How to Make Lad Na | Thai Noodles with Gravy

Looking for a heart-warming, cozy Thai dish that feels like a warm hug after a hard day? You have to try soothing Lad Na for dinner tonight!

Do you love authentic Lad Na from your favorite Thai restaurant, and wish you could make it for your family, but feel intimidated to try making it at home?

 I’ve been there too, but not anymore!

Over a decade ago I fell in love with Thai food, my Thai Hubby, and cooking Thai food, and after learning from my Thai grandma-n-law, and Thai Hubby, and cooking for years, I now teach Thai cooking classes at my home every week!

And since you can’t make it to my cooking class right now, I’m happy to teach you right now how to make Lad Na and answer your questions, just like if you were at my Thai cooking class in my kitchen.

Sherri’s Lad Na Story

Thai Hubby and I both zoomed back in time yesterday. 

Our first bite of Lad Na, aka wide Thai rice noodles with thick gravy, tender pork and crisp, vibrant Chinese broccoli was our Delorean that took us there.

Thai Hubby arrived at a side street in his home town of Sukhothai, Thailand. 

He watched a Thai street food vendor, an older woman wearing a faded red apron and a big smile, put wide dark brown tinted rice noodles into a faded blue plastic bowl. 

Then she dipped a large metal ladle into a huge metal pot the size of a barrel and scooped out a luscious, gooey gravy of pork and Chinese broccoli to pour over the soft rice noodles.

Thai Hubby took the steaming bowl to a metal dark blue table with chipped paint and sat on a rickety plastic bright red stool.

He picked up from the table a bottle of Thai Sriracha (which people from Sukhothai always put on their Lad Na) and zig zagged it on top, sprinkled on some sugar, and a dash of vinegar. 

He smiled big as he scooped a perfect bite of noodles, gravy, pork and broccoli onto a big metal spoon ready to devour it.

But I went back in time to the bustling market across the street from the tutoring school, where I taught back when my Thai Hubby was just a hot Thai guy that I was dating.

My Thai co-worker and I were standing in front of the Lad Na vendor in the back of the loud market, busy with the lunchtime rush. 

I was mystified as I watched the serious, older gentleman efficiently put the dark rice noodles in a clear plastic bag and confidently, and like doing a magic trick, tie a red rubber band across the top so that the bag was now full of air like a balloon.

He did the same magic trick with the tiny bags of vinegar and peppers. Then he put all the balloon bags of Lad Na in a plastic grocery bag. 

We carried our bag of lunch treasures across the busy street, dashing across like we were playing tag with the motorcycles, taxis, buses, tuk tuks and cars, and somehow made it safely across, to our office building, and up the elevator to the third floor to our tutoring school.

I grabbed some plastic white bowls from the kitchen, emptied our bags of Lad Na goodness into them, tore open some Thai chili pepper flakes to sprinkle on top, and smiled as I scooped a perfect bite onto a big metal spoon, ready to devour it.

I’m glad that I figured out how to make Lad Na that could bring us back in time—because the first time I attempted to make it, instead of smiling after my first bite, I cried out of frustration.

We hadn’t eaten it since Thailand, which was years ago. So I was super stressed the first time I made it, trying so hard to make it taste like I remembered.

But instead of flashing back to Thailand, I ended up with a gooey like glue broth with tough, tiny slices of pork that didn’t taste anything like the Lad Na of our Thailand days.

But this time I took it slow, adjusted what I messed up on, and the smiles came.

Lesson learned: If you mess up making a Thai dish, it’s like what I tell my kids, it’s ok to make a mistake, see how you can fix it and do things differently next time. 

Those failed attempts will make your spot on Lad Na taste all the better and bring those nostalgic, happy tears to your eyes.

FAQs

What does Lard Na taste like?

Lad Na is a heart-warming noodle dish typically made with soft wide rice noodles with stir-fried Chinese broccoli, along with meat that is then covered in a sweet, umami and savory packed thick gravy.

What does Lad Na mean in Thai?

Lad Na literally translated means pouring something on top.

Lad Na vs. Rad Na

Since there isn’t a set translation of Thai characters into English letters, there are many different ways people spell Thai dishes in English, which is why you might have trouble finding Thai recipes! 

Really Lad Na (ราดหน้า) is pronounced as Rad na (pronounced raad-nah) but I titled my recipe Lad Na, since that is what many people are searching for when looking for Lad Na recipes. 

It can also be written as Rat Na, Raad Na, Lad nar, or Rad Nah.

Confusing right?! That’s why I’m here for you!

Lad Na vs. Pad See Ew

If you love Pad See Ew, you’d love Lad Na too; they are like sisters! Here is how they are similar and different:

• Both Pad Se Ew and Lad Na have wide rice noodles, thinly sliced protein and Chinese broccoli.
• Lad Na has a thick gravy over the wide rice noodles.
• Pad See Ew is stir-fried with no gravy. 
• Both typically aren’t spicy on their own, but dried chili flakes or Thai sriracha can be added to taste. 

Lad Na 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:

• Fresh Rice Noodles or Fresh Egg Noodles Substitute: Dried rice noodles or dried egg noodles, follow the directions on the bag for how to cook them.
• 1 tbsp. thai dark soy sauce substitute: 1/2 tbsp soy sauce + 1/2 tbsp molasses or brown sugar
• Chinese broccoli substitute: regular broccoli, kale, turnip greens
• Thai yellow bean sauce substitute: 1/2 tbsp miso + a pinch of 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: 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)

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

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