No Meat, No Problem!

Thai classics go vegan!

Sawaddee ka 🙏🏼

A lot of us are making the conscious decision to eat less (or no) meat these days - for a whole host of reasons. But we still want our favourite dishes, and we want them to taste as close to the original as possible!

Thai food isn’t as meat-centric as a lot of Western cuisines, so in many dishes the modifications are as simple, such as replacing the chicken in a curry with tofu. But…

…what about the essential flavors of Thai cuisine aren’t as visible in the finished dish? (I’m looking at you fish sauce and oyster sauce! 👀)

So that’s what this week’s email is about - taking Thai classics and making them vegan!

Talking Vegan & Vegetarian on the Sabai Talk Podcast!

Have you listened to the Sabai Talk Podcast yet? I regularly join my lovely friend and co-host, Hong Thaimee, to talk about Thai food, cooking and culture! And the latest episode is about Vegetarian and Vegan Thai food. You can listen (and watch!) to Episode 5 of Season 2 on YouTube or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts!

And now… onto the tasty vegan recipes…

Vegan Pad Thai - Pad Mee Korat

This dish isn’t really a vegan makeover of Pad Thai. Instead, I took an already vegan dish called Pad Mee Korat, that is essentially a vegan version of Pad Thai, and gave it a few tweaks. I actually grew up eating this dish and have long thought of it as a sister dish to Pad Thai! And just like Pad Thai, it has the same sweet-salty-sour flavor profile - with no fish sauce or eggs!

Vegan Clay Pot Glass Noodles

Clay Pot Glass Noodles are my vegan take on Ginger Shrimp & Glass Noodles. Ok, first of all, you don’t need a clay pot to make these so don’t let that stop you. Second of all… this dish has all the glorious umami flavor you could want. Bonus points because it’s super easy and quick to make!

Vegan Green Curry Even Meat Lovers will Love

Green Curry is my most popular recipe on the YouTube channel and I’ve been asked many times how to make it vegan… WITHOUT compromising the flavour. And here you have it - Vegan Green Curry that even meat eaters will love! It still captures the umami flavor and the “chew” factor of the original without any animal products.

Vegan Red Curry

Just like with the green curry, creating a Vegan Red Curry that captures the umami flavour and texture of the original was a challenge but I was up for it. And guess what? I didn’t even miss the meat or the fish sauce in this version - in part thanks to a secret ingredient!

Vegan Laab with Corn & Tofu

Laab is typically made with ground meat but I was able to replace it by using leftover pressed tofu and corn - and it turned so well! Vegan Laab is delicious! You can serve it with lettuce as a lettuce wrap style appetizers or pair it up with jasmine or sticky rice.