Pad mee sua, also known as pad mee tiew, is a very popular vegan noodle dish during the vegan eating festival in Thailand. My grandmother happens to love making this delicious and simple noodle stir-fry, and it has become her signature dish that I must have every time I come home! They're so satisfying and addictive! She usually puts pork in it, but I've chosen to make it vegetarian and so I'm using pressed marinated tofu which is delicious in this dish. You can absolutely use chicken, shrimp, beef, or no protein at all.
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In Thailand this dish uses a special type of noodles that we call "mee tiew" or "mee sua", but here I've discovered that you can substitute Chinese wheat, no-egg noodles that are similar in shape/size. Mine says "chow mein" on the package, but I find sometimes other chow mein noodles contain eggs. A note of caution, I've found that some noodles are only good for soup and do not hold up well for stir-frying, so when buying I would make sure the instructions on the back do say it is appropriate for stir-fry.
If you love noodle stir fries, also check out my pancit canton recipe and my vegan pad thai!
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Vegan Noodle Stir-Fry - Grandma's Signature (Pad Mee Sua)
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 150g dried Chinese wheat noodles, no eggs, see video for size (see note)
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 100g pressed tofu, marinated, cut into small pieces
- 2 cups cabbage, bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup julienned carrots
- 5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated, stems removed, chopped
- 2 Tbsp Thai soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp Golden Mountain sauce
- 1 ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 cup garlic chives, 2-inch pieces
Instructions
Add noodles to rapidly boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes, just until they are pliable and release from each other but are still slightly undercooked. Timing may vary depending on your specific kind of noodles. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.
In a wok, add just enough oil to coat the bottom followed by chopped garlic and pressed tofu. Once the garlic starts to turn golden, add cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms. Add a little splash of soy sauce over the vegetables and stir-fry for about a minute to wilt them slightly.
Add the noodles, then drizzle the soy sauce and golden mountain sauce over the noodles and toss with tongs until the sauces are well distributed. Sprinkle sugar and white pepper and toss to mix well.
Check doneness of noodles, they should be done by this point, but if they're still too hard, you can add a splash of water and toss it around until all the water is absorbed.
Turn off the heat and immediately add garlic chives, tossing it until the garlic chives are slightly wilted.
Hannah says
Is “Thai soy sauce” the same as “light soy sauce”. I am assuming yes since dark soy sauce has such strong flavor.
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Yes, you can use light soy sauce or regular soy sauce instead of Thai soy sauce.
Madison says
I've made this so many times. It's such a great recipe!
Futile Resistance says
Another recipe Pailin stole from her grandmother! lol
Works great as a lunch or side dish