Rad Na

I've been asked a few times by a co-worker of mine if I had a Rad Na recipe. I honestly didn't really know what Rad Na was, but I had always seen it in Thai menus. When ordering noodles, I always go for Pad Thai or Pad See Ewe. I had recently finally decided to have a taste of Rad Na and discovered that it is similar to Pad See Ewe, but with a gravy. So now that I know what Rad Na is, I wanted to see if I could make it at home and finally let my co-worker know that I had found a recipe.

After searching for recipes, I decided to settle with this one from Thai Table. I used fresh noodles to make this dish, but next time I'll probably work with dry noodles. Fresh noodles is just too messy to handle, as they stick to the pan. I should have learned from my first attempt at making Pad See Ewe, when the noodles became overcooked and kind of soggy. However, with that experience, I was more careful in cooking the noodles this time. This recipe looks intimidating, but once you have all your ingredients together, like most Thai recipe, its all a matter of tossing everything together. The dish came out quite good. I still prefer Pad Thai or Pad See Ewe over Rad Na, but at least now I know what it is and how to make it.

1/2 lb. thinly sliced chicken, pork, or beef
4 Tbsp. cornstarch or tapioca flour
3 1/2 cups water
3/4 lb. Chinese broccoli or regular broccoli
2-3 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. fresh, flat rice noodles (or dry rice noodles, softened)
3-4 Tbsp. dark, sweet soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. yellow bean paste
1/4 tsp. white pepper

1) Massage 1 tablespoon of cornstarch (or tapioca flour) onto meat and set aside. Combine remaining 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with the water and set aside. Cut Chinese broccoli (or regular broccoli) into 2 inch pieces and set aside.

2) Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or a pan. Add noodles and carefully stir. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of soy sauce over noodles and toss to coat thoroughly. Continue to stir until noodles are heated and separated. Remove from heat and transfer noodles to a platter.

3) In the same pan, add remaining 2 tablespoon of oil. Add garlic and meat. Stir until meat is almost cooked through. Add cornstarch water and whisk thoroughly to prevent clumping. Allow sauce to come to a boil and become translucent.

4) Add remaining 1-2  tablespoons of soy sauce, sugar and yellow bean paste. Stir and allow to simmer until sauce has thickened to a gravy consistency. (note: If the sauce isn't thick enough, make a slurry of more cornstarch and water and add to gravy).

5) Add more soy sauce and sugar to your taste. Add broccoli stems and cook for about a minute. Add remaining broccoli leaves just until heated through (note: do not overcook broccoli). Season with white pepper. Place sauce over noodles and serve hot.