Recently, my good friend S has been tempting me with the best rad na in her neighborhood. All the rad na talks had me craving for it that I had to get my fix.
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found a remotely worthy Thai restaurants in Orange County, which is very sad and I have pretty much given up dining out on Thai food because honestly, I make better Thai food than those found at the Thai restaurants around.
So, I made rad na, after consulting with Chez Pim about one of the ingredients used. I even made pickled green chilies (recipe coming soon) from scratch, to make sure that I had an authentic serving of rad na.
Rad na, or Rad Na Kuay Tiew is a Thai-Chinese noodle dish. Originated in China, this dish is commonly found all over Asia.
In Malaysia, our variation is called Char Hor Fun or Wat Tan Hor; in Laos, I believe it’s called Lad Na, and I am sure there is a variation of this popular noodle dish in Vietnam, Cambodia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Regardless of its regional variation, it’s always delicious and satisfying—fried rice noodles drenched in a savory sauce with seafood, meat, and vegetables…
There are two versions of rad na, one made with preserved bean sauce (taucheo) and one without. I prefer the former, which is absent from Malaysian Char Hor Fun or Wat Tan Hor.
The preserved bean sauce adds an earthy nuance to the sauce, and balances the somewhat sweetish flavor. Do try out my Rad Na recipe (click on the gallery above for detailed step-by-step cooking process), I personally think that it was a huge success, so much so that I had to make another serving a few days after this initial attempt. :)
Rad Na Recipe
Thai Rad Na, or flat noodles with gravy.
Ingredients
- 1 pack fresh wide rice noodles, about 1 1/2 lbs (divide into two portions)
- 6 to 8 medium-sized shrimp, shelled and deveined, but leave tail intact
- 2 oz. chicken, cut into thin slices
- 6-10 slices fish cake, (optional)
- 2 garlic, finely minced
- 2 oz. Chinese gailan/kailan, cut into 2-inch lengths
- 1 teaspoon oil, for frying the noodles
- 1/2 tablespoon sweet soy sauce, for frying the noodles
- 2 dashes white pepper, powder for each serving
Sauce:
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons taucheo, preserved bean sauce
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons sweet soy sauce, Kecap Manis
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar or to taste
- 1 tablespoon corn starch plus 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
-
Heat up a wok with 1 teaspoon oil. Once the oil is heated, transfer the rice noodles into the wok and do a few quick stirs before adding the sweet soy sauce. Use the spatula to stir the noodles vigorously to spread the sweet soy sauce evenly. Stir-fry for about 3 to 5 minutes or until the noodles somewhat clump together and slightly burned. Transfer and set aside.
-
Add 2 teaspoons oil into the work and heat it up. Saute the garlic until light brown or aromatic before adding shrimp, fish cake and chicken. Stir-fry the ingredients a few times until half cooked before adding the preserved bean sauce. Stir a few more times before adding the water, seasonings, and vegetables. Bring the sauce to boil and then thickens it with the corn starch water. As soon as the sauce is thick and gooey, turn off the heat.
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On a serving plate, place a portion of the fried rice noodles on top and then pour the sauce onto the noodles. (Divide the chicken, fish cake, shrimp and vegetables evenly.) Add a few slices of pickled green chilies and a couple dashes of white pepper powder before serving.
Recipe Notes
The flat rice noodles used in rad na is wider. I usually buy fresh rice noodles sheets and cut them into about 1 1/2 inch width. Peel them off sheets by sheets before cooking.
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cla_rin
Can I use the Korean bean paste as a substitute for taucheo?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes you can.
Trinity
Im drooling looking at these pics. Is there a substitute for the bean paste? I have all the other ingredients right now but that.
Rasa Malaysia
You can skip just add a little salt to taste.
Elizabeth
Can I use ground bean paste sauce or salted bean sauce instead?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, ground is fine.
ckim
Hi Rasa,
Love your site……………..I was wondering if you have a recipe for Moo Shu chicken?
light
This is a silly question. But can you let me know what is taucheo? Can you show me a sample bottle of what it may look like and/or is called in English? Thank you so much!!!!
