Rad Na (Lad Na): The Most Underrated Thai Noodles ราดหน้า

When you think of Thai noodles, pad thai, pad see ew and maybe pad kee mao come to mind. But rad na, also called lad na, is another noodle dish beloved by Thai people - yet very few Thai restaurants overseas offer it. It's a dish that showed up regularly on our dinner table in Thailand, and one that deserves a place on yours!

Chewy wide rice noodles are drenched in a luscious pork gravy; it's the "comfort food" of Thai street food. It's simple and quick to make, but the quality of ingredients are important, so some attention is required. Let's dive in!

What is Rad Na or Lad Na?

Rad na (pronounced raad-nah) is sometimes written as rat na, lad na, rad nah, or something similar. The name refers to the pouring (raad) of the gravy onto the "face" (na) of the noodles.

It's a dish that can be found all over Thailand; often sold by casual eateries such as street food vendors or food courts, but fancier versions involving seafood is sometimes served in higher end restaurants.

If you have some experience with Thai cooking, you might think that rad na doesn't look particularly Thai. No chilies, lemongrass, coconut milk...not even fish sauce!? This is because rad na, like most of our noodle dishes, has a Chinese origin. Rest assured though this is a solid part of Thai food culture, and you can find it just about anywhere you go in Thailand.

Ingredients

Rad na has a few components to it: the marinated pork, the noodles, and the gravy - plus some optional condiments. It sounds like a lot, but I promise they're all quite simple.

Marinated Pork

• Pork shoulder (pork butt). You can substitute pork loin or tenderloin if you prefer it leaner, but pork butt has more flavour and remains juicier because of the fat. If you don't eat pork, chicken will work.
• Oyster sauce
• Soy sauce
• Toasted sesame oil
• Sugar
• Ground white pepper
• Tapioca starch or cornstarch
• Egg white

The Noodles & Gravy

• Fresh wide rice noodles (ho fun). These are the default noodles for rad na, and the best one IMO; though if you can't find them, see alternatives below - or you can try making them using my fresh rice noodles recipe.
  These need to be separated before cooking, but if they are cold, hard and stuck together you will need to reheat them until hot and soft first. Fresh rice noodles are impossible to peel apart without breaking when cold, so don't even try it. You can microwave them (see video tutorial for my microwaving technique) or you can cover them in a towel and steam.
• Black soy sauce or dark soy sauce. If you don't already have it though, I wouldn't run out to buy a bottle just for this recipe as it's mostly for colour.
• Garlic
• Thai fermented soybean paste (tao jiew). This is the key component of rad na, and you can think of it as the Thai version of miso. The bottle is labeled as "soy bean paste" or "yellow bean sauce". Miso is a good substitute, and I have had success using the same quantity of low-sodium miso or using slightly less regular miso.
  Once you've got a bottle, try using it in these other recipes: steamed fish with ginger, and Hainanese chicken rice.
• Pork stock. There is no ingredient more important to the flavour of this dish than the pork stock. It makes up the bulk of your gravy, so the stock has to be good, and it should be made using Thai or Asian aromatics. Pork stock can be made using pork bones (available in Asian markets) and can be done in an instant pot (30 mins on high pressure will do). See my pork stock recipe here.
  If you don't eat pork, you can use chicken stock, but again homemade Thai- or Asian-style for best flavour. Store bought is not recommended for this one. Here's my chicken stock recipe.
• Soy sauce
• Golden Mountain Sauce. You can sub Maggi seasoning, oyster sauce or even fish sauce.
• Sugar
• Tapioca starch. This is the traditional gravy thickener. Cornstarch will work but I do prefer the texture of tapioca. Also if you plan on re-heating the gravy, I highly suggest using tapioca starch as cornstarch can gel up in the fridge and becomes harder to get smooth again.
• White pepper
• Toasted sesame oil (optional)
• Gai lan (Chinese broccoli), preferably the smaller ones which tend to be less bitter. Broccolini is great as a sub; and if nothing else, regular broccoli will work. If you want to play around a bit, other vegetables that can work include crunchy veg like carrots and baby corn.
  If you have leftover gai lan, use it in this magnificent side dish.

Common Condiments (optional)

• Chili vinegar - prik nam som. This is simply sliced hot chilies in white vinegar, and it's used on many of our noodle dishes such as pad see ew and noodle soups. It adds tartness, which helps cut the richness of the gravy.
  
