2 to 3 hours

We wanted to create a version of pad see ew—the traditional Thai dish of chewy, lightly charred rice noodles, with chicken, crisp broccoli, and moist egg, bound with a sweet and salty soy-based sauce—that would work in the American home kitchen. We substituted supermarket ingredients for hard-to-find fresh rice noodles, Chinese broccoli, and sweet Thai soy sauce, but it was simulating the high heat of a restaurant wok burner on a lower-output home stovetop that was the real challenge. Since we were already using maximum heat, we increased the surface area by using a 12-inch nonstick skillet, and we cooked the dish in batches, combining all of the components right before serving. Most important, we found that eliminating much of the stirring in our stir-fry helped us achieve the all-important char that characterizes pad see ew.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: For the best spaghetti with garlic and oil recipe, we found that a combination of cooked and raw garlic made our dish shout with flavor. A strategic amount of extra-virgin olive oil along with cooking water coated the spaghetti well. A sprinkle of red pepper flakes and parsley was the finishing touch for our best spaghetti with garlic and oil recipe.

For a home cook–friendly version of this classic Japanese noodle stir-fry, we started by isolating the best possible supermarket alternatives to hard-to-find Japanese ingredients. In place of chewy yakisoba noodles, we use lo mein noodles (which also contain an alkaline ingredient that gives them some elasticity) and undercook them to enhance their chew. We also rinse them very well with cold water, which removes surface starches and makes them appropriately slick. We treat thinly sliced flank steak with baking soda to ensure that each piece is tender and juicy. Soy sauce, Worcestershire, ketchup, and rice wine vinegar make up the savory-sweet sauce—a facsimile of the traditional version made with Japanese Worcestershire sauce.