Julia
Hi Bee,
How much noodles do you use for this recipe? I’m pretty psyched to try this!
Rasa Malaysia
1 pack, which is about 1.5 lbs I think.
Geoff
Cooked this tonight, loved the combination of flavours, made a large serving not much left at the end of dinner.The only problem is the my daughter didn’t like the rice noodles, she said she prefers the thin yellow egg noodles, I’ve promised her that I’ll used them the next time.
The Sudden Cook
Love hor fun. Tip: Whenever you’re down next in Kuala Lumpur try this place: Rama V (opposite the US Embassy) – the Thai food there is to die for!
kristen
How do you cook your noodles so that they don’t get mushy or break into smaller pieces? I always have that problem
Rasa Malaysia
Well, I don’t know what to say, I never have that problem, I guess you just have to keep stirring and add some oil before cooking.
Geoff
Kristen, I had this problem once before until I discovered that there are 2 types of fresh rice noodles one for soups and one for stir frys, so before buying check packet.
Selera Malaysia
Hi Bee,
Just a wondering if your Rad Na is the similar with Lad Na that usually in menu of most restaurants in Malaysia?
Rasa Malaysia
Correct, it’s mostly spelled as Rad Na in the US.
Peter Pantry Raider
Chinaman say Lad Na velly velly tasty.
unkaleong
I find the Thai version has less egg than the wat tan hor that we find back home ;)
Rasa Malaysia
Unka – the Thai version has eggs meh? Hmm, the one I have is always without eggs.
Ragdoll
Thank you so much for posting step-by-step photos. I have always had a difficult time making noodle dishes, so I just gave up. This gives me hope again.
Rasa Malaysia
Ragdoll, I have some step-by-step photos in the gallery so you can check them out. Hope it helps you to make Rad Na.
tigerfish
Hor Fun! Yay! with green chili! Yay! I like it when the gravy is not very thick and gluey (some of them use too much cornstarch which I don’t like). Can see that yours is not.
And now I learn Thai name (Rad Na) *pronouncing in Thai accent* lol!
Hey, nice feature of you in GoingPlaces. Congrats :D
Rasa Malaysia
Tiga – LOL, Rad Na, must pronounce in a very “lemak” voice. Hehe.
I know, some of the Thai restaurants in the states make them way too sticky like glue. Yes, first time making the pickled green chili, got the basic recipe from Kuali.com.
Billy
Hi, I was just wondering what is the Chinese name for taucheo? I heard it was brought to Thailand by the Teochews so I was wondering if you knew the Chinese name
Rasa Malaysia
It’s called 豆酱. Yeah, I think many Teochews went to Indochina, and that’s why they call this kuay tiew (which is the Teochew pronunciation).
Billy
Ah, I see. Thanks! Do you know any Chinese recipes that use taucheo?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, there are many dishes that use taucheo, especially Hokkien dishes and some Nyonya dishes. I use taucheo a lot:
https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-chili-crab/
http://nyonyafood.rasamalaysia.com/nyonya-stewe-pork-ribs/
https://rasamalaysia.com/chinese-recipe-stir-fried-bean-curd/
DailyChef
One of my go-to dishes at Thai restaurants! Yum!
Rasa Malaysia
Me too, the other two are Pad See Eww and Pad Thai. :)
Kate
OMG, I love Rad Na, I always order this at Thai restaurants. I always slurp the sauce/gravy dry. Thanks for the recipe!
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks Kate.
David
How awesome and I know exactly what you mean about finding the above average Thai restaurant, they hardly exist in Houston.Great recipe and thanks for sharing!
Rasa Malaysia
David, I know. It’s not easy to find a decent Thai restaurants here. The bay area has pretty great Thai restaurants but here, no luck. Most are pretty bad.
Febrina
Try Red Chili in Hayward. Its Rad Na is great…you can even ask for a spicy one if you like spicy food!!! Eat in always taste much better….
Anne
If you’re ever in Corona del Mar (coastal Orange County) try Bamboo Bistro. I’m not an expert in Thai food, but they have some truly excellent food there and they also have seasonal dishes! They serve Vietnamese food there which is delicious too.