Where to find wide, flat rice noodles and black soy sauce?

I'm looking to make Pad See Ew using this recipe: http://www.chezpim.com/blogs/2008/01/pa ... w-for.html as I've tried her Pad Thai recipe and it came out very well... but I need a couple special ingredients for this one. I need the wide, flat rice noodles and the Siew Dohm "black" sweet soy sauce. Anyone know if Joong Boo on Kimball has this stuff, or if I'll need to venture out to Niles? I live by Armitage/Western so I'm hoping I can track this stuff down on the north side...

Any tips for making Pad See Ew?

Rob

I use Lee Kum Kee "Mushroom Flavored Dark Soy Sauce" for Thai sweet black soy and think it's fantastic (plus I've seen it used in several Thai kitchens). It's available at most Asian grocers in the western 'burbs, though I imagine up north you can probably find the original article (H Mart, etc.).

I know for certain you can get black soy sauce and wide noodles at Tai Nam grocery at 4925 N. Broadway. The wide noodles will be in one of the open refrigerator aisles. I am fairly certain they also stock the dried version in the noodle aisle. They have a usually ample parking lot, except for weekends. This is where I go if I ever need South Asian goods, although the big buys in the burbs (H-Mart and Assi) have started to stock more and more South Asian stuff.

I believe -- somebody check me on this -- that you can get the noodles fresh just around the corner, at the little place on Argyle, immediately beneath the L tracks, south side of the street. Can't recall the name.

First off, you don't need the Fish or Oyster sauces, in my experience, but you need pretty generous quantities of the thick sweet soy, which is also labeled "Kecap Manis" (or other spellings pronounced "Ketchup"). Use more garlic than they're listing too.

I've seen the thick sweet soy at H-Mart and Assi Plaza in Niles, and I've gotten Chow Fun noodles (aka Chow Fan) at Assi Plaza, and I've seen it in the Broadway/Argyle neighborhood at a couple of places. They're usually packaged as a great big folded sheet.

Don't freeze them -- thawing them results in a paste of gooey flakes. Use it or lose it.

I'd check out Golden Pacific.

5353 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640-2311
(773) 334-6688

I used to buy the Thai soy sauces - dark, sweet, regular - at the Thai grocery store just south of Tai Nam on Broadway - I'd guess about 4816 or so. But, I heard the owners retired (but I have not been there in a long while to check it out).

DragonFly is the Thai brand I use (most of the sauces have no gluten ingredients, which is a plus in my house). But, I'd just about bet that these are also in every other one of the Asian grocers around Argyle including Tai Nam, Broadway Supermarket, etc. I do know you can order Dragonfly brand online (it's called Dragonfly because it has dragonflies on the bottle - I haven't a clue what the company's name is).

Thanks for all the replies! I drove up there on my way to Tai Nam, and passed the place in the plaza about a block and a half north of Lawrence, on the east side of Broadway and decided to stop in there... well they had everything I needed, and more, so I never made it up to Tai Nam. They had fresh Chow Fun noodles and a huge selection of soy sauces including the black sweet stuff. The Pad See Ew turned out really good, much better than the first time I made Pad Thai.

Rob

robzr wrote:Thanks for all the replies! I drove up there on my way to Tai Nam, and passed the place in the plaza about a block and a half north of Lawrence, on the east side of Broadway and decided to stop in there... well they had everything I needed, and more, so I never made it up to Tai Nam.

Though Tai Nam fits your geographical description better, but I'd guess you mean Broadway Supermarket, whose name I'm sure you meant to post.

Broadway Supermarket
4879 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL

Tai Nam Grocery
4925 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL

Yeah, I'm not sure, frankly it was a bit confusing, there was a sign over the door but there were a few doors next to eachother and one led down to some other shops, I original went there because there was a "thai supermarket" on the corner of broadway & lawrence with a sign that said parking this way and it led to that lot. The store itself was in the north east corner of the plaza, the clerk was really helpful and the noodles tasted great!

Rob

Sounds like you ended up at the plaza Dong Ky is. Which reminds me I should go back there soon! ^_^

Looking to make Pad See Ew myself and I wanted to know where to find the wide rice noodles in the Logan Square/Avondale or even Albany Park area. It is a Sunday afternoon and I do not feel like trekking to the burbs or down to Broadway to find it. I go to Joong Boo on Kimball on occasion but I don't believe I have seen it there.