How to Make Pad Woon Sen | Recipe for Glass Noodles

Pad Woon Sen is a heart-warming stir-fried glass noodle dish that is not only an easy, heatlhy weeknight dinner, but also will be the hit dish at your next potluck!

I’m obsessed with Thai food, moved to Thailand so I could eat super cheap, amazing Thai food all the time. 

While there I fell in love with my Thai Hubby. Then we moved to America where I had to learn how to cook Thai food, so we can still eat it all the time. 

And I now teach weekly Thai cooking classes where I teach others like you how to make it! 

I know you aren’t able to make it to my Thai cooking class right this second, but don’t worry, as you read this Pad Woon Sen recipe, you will feel like you are there as I walk you through the whole process of what Pad Woon Sen is, and how you can make your own Glass Noodle Stir-Fry in your own kitchen!

Sherri’s Story

One of my favorite Pad Woon Sen memories was a magical experience with it during our Thailand Heritage Tour where we went back to Thailand for 6 weeks to have our 4 half-Thai American kids meet their Thai family and explore their other homeland.

We’d just walked onto a rattly boat ramp from a Love Andaman jet boat tour (not sponsored, but we did love it if you are looking for a tour!) of the islands in the south of Thailand we’d gone on with around 25 people from all over the world. 

We’d spent the day in the hot Thailand sun, swimming hard in the cotton candy blue waters while looking at sting rays, massive jellyfish, Nemo, and Dory fish, (as my kids called them) riding on a jet boat for hours, and sinking into the memory foam soft sand at the coast. 

As we walked back to the building where we’d left for our tour in the morning, my four kids, Thai Hubby and I were still glowing and reveling in all the beauty we’d taken in, while also starving and trying to figure out where we would eat for dinner and how soon we could get there before the hangry monster overtook us.

But as we walked into the building to drop off our gear, we saw an oasis spread before us.

Dinner!

We somehow missed the detail that a light dinner was served after the tour, and it was one of our favorite surprises of the trip.

They had fresh coconut ice cream scooped by the man who made it!!!, glistening Thai kebabs stacked up, but the dish that stood out to me most was the massive bowl of Pad Woon Sen, a Thai glass noodle stir-fried with cabbage, eggs, chicken, green onion and Thai sauces. 

As someone who hosts a lot, I’m always looking for Thai noodle dishes that are great to make in big batches, and I had a light bulb moment that day about Pad Woon Sen. 

It is simple to make, and a Thai noodle dish you can make ahead of time that unlike Pad Thai or Pad See Ew, which are made with rice noodles that goop up together if they sit long, Pad Woon Sen is made with glass noodles that keep their chewy texture, so it would taste just as good as it sat as when you made it fresh.

Plus, as I prepped it for a birthday potluck this week, even though I was stir-frying it at my stove, I was transported for a moment back to the beaches of Thailand to my Pad Woon Sen oasis. 

I hope you get transported there too when you make it dear!

What is Pad Woon Sen?

Woon Sen is a much loved Thai noodle dish by Thais, but not as well known to Americans as other Thai noodle dishes like Pad Thai or Pad See Ew.

Pad Woon Sen is a stir-fried glass noodle with Thai sauces like Thai oyster sauce, Thai thin soy sauce and Thai dark soy sauce, with egg, and whatever veggies and protein you have on hand.

Ingredients

Marinade

2 Chicken breasts or protein of choice, thinly sliced

2 tbsp Thai oyster sauce

Sauce

2-3 tbsp Thai oyster sauce

2-3 tbsp Thai thin mushroom soy sauce

2-3 tbsp dark Thai soy sauce

1-2 tbsp sugar

Noodles

4 servings of glass noodles

Water to soak noodles in

Stir-Fry

2-3 tbsp of minced garlic

1 small onion, sliced into long strips

2 green onion stalks, cut into 1/2 in. long pieces

2-3 cups veggies of choice thinly sliced, we prefer Chinese broccoli, cabbage, red pepper and carrots

2 eggs

2 tsp, to taste, white pepper powder

Thai Sriracha, to taste (optional)

Step-by-Step

Marinate the thinly sliced chicken or protein of choice in 2 tbsp of oyster sauce until all your ingredient prep is done. Or if you have time, feel free to marinate it longer, up to overnight. 

Soak glass noodles in room temperature water for about 10 minutes until soft and pliable. 

Pick up clumps of the glass noodles, and cut them, so they aren’t too long, about 6 inches or so in length because it can be hard to eat and serve when they are really long.

Add a few tablespoons of cooking oil of choice to a warmed up wok or large saute pan. 

Add garlic and onions and stir-fry for 30 seconds or so until fragrant.

Add chicken or protein of choice and cook for one to two minutes or so until half-way cooked through.

Add more oil, push the chicken to the side and add eggs, and scramble them immediately, mixing them up with the chicken.

Add veggies of choice, and some sauce to make sure the chicken and veggies get some flavor too.

Once the protein and veggies are cooked through, I like to take them out and put them on a plate, so there is room to stir-fry the noodles and cook them without too much in the pan creating extra moisture. 

