Rad Na is probably my favorite Thai dish, but you won't find it on the menu at every Thai restaurant. The stars of the dish are chewy, charred rice noodles! Since this dish is somewhat hard to find, I was really hoping I'd be able to make a good version of it at home. It took quite a few attempts to get it right, but now I'm so excited that I can enjoy rad na at home whenever the craving hits. I hope you enjoy this recipe as well!
While I think the final product of this recipe is very close to traditional rad na, I make some substitutions to utilize ingredients I have stocked at home. I cook quite a bit of Japanese food, so I substitute a few Japanese ingredients in rather than using the Thai version. In my opinion, this is kind of a Japanese-ified version of rad na. While the easiest option for this recipe is to use fresh rice noodles, these can often be hard to find and tedious to make at home. I've found that using rice paper sheets is a near-perfect substitute for this application, and much better than dried rice noodles.
What is Rad Na?
Rad Na (sometimes written as Lad Na, or Rat Na) is a Thai dish made with stir-fried fresh rice noodles, served in a light gravy sauce. The dish typically also includes a protein, such as chicken, tofu, or pork, and a veggie, such as Chinese broccoli. Unlike many Thai dishes, rad na is not spicy. The fresh rice noodles are marinated in dark soy sauce, which gives them their dark color and some extra flavor. As the noodles cook in the pan, they tend to stick together. As far as I know, it's pretty much impossible to avoid having the noodles clump together, and all the rad na I've had has been like this.
How to make velvet chicken with baking soda.
"Velvet" Chicken is chicken that has gone through a process to tenderize the meat, known as "velveting". This process is very common for stir-fry, especially in American-Chinese restaurants, because it prevents the chicken from becoming dry and overcooked. There are a few different methods for velveting chicken, the most common method uses a mixture of corn starch and oil, but the method I prefer uses baking soda.
After slicing the chicken into thin, bite-sized pieces, all you have to do is dust the chicken with some baking soda and let it sit for about 15 minutes. I use a small mesh strainer to dust the baking soda on (similar to how you might dust powdered sugar), but it can easily be done without one as well. Once that's complete, just thoroughly rinse off the baking soda (I do this in a large mesh strainer) and pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Then it's ready to be seasoned and used in your stir-fry! You can start this process before you prep the rest of the ingredients, and it shouldn't add too much time to the prep.
There are a few other recipes on the site that also call for velvet chicken. If you enjoy this recipe, you may enjoy them as well!
Key Tips - Rad Na
Don't use dried rice noodles.
- Fresh rice noodles, or rice noodles made from rice paper (recipe included) are the only good options I've found for this recipe. Dried rice noodles do not work, and result in a completely different dish. The key to this dish is the soft and chewy noodles, and dried rice noodles have a completely different texture. The rice paper noodles are easy to make and work great!
Try out the easy rice paper noodles.
- I was skeptical that rice paper noodles would be a good substitute for fresh rice noodles, but the results speak for themselves! All you have to do to make these noodles is dip a stack of 5 rice paper sheets in water, wait for them to soften, then cut into strips. The full recipe is included below!
Substitute other protein options, such as tofu or pork.
- Lean pork can be directly substituted for the chicken breast, and should have a similar cook time.
- To substitute tofu, I would prepare it similar to my other crispy tofu recipes, see my Soy Garlic Crispy Tofu for an example. Add the tofu back at the very end, so it stays crispy.
Dietary Restrictions - Rad Na
This dish is naturally Dairy-Free.
Make it Gluten-Free.
- Most oyster sauce contains gluten. Use gluten-free oyster sauce to make this dish gluten-free. (Both Kikkoman and Lee Kum Kee brands offer a GF oyster sauce)
- Make sure you're using gluten-free soy sauce, such as tamari.
- Miso paste may contain gluten, check the labels carefully.
Make it Vegan:
- Use tofu instead of chicken. I would prepare it similar to my other crispy tofu recipes, see my Soy Garlic Crispy Tofu for an example. Add the tofu back at the very end, so it stays crispy.
- Use vegan oyster sauce
- Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
A Note On Serving Sizes
Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it very difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. While this is listed as 4 servings, many people would prefer to have more than one serving. I would typically serve this dish as 2-3 large dinner servings or 4 small lunch servings. The white bowls pictured contain two servings each.
