You will love this Thai vegetable stir-fry, which is garlicky, crisp-tender, and loaded with a spicy, sweet, savory, and garlicky taste.

It is quick and easy to prepare, and the flavor of Thai fish sauce and Golden Mountain Sauce will change the way you look at vegetable stir-fry forever!

Thai-style vegetable stir-fry (Pad Pak Ruam, ผัดผักรวม) is similar to Chinese vegetable stir-fry. The main difference is the inclusion of fish sauce and Golden Mountain sauce, giving you an authentic, unmistakable Thai flavor.

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1. The main ingredients for the mixed vegetable stir-fry

There are a few points to make it more presentable and taste better.

• First, vegetables with different shapes and colors should be used to give a nice presentation.
• Choose a variety of leafy vegetables, root vegetables, crunchy peas, and chewy mushrooms to create a mix of textures. This combination will provide a variety of mouthfeels.
• Lastly, please include fish sauce and golden mountain sauce. That will make a huge difference in distinguishing Thai from Chinese stir-fry.

Here are my choice of vegetables in the recipe:

• Chinese broccoli (gai lan). This is the most used leafy vegetable in Thai stir-fry.
• Cauliflowers. Cauliflowers give a color contrast and different texture to the stir-fry.
• Carrots. I also included carrots to make the mixed vegetable dish look more colorful.
• Mushrooms. Either dry or fresh shiitake mushrooms are suitable for stir-frying. I prefer the dry shiitake mushroom because it is aromatic and chewy. However, it needs to be rehydrated in water before use.
• Snow peas. Snow peas (or snap peas) are an excellent option to include in the recipe. They are crunchy, refreshing, and have an attractive shape.
• Cabbage. Cabbage provides crunchiness and sweetness to the stir-fry dish.
• Lastly, I include some baby corn for its sweet taste and color.

Note: Other vegetables suitable for stir-frying include red bell peppers, bok choy, yellow squash, green onions, water chestnuts, green beans, and Thai basil. However, I will not have these in this recipe, not because they are not tasty but because there are too many choices and variations for making a Thai veggie stir fry. Also, you can add some meat, such as pork or chicken breast meat, as the protein source, although it will become a non-vegetarian dish.

2. How to prepare the stir-fry sauce

• There is a slight difference between Thai and Chinese-style stir-fry. Although Thai stir-fry is mainly based on the Chinese cooking technique, fish sauce, and Golden Mountain sauce are homegrown additions, making the taste significantly different from the Chinese version.  Golden Mountain sauce is a soy sauce that is slightly darker and more flavorful than Chinese light soy sauce. The taste is similar to the Maggi seasoning.
• Besides the Golden Mountain sauce and fish sauce, I include some oyster sauce and sugar to constitute the stir-fry sauce. You can use either regular or brown sugar. Also, you can substitute the oyster sauce with the vegan oyster sauce for a vegetarian dish made with mushroom extract. You may also add some ground black pepper if you wish.
• Another common difference in cooking Thai stir-fry is that it does not use cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. As a result, the sauce is thinner than the Chinese stir-fry.

To prepare the sauce, mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. I like mixing them before adding them to the skillet to ensure none of the ingredients are unintentionally left out.

3. How to stir-fry the vegetables

1. Prepare the ingredients:
   • Separate the leafy and stem parts of the Gai Lan, which require different cooking durations. Cut the stem of the Gai Lan on the bias into thin slices if they are too big.
   • Separate the cauliflower florets into small pieces, making them easy to cook during stir-frying.
   • Cut the carrot into wedges by rolling it while slicing it, but you can just cut it into thin slices if you wish. Generally, all the sit-frying ingredients should be thinly sliced or in small pieces, as this is a quick process.
   • Remove the fibrous string of the snow peas at the pod’s side, then cut each pea in half crosswise.
   • Cut the cabbage into two-inch pieces.
2. Chop a few garlic cloves and saute with the vegetable oil over low heat in a wok or large skillet until aromatic. Garlic is an essential ingredient for all Asian stir-fries, and it will never be an issue of too much garlic!
3. Add the cauliflowers, cabbage, and carrots pieces to the wok. They need to cook longer than the remaining vegetables until they are crisp and tender. Please add a small amount of water to stir-fry these vegetables for at least two minutes before adding the next group of vegetables.
4. After two minutes, add the Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan) stems and shiitake mushrooms and continue stir-frying.
5. Include the premixed stir-fry sauce (as mentioned in the previous section) to let the vegetables absorb the sauce’s flavor.
6. Lastly, include the leafy part of the Chinese broccoli and snow peas, which require the least time to come through. Continue to stir-fry over high heat for half a minute, and it is done. The Thai vegetable stir fry is best served with jasmine rice.

4. More tips to make a better Thai stir-fry

1. Use vegetable oil with a high smoke point, for example, peanut oil, cannula oil, or corn oil, to stir fry. You can use coconut oil if you have one, as it will make it more authentic. I would not use olive oil because it has a relatively low smoke point and will not produce an original Thai flavor.
2. An optional ingredient is the Thai bird’s eye chili. You can add two or three chilies if you like spicy food. I suggest not cutting them into small pieces but just bashing the chilies so you will not accidentally chew into the fiery hot chili.
3. As an optional step, drizzle some sesame oil into the vegetables before serving if you like the flavor.

5. Other Thai cuisines you may want to try

If you like this simple stir-fry recipe, I recommend you try the following:

• Pad Thai is the most common traditional Thai stir-fried noodle dish. Try this if you have never cooked Thai noodles before.
• Thai green curry is my favorite curry with a distinctive flavor. I usually have this as a quick meal in which the curry is just placed on the side of rice to serve. Simple and delicious.

Continue to Content

Thai vegetable stir-fry

Yield: 3

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

This Thai mix vegetable stir-fry is garlicky, crisp-tender, and loaded with a spicy, sweet, savory, and garlicky taste. It is a quick and easy vegetarian dish.

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Ingredients

Ingredients A (vegetables)

• 200g Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan), separate the stems from the leaves
• 100g cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 50g carrots, cut into wedges
• 20 snow peas, remove the strings, and cut into half
• 6 baby corns
• 70g cabbage, cut into 2/inch pieces
• 5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked to soften and cut into strip

Ingredients B (others)

• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 3 bird’s eye chili, bashed (optional)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Ingredients C (sauce)

• 2 tbsp Golden Mountain sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp water

Instructions

Preparation

1. Separate the leafy and stem parts of the Chinese broccoli
2. Cut the stem of the Chinese broccoli on the bias into thin slices.
3. Separate the cauliflower into small florets,
4. Cut the carrot into wedges by rolling it while slicing it.
5. Soak the dry shiitake mushrooms in water until fully hydrated, then cut them into strips.
6. Remove the fibrous string of the snow peas. Cut each pea into half on the bias.
7. Cut the cabbage into two inches pieces.

Cooking

1. Saute the chopped garlic and the bashed chilies with vegetable oil. 
2. Add the cauliflowers, cabbage, carrots, and stir-fry over medium heat for two minutes. You may add a few splashes of water if it is too dry.
3. Next, include the Chinese broccoli stems, the shitake mushrooms, and the premixed stir-fry sauce (Ingredients C). Stir fry for a minute.
4. Lastly, include the leafy part of the Chinese broccoli and snow peas,
5. Continue to stir fry over medium-high heat for half a minute, and it is ready to serve.`

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 3 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1203Total Fat: 47gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 3358mgCarbohydrates: 127gFiber: 37gSugar: 56gProtein: 76g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix on 19/12/2022