Add glass noodles, the sauce, and stir-fry. 

If glass noodles aren’t cooking through after adding the sauce, add a tablespoon of water at a time to help them cook more, but be careful not to add too much or they will become mushy and gooey!

One the noodles have softened, add back in chicken and veggies, mix it up, and then plate immediately so it doesn’t stick to the pan.

What to Serve With It

Unlike most Thai noodle dishes like Pad See Ew and Pad Thai, which are eaten as one dish meals, Pad Woon Sen is served at family-style meals alongside other Thai dishes that go with rice. 

We love serving Pad Woon Sen with:

• Sun-dried Thai beef jerky
• Thai Cashew Chicken
• Tom Kha Gai Soup

How to Make Pad Woon Sen Gluten Free

Glass noodles aka bean vermicelli noodles aka mung bean noodles are gluten-free, yay! 

But soy sauce, and oyster sauce aren’t usually gluten-free.

But great gluten-free substitutes for soy sauce that my gluten-free friends love are:

• Trader Joe’s Coconut Aminos 
• GF Tamari

You can find gluten free oyster sauce at many grocery stores in the international aisle or Thai gluten free oyster sauces online or at the Asian market:

• Gluten Free Healthy Boy Oyster Sauce

Pad Woon Sen Ingredient Substitutions:

Often when cooking Thai food I’ve had people ask me what substitutions they can use since it can be hard to find Thai ingredients. 

If you have the option, definitely always try to take the effort to get the Thai ingredients, but if you just can’t find them, and I’ve been there! here are some great subs:

• 1 tbsp. thai dark soy sauce substitute: 1/2 tbsp soy sauce + 1/2 tbsp molasses or brown sugar
• Thai mushroom soy sauce: 1 tbsp light Thai soy sauce or regular Kikoman soy sauce
• Thai oyster sauce substitute: 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce + 1/2 tbsp soy sauce 
• Thai Sriracha substitute: 1/2 tbsp ketchup + 1/2 tbsp Red Rooster Sriracha (If you want it really spicy, add more sriracha than ketchup, if you want it less spicy, add more ketchup)
• Glass Noodle Substitute: Rice vermicelli, Soba noodles, or Angel hair pasta

FAQs

What does Pad Woon Sen taste like?

Pad Woon Sen has a heart-warming umami, sweet, savory flavor and is paired with an amazing texture of the slippery smooth, chewy glass noodles.

What are Pad Woon Sen noodles made of?

Pad Woon Sen is made of glass noodles aka bean vermicelli noodles aka mung bean noodles. They are thin and transparent like glass, which is where they got their name. 

Mung bean glass noodles are made of water and starch from mung beans, so glass noodles are naturally gluten-free. 

Glass noodles are made by mixing processed mung bean flour and water. Then that dough gets mixed, pulled, washed, and stretched. 

Then the mixture gets pressed through what looks like a giant sieve, and the glass noodle strands are draped over dowels and dried.

Where did Pad Woon Sen originate?

According to the Bangkok Post, Pad Woon Sen originated in China and is also known as Pad Hainan, since originally it was an ethnic Hainanese dish. 

What is the difference between Pad Woon Sen vs. Pad Thai?

One of the major differences between Pad Thai vs. Pad Woon Sen is that Pad Thai is typically made with rice noodles and Pad Woon Sen is made with glass noodles. 

The downside of Pad Thai rice noodles is the rice noodles start to stick together soon after they are done because the moisture that comes off them as they sit is like glue that binds the noodles together. So they are best eaten immediately after stir-frying.

But Pad Woon Sen noodles are made with glass noodles, aka bean vermicelli noodles, and they don’t have the same problem with turning into glue after being stir-fried, and instead hold their shape well long after being made. 

If I’m going to make a big batch of Thai noodles for a potluck,  instead of Pad Thai, Pad See Ew, or Pad Kee Maw, my go-to Thai noodle dish is Pad Woon Sen since it tastes great fresh or later on. 

What does Pad Woon Sen mean?

Pad means stir-fry, and Woon Sen means glass noodles, aka bean vermicelli noodles, so Pad Woon Sen is translated into English as Stir-Fried Glass Noodles. 

Is Pad Woon Sen healthy?

Pad Woon Sen is a healthy option because it’s packed with veggies with high antioxidants, and glass noodles. 

My Thai friends say when they are going on a diet and trying to be more healthy they like to use recipes with glass noodles since:

• Glass noodles have fewer calories than rice noodles.
• Glass noodles are on the lower glycemic index, which is helpful for those managing their blood sugar levels.
• Glass noodles are fat-free, and have high levels of iron, calcium, and potassium.

Is Pad Woon Sen spicy?

Pad Woon Sen is typically not spicy. It is one of those Thai meals that is a great reminder that not all Thai dishes are spicy like some assume. 

But of course, as with any Thai dish, to each individual serving, you can, like we do, add Thai Sriracha, Thai dried chili pepper flakes or Thai chilies and vinegar. 

My favorite place to hang out online is in Instagram stories! Share your photo with me @thaifoodie, I’d love to see it!

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