A Thai mixed veggie stir fry (Pad Pak Ruam) is a simple recipe that’s always tasty. And when Pailin Chongchitnant from Hot Thai Kitchen shares her personal vegetable stir-fry recipe as well as here “optimal mix of suggested veggies” in her cookbook Sabai, you know that the result is going to be delicious. You can almost guarantee that this recipe will become your go-to, best vegetable side dish that will go with any meal.

The best stir-fry vegetables according to Pailin Chongchitnant

Carrots
Cauliflower
Chinese Broccoli
Shiitake Mushrooms
Chinese Broccoli
Green Cabbage
Sugar Snap Peas

Chongchitnant’s top tip to ensure you’re making the best stir-fry is to make sure the vegetables are all cooked properly. “The secret to having all the different veggies properly cooked is to stagger them according to how long they take to cook,” she writes in her cookbook.

Chongchitnant suggests using bowls to organize your stir-fry vegetables in the order they will be cooked.

In the first bowl, place hard veggies that take the longest to cook.
A second bowl should hold medium-firm veggies.
A third bowl should hold any leafy greens.

Thai Mixed Veggie Stir-Fry

Pailin Chongchitnant

An easy but delicious Thai mixed veggie stir-fry recipe that has cauliflower, sugar snap peas, carrots and Chinese broccoli.

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Ingredients

Stir-Fry Sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce (see note)
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Thai seasoning sauce
1 tbsp water

Stir-Fry

1 small carrot cut in bite-sized sticks
4.5 oz small cauliflower florets (about ¼ head)
3 cups bite-sized green cabbage pieces
3.5 oz Chinese broccoli (gai lan) stems thinly sliced on a diagonal, leaves roughly chopped into chunks
10 sugar snap peas strings removed, cut in half on a diagonal
5 fresh shiitake mushrooms tough stems removed and caps sliced
2 tbsp neutral oil
6 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp granulated sugar
ground white pepper to taste
Jasmine rice for serving

Instructions

Make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl.
Organize your vegetables in the order they will be cooked. In the first bowl, place the carrots and cauliflower, or other hard veggies that take the longest to cook. A second bowl should hold the cabbage, Chinese broccoli stems, snap peas, and mushrooms, or any other medium-firm veggies. A third bowl will have the Chinese broccoli leaves or any other leafy greens.
Place a wok on medium heat, then add the oil and garlic, and sauté until the smaller bits of garlic turn golden.
Add the hard veggies (bowl 1 ) and a splash of water, then turn the heat up to high and toss for 2 to 3 minutes, until the veggies are halfway done. Allow most of the water in the wok to dry up before adding the second set of vegetables.
Add the medium veggies (bowl 2 ), sauce, sugar, and pepper. Toss until the vegetables are cooked to your liking, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the leafy greens (bowl 3 ) and toss just until wilted, about 15 seconds. Remove from the heat and serve with jasmine rice.

Notes

To make this dish vegetarian, use a vegetarian stir-fry sauce instead of the oyster sauce; it’s available at many Asian grocery stores.
If you want to make this a complete meal in itself, you can add some protein. Mix 8 ounces (225 g) of bite-sized meats with 2 teaspoons (10 ml) soy sauce. Cook the meat over high heat until browned and remove from the pan. Throw it back in along with the leafy greens at the end.

Keyword Stir-Fry, Vegetable Stir-fry