Pad Pak Thai (Thai Stir-fry Vegetables)

Name: Pad Pak Thai (Thai Stir-fry Vegetables)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari (use gluten-free if needed)); 1 tablespoon oyster sauce (*(regular or vegetarian)); 1 teaspoon sesame oil; 2 teaspoons sambal oelek (or chili garlic sauce/sriracha); 1 teaspoon coconut sugar (or other granulated sugar ); 3 cloves garlic (minced); 1 medium red bell pepper (julienned); 1 cup broccoli florets; 1 cup cauliflower florets; 6-8 button mushrooms (sliced); 1 medium carrot (sliced); 1 cup snow peas

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Featuring colorful vegetables tossed in a sweet and savory sauce, this Pad Pak Thai, or Thai stir-fry vegetables, makes a great weeknight dinner! Easy to prepare and ready in 15 minutes, everyone will love this simple yet flavorful vegetable dish.

Vegetable stir-fry served with rice with bowl of rice, chopsticks, green onion and sesame seeds beside.

This pad pak is my go-to recipe whenever I crave a good vegetable stir-fry! It is jam-packed with flavors, mildly spicy, and is a great way to use up leftover veggies before my next grocery trip. I love pairing it with my tofu pad Thai or green curry fried rice!

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💚Why you will love this recipe
🤔What is Pad Pak Thai
🧄What you will need
📃Ingredient notes and substitutions
🔪How to make
✔Helpful tips
🍽How to serve
❔Commonly asked questions
🍽More vegan Asian recipes
📖 Recipe

💚Why you will love this recipe

An authentic Thai recipe that is bold in flavor and incredibly appetizing
Highly adaptable and forgiving - feel free to use whatever veggies you have!
Quick and simple to prepare - ready in 15 minutes
The perfect clear-out-your-fridge meal to use up leftover veggies

🤔What is Pad Pak Thai

Pad Pak is a vegetarian Thai dish that consists of stir-fry vegetables. Traditionally, this dish consists of seasonal veggies stir-fried in a flavorful sauce made from soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and various other seasonings. Sometimes, tofu, seafood, or meat are also added.

🧄What you will need

Ingredients needed like garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, peas and carrot on a grey background.

Seasonings needed like oyster sauce, sambal, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar on a grey background.

📃Ingredient notes and substitutions

Vegetables - Feel free to use other veggies you have on hand! My favorites include mushrooms, water chestnut, asparagus, long beans, and napa cabbage. You can also use a bag of frozen or pre-chopped vegetables to simplify the prep process.
Oyster sauce - Opt for a vegan oyster sauce to keep this recipe vegan. I highly recommend using Lee Kum Kee’s stir-fry sauce. (Although it is labeled as a stir-fry sauce, it is a mushroom-flavored sauce imitating oyster sauce)
Sambal oelek - It is essentially a ground chili paste. Substitute it with sriracha or omit it completely to make this Pad Pak spice-free.
Sugar - Any granulated sweetener will work.

🔪How to make

Fried garlic in a cast iron skillet on a white checkered teacloth.

Heat a pan, then saute garlic until fragrant.

Cooked bell pepper, carrot, broccoli, and cauliflower in a cast iron skillet on a white folded teacloth.

Add in carrot, red pepper, broccoli, and cauliflower. Saute for a few minutes or until they have softened slightly.

A pan of cooked vegetables on a white checkered folded teacloth.

Stir in snow peas and mushrooms next. Cook for another few minutes, stirring constantly.

Pouring sauce into a pan of cooked vegetables on a white folded teacloth.

Pour in stir-fry sauce and toss until everything is well combined. Remove from heat and taste it, adding more seasonings if needed. It is ready to be served!

✔Helpful tips

Shorten the prep process - To reduce prep work further, use frozen or pre-chopped vegetables.
Use a large enough pan - This is to ensure that ingredients can be cooked evenly and there is sufficient room for the vegetables to move around.
Adjust the spice level - If you have low heat tolerance, reduce the amount of sambal oelek added or omit it altogether. For a spicer dish, add some chopped bird’s eye chilies or a generous pinch of chili flakes to your pad pak.
Taste before serving - Adjust the seasonings to taste towards the end, adding more sugar for sweetness, soy sauce for saltiness, etc.
Storing suggestions - Leftover pad pak Thai can be refrigerated for 3-4 days. Reheat it either in the pan or microwave oven.

🍽How to serve

Toppings - Some of my favorite garnishes to top my pad Thai include chopped peanuts, cashews, green onion, cilantro, or a generous pinch of chili flakes.

Rice or noodles - The best way to serve pad pak is alongside some Jasmine or brown rice. I also love pairing them with Thai fried rice or my vegan pad see ew for a Thai-inspired meatless meal.

Curries or other Thai mains - If you love spice, I highly recommend checking out my Thai red curry or yellow curry! Tofu basil stir-fry is another one of my go-to's.

❔Commonly asked questions

Is this dish vegan?

Traditional pad pak might not be vegan due to the addition of fish sauce and/or oyster sauce. However, you can easily modify it to be vegan-friendly by using vegetarian oyster sauce and omitting the fish sauce.

Is it spicy?

This Pad Pak Thai is only mildly spicy and can be tolerated by most. If you prefer it to be spice-free, simply omit sambal oelek. Add some chopped chilies or red pepper flakes to make it spicier.

How do I prevent frozen vegetables from turning soggy when stir-frying?

You should stir-fry frozen vegetables straight from the freezer instead of thawing them beforehand. This will help prevent soggy stir-fry.

Plate filled with veggies and rice with bowl of rice, chopped green onion and sesame seeds in the background.

🍽More vegan Asian recipes

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