Dziadek Wally called and said Myszka, do not worry about a thing. I cried after we hung up, the good kind.

I made pozole this week, hominy from a can, Aldi chicken thighs, chicken broth, dried chiles, garlic, oregano. It simmered for two hours and the apartment smelled like the best version of winter. We ate it with shredded cabbage, lime, and crushed tortilla chips. Ryan had two bowls. I had two bowls. It made enough for four more servings, now in the freezer next to three lasagnas. I am running out of freezer space. I am also running out of excuses not to just have these babies already.

Pozole went into the freezer, and then I made this — because when you have already hit forty weeks and five days and you are simply waiting, the only thing that helps is having another warm, filling dinner on the table before you can think too hard about anything else. Pad See Ew is exactly that kind of recipe: fast, deeply savory, just enough to keep Ryan from timing my sighs and me from reading another article about cervical ripening. It does not freeze as elegantly as the pozole, but it comes together in under twenty minutes, and some nights that is the whole point.

Pad See Ew

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 12 oz wide dried rice noodles
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced thin
• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups Chinese broccoli (gai lan) or regular broccoli florets, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the noodles. Place dried rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with warm water. Soak for 10–15 minutes until pliable but not fully soft. Drain and set aside.
2. Make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
3. Sear the chicken. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large wok or heavy skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add chicken in a single layer and cook without stirring for 2 minutes, then stir-fry until cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Push to the side of the pan.
4. Cook the garlic and eggs. Add remaining oil and garlic to the center of the pan. Cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Crack in the eggs and scramble lightly, breaking into small pieces as they set.
5. Add noodles and broccoli. Add drained noodles and broccoli to the pan. Pour sauce over everything. Toss and stir-fry over high heat for 2–3 minutes, letting the noodles char slightly against the pan for flavor.
6. Finish and serve. Season with white pepper and toss once more to combine. Serve immediately, straight from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 67g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 1140mg