  This is optional, but if you ask me, I think the bright acidity is very important in keeping the dish in balance. The chilies can be eaten if you like it spicy, or just drizzle on the mildly spiced vinegar.
• Roasted chili flakes; the Thai all-purpose heat-booster that I always have in the fridge. Spicy dried chilies are toasted for smokiness and then ground up. As a shortcut you can toast store bought pepper flakes. Further instructions in the recipe card.

How to Make Rad Na/Lad Na

Here's a bird's eye view of the steps, but I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success, as it's much easier to learn by watching it all in action!

1. Combine the pork with all marinade ingredients; set aside for at least 20 minutes and up to one day ahead. If you want to make the chili vinegar, now is the time to make it as well (see "condiments" above).
2. Separate the noodles into individual strands. If they're cold and stuck together, microwave them until hot and soft (see video for my technique). You can also cover with a towel and steam them.
3. Toss the noodles in black soy sauce to add colour.
4. Heat a wok or a large nonstick skillet on high heat, add a little oil, and once the pan is very hot, spread the noodles in the pan and allow them to toast without stirring. Once the noodles are toasted and charred slightly, flip and toast the other side. Remove and set aside.

5. For the gravy: In a wok, heat oil over medium heat, then saute garlic and tao jiew until the garlic starts to turn golden.
6. Add the pork stock and all seasonings. Turn the heat up to high and bring to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, combine the tapioca starch and water to make a slurry (not pictured).
7. Add the pork, and quickly stir to spread the pieces apart.
8. Add the Chinese broccoli and stir to mix.

9. Once the sauce boils, stir the starch slurry then pour HALF of it into the sauce and immediately stir to mix. When the sauce comes back to a boil, if the sauce is too runny add a little more starch slurry.
10. The consistency should be jus thick enough to coat the noodles, not thick and gloopy!
11. Place noodles onto a serving plate or a shallow bowl and ladle the gravy over.
12. Top with chili vinegar and roasted chili flakes (if you want), and serve right away!

Noodle Alternatives

Ho fun or wide flat rice noodles can be hard to find if you don't have large Asian grocery stores nearby. So here are some alternatives:

Thin rice noodles or "rice vermicelli"

This is a very popular option for rad na in Thailand - and while I personally prefer the wide noodles, many people prefer these thread-thin ones.

To use: soak them in room temp or lukewarm water until they are completely hydrated - they should droop completely and not resist gravity at all when picked up. Depending on the brand and your water temperature, this could take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.

Toss them with the black soy sauce as you would with the flat noodles, then saute them in a wok with a bit of oil for a few minutes to cook them through.

You can watch a video of me using these noodles in my easy vermicelli pad see ew recipe.

Wonton noodles or egg noodles

Wonton noodles is another rad na noodle option in Thailand. They are fresh noodles and are commonly available at Asian grocery stores in the fridge. They come in two different shapes and either one will work so whichever you prefer.

To use: Loosen them up by hand then boil them in water for 1-2 minutes (check them after 1 minute). Drain and toss them with some neutral oil (or garlic oil if you have it) to prevent sticking. You can skip the black soy sauce and the toasting step for these.

Crispy fried noodles

Sometimes the thin wonton noodles above can be deep fried until crispy, before the gravy is poured over them. This is what we call for mee krob rad na.

It may seem odd to make crispy noodles only to drench them in sauce...but trust me, they do retain some crispiness while you eat, and it's quite tasty!

To use: Loosen them up by hand then fry them for just a few seconds in 350°F (180°F) oil until they are puffed and crispy. Quickly remove them from the oil and drain. You can see me fry some wonton noodles here in my khao soi recipe.

Velveting - The key to juicy, tender pork

You might be surprised by two ingredients in the pork marinade: tapioca starch and egg white.

Adding these ingredients to meat marinade is a common technique in Chinese cooking. When cooked, the starch and egg white form a "shell" around the meat which keeps it juicy and tender. It also gives the meat a nice "velvety" mouthfeel. In Thai cooking sometimes only the starch is used when a thinner velveting is desired (or to cut costs!).

You can apply this technique to stir fries, which is where velveting is most commonly used. In Chinese restaurants, meat for stir fries is usually deep fried first to cook the velveting mixture on, then they are tossed with the sauce and other ingredients in the wok. The velveting protects the meat from the intense heat and keeps the juices in.

At home, you don't have to deep fry the meat though! You can simply blanch it in boiling water like I do in my garlic lime pork recipe.