Rad na (Thai gravy noodles with broccoli)
Wide rice noodles seared until smoky, then smothered in a silky garlic gravy with tender broccoli, served Thai-style with a splash of chili vinegar.
- 40 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $1.57 a serving
- 380 calories
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced
- 8 oz rice noodles
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups broccoli, florets and sliced stems
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced
- 2 cups vegetable broth
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce, divided
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Each serving has about 380 calories, 7 g protein, 62 g carbs and 11 g fat, and costs about $1.57 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No broccoli? Frozen broccoli works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Stir the serrano into the vinegar in a small bowl. This chili vinegar is for splashing over at the table.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Soak the noodles in very hot tap water 10 minutes, until bendy. and with 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Timer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: They should bend but still feel firm, like undercooked spaghetti. They finish cooking in the pan, so don’t soak them soft.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large over high heat.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
High heat
Spread the noodles out and leave them 2 minutes, until in spots, then and cook 1 minute more.
Char. Charring means cooking over very high heat until some spots turn black. Those dark spots add a smoky, slightly bitter flavor that balances sweet or rich food.
How you’ll know: You see black spots and blisters in places, while most of the surface keeps its own color.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
High heatTimer: 3 min
Dolly’s tip: Leave them alone to get those smoky spots. Stirring too soon just makes them sticky.Divide them between plates.
Add the rest of the oil to the pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the broccoli and carrot, and 2 minutes.
Stir-fry. Stir-frying means cooking small pieces fast over high heat in a little oil, stirring almost constantly. It moves quickly, so have everything chopped and ready before the pan gets hot.
How you’ll know: It sizzles loudly the whole time, and the vegetables turn bright and tender-crisp in minutes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min 30 sec
Pour in the broth, the rest of the soy sauce, the brown sugar and pepper and 2 minutes, until the broccoli is .
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Tender-crisp. Tender-crisp means vegetables cooked until just tender but still with a little snap. They keep their bright color and crunch instead of going soft and dull.
How you’ll know: A fork goes in with slight resistance, and the color is bright, not olive or gray.
Medium-high heatTimer: 2 min
Stir the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons cold water, pour it into the pan and stir about 1 minute, until the gravy is thick and glossy.
Medium-high heatTimer: 1 min
Dolly’s tip: Stir the slurry again right before you pour it. Cornstarch sinks to the bottom.Ladle the gravy and vegetables over the noodles and serve with the chili vinegar.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
