Phat phak ruam mit: Thai stir-fried vegetables (ผัดผักรวมมิตร)

Time to take a break from carnivory: phat phak ruam mit are traditional Thai stir-fried vegetables, spicy, delicious and aromatic.

Cooking takes about 5 minutes but you need the right ingredients in the correct succession to achieve the right taste and flavour.

1. Chop finely half a head of garlic and Thai chilies: 1 for bland, 2 for lightly spicy, 3 for moderately spicy (pretty much the limit for Westerners).
2. Wash very well a pound of pak soi (Chinese cabbage) and a pound of kang kong (water spniach). Cut into 4-5-cm pieces. Actually, any robust green leafy veggies will do, like mustard greens, spinach or kale. Lettuce and ruccola will not.
   
3. Cut 6-8 button mushrooms (champignons) and a couple of tomatoes. If the mushrooms are small, leave them whole. If you use cherry tomatoes, cut them in halves.
   
4. Put the wok on the highest heat, wait for it to get piping hot, then add 2-3 tablespoonfuls of odourless vegetable oil (olive oil WON'T do!)
5. When the oil starts smoking, tip the garlic and chillies with a tablespoon of dried Thai anchovies (optional). This may end up in a spectacular semi-explosion of pungent smoke and even flames, fear not! Make sure to keep the kitchen door closed though.
   
6. When the garlic is golden brown, tip the mushrooms, tomatoes and veggies starting from the bigger chunks, e.g., the whites of pak choy.
7. Stir vigorously for a minute or so to make sure all the bits get exposed to the heat thoroughly.
   
8. When everything is still crunchy, add some fish sauce and oyster sauce - soya sauce for veg(etari)ans - to taste, turn down the heat and stir once again.
   

In my vegan days in Thailand, the superbly hunky cook I befriended in my soi's neighbourhood restaurant would add a pack of silky tofu to my veggies about at the same time as fish and oyster sauce. I do it these days too, for the good memories' sake.

One thing you really need to keep in mind: DO NOT OVERCOOK, everything should be just lightly cooked and stay crunchy. 5. to 8. really takes under 2 minutes.

Phat phak ruam mit in Thailand is featured nearly in every dinner to balance animal protein intake with vegetable fibre. Well, it is never worded so but the principle is just that.