Pad Pak Ruam Mit (Thai Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables)

Pad pak ruam mit — “stir-fried mixed vegetables” — is the dish that quietly anchors every Thai meal: a fast, bright tangle of crisp-tender vegetables in a glossy, garlicky, savoury-sweet sauce. It’s the kind of thing Thai cooks throw together without a recipe, and it shines at the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, the dramatic nine-day Taoist celebration when much of the island eats a strict plant-based “jay” diet.

It asks for almost nothing but speed and heat.

Prep everything first

Stir-frying happens in minutes, with no pause to chop once the wok is hot. So cut all your vegetables to similar sizes and mix the sauce before you light the burner. A “rainbow” of firm and leafy vegetables — carrot, broccoli, peppers, snow peas, baby corn, mushrooms, cabbage — is traditional; use whatever’s freshest.

High heat, added by density

Get the wok as hot as it will go for that signature smoky wok hei, and add vegetables by how long they take: the firm ones (carrot, broccoli, beans) first, the softer ones (peppers, mushrooms, cabbage) a couple of minutes later. Keep everything moving so it sears rather than stews, and pour the sauce in at the end to glaze, not drown.

Making it festival-correct

The festival’s jay diet is strictly vegan and traditionally avoids the pungent alliums — garlic, onion, shallot, chives, leek. To cook it jay-style, simply leave out the garlic and reach for a jay-certified seasoning sauce; the fierce heat and mushroom “oyster” sauce still give it deep savour. Serve it straight from the wok over jasmine rice.

Looking for more festival cooking? Browse the World Festive collection or the full recipe collection.