Rad Na (Thai Charred Rice Noodles)
Ingredients
- 20 sheets rice paper about 7 oz, or use 16 oz fresh rice noodles
- 12-16 oz chicken breast boneless, skinless
- 8 oz Chinese broccoli Gai Lan
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce or sub 1 tablespoon standard soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
- ~2 teaspoon baking soda optional, for tenderizing chicken
- veggie oil or other neutral oil, for stir-frying
- salt to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
For sauce:
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoon miso paste or Thai soybean paste
- 3 tablespoon mirin Japanese sweet cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
Optional, Tenderize Chicken:
- Slice the chicken breast into ~¼” thick slices and cut into bite-sized pieces. Arrange the sliced chicken on a cutting board or plate so it’s laying flat. Dust with ~1 teaspoon of baking soda, then flip all the pieces and dust with the other ~1 teaspoon of baking soda. Let sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, thoroughly rinse the baking soda off of the chicken with water, then pat dry. Season the chicken on one side with salt and pepper. Prepare the other ingredients while you wait for the chicken.
Prepare the Rice Paper Noodles:
- Prepare a large bowl of warm water, for wetting the rice paper sheets; a medium bowl of cold water, for holding the finished noodles; and a cutting board.
- Stack together 5 sheets of rice paper, and dunk them in the bowl of warm water, making sure all of the surfaces get wet. Lightly wet the cutting board and your hands with the warm water, and set the stack of rice paper down on the cutting board. As the rice paper softens, gently press out any air/water bubbles, working from the center outward.
- Once the rice paper is soft (may take a minute or two), use a sharp knife to slice the sheet into noodles that are about 1" wide (or as wide as you'd like). Place the completed noodles in the cold water. Repeat with another stack of 5 sheets (You'll do this 4 times per batch. Since it takes time for the rice paper to soften, I like to start the next stack before the first is finished.)
- Once all your noodles are completed and have soaked in the cold water for a few minutes, drain the water and add the dark soy sauce (1 tablespoon per batch). Toss the noodles to coat them, then let sit as you prepare the other ingredients.
Prepare the Rad Na:
- Thoroughly rinse the Chinese broccoli, then cut into bite sized pieces, separating the stem and leafy portions. If you haven't already, slice the chicken into pieces about ¼" thick and season on one side with salt and black pepper. If you haven't already, toss the rice noodles in the dark soy sauce.
- Dissolve the corn starch in the chicken stock, then add the rest of the sauce ingredients. Optionally, press the miso paste through a mesh strainer as you add it to avoid any clumps.
- Heat a large wok or skillet over medium high heat, and add a generous amount of oil. Once hot, add the rice noodles. Toss the noodles in the oil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they're caramelized and crispy, about 3-4 minutes. The noodles will get more struck together as they cook, this is pretty unavoidable.
- Divide the noodles and place them directly in the serving dishes (noodles will be difficult to divide, just tear or cut them as needed).
- Add more oil to the pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and toss to coat it in oil, then arrange it so it's laying flat in the pan. Let the chicken cook undisturbed until the bottom is golden and it's mostly cooked through, about 4 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the stems of the Chinese broccoli, adding a little more oil if needed. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is completely cooked through, and the stems are bright green, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 more minute until fragrant, then add the sauce mixture.
- Allow the sauce to come to a simmer and let it reduce until a thick gravy forms, about 6-8minutes.
- Once the gravy has reduced, remove from heat and mix in the leafy portions of the Chinese broccoli. Pour the mixture into serving bowls over top of the charred rice noodles, and serve immediately.
Nutrition
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If you enjoy this recipe, you may also enjoy my Faux Pho, Velvet Chicken, Soy Garlic Crispy Tofu, or Korean Rice Cakes with Chicken.
Send me pictures of your creations -- it'll make my day! Message @CraftyCookbook on Instagram, email me ([email protected]), or tag me in a post! Please note, tagged posts are only visible to me if your account is public. Did you make any interesting changes or substitutions for this recipe? Tell me about them in the comment section below!
Adriana says
I never would have thought to make this if you hadn't posted it on Insta but it's so good!!