Pad Pak Ruam
A Thai mixed-vegetable stir-fry: a hot wok of garlic and soy, with whatever's crisp and fresh, the vegetables just-tender and the sauce barely coating.
Overview
A wok is heated hot; garlic flashes briefly in oil; vegetables go in by cook time, firmest first (broccoli, carrot, baby corn), then softer (mushroom, snow peas), and the leafy ones at the end (water spinach, bok choy). A small amount of vegetable stock and soy steams them through; oyster sauce (vegetarian) and sugar balance. Sesame oil to finish.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 head broccoli (around 300 g; cut into small florets)
- 1 carrot (sliced thin on the diagonal)
- 100 g baby corn (halved lengthwise)
- 200 g mixed mushrooms (oyster mushroom, shiitake; sliced)
- 100 g snow peas
- 200 g pak choi (or bok choy, separated into leaves)
- 100 g beansprouts
- 4 tablespoons vegetable stock (or water)
- 3 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce (or 2 tablespoons soy + 1 tablespoon hoisin)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 long red chilli (sliced; optional)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Cooked jasmine rice (to serve)
Method
Stage 1 - Prep everything before lighting the wok
- The wok cooks fast; once you start, you don't stop. Lay everything in order: garlic, then broccoli/carrot/baby corn, then mushroom/snow peas, then leafy/beansprouts, then sauce ingredients.
- Mix the oyster sauce, soy, rice wine, sugar and white pepper in a small bowl.
Stage 2 - Aromatics
- Heat the wok over high heat until smoking.
- Add the oil; swirl. Add the garlic; flash 15 seconds until just starting to colour.
Stage 3 - Firm vegetables
- Add the broccoli, carrot and baby corn; toss for 2 minutes.
- Add the stock; cover for 1 minute (the steam softens them slightly).
Stage 4 - Soft vegetables
- Uncover; add the mushrooms and snow peas; toss for 1 minute.
Stage 5 - Leafy and sauce
- Add the pak choi and beansprouts; toss for 30 seconds (they'll wilt fast).
- Pour in the sauce mixture; toss for 1 minute until everything is glossy.
- Add the chilli if using.
Stage 6 - Finish
- Off the heat, drizzle the sesame oil; toss once.
- Serve immediately over hot jasmine rice.
Notes
- Vegetarian oyster sauce: Sold in Asian grocers as "mushroom oyster sauce" or "vegetarian oyster sauce" - uses shiitake instead of oysters. Skip the regular oyster sauce; it isn't vegetarian.
- High heat: Stir-fry is heat. A flat-bottomed pan over the highest gas flame; or a domestic wok preheated 3 minutes. Without it, you steam-fry; the dish goes flabby.
- Vegetable swap-ins: Asparagus, mange-tout, water spinach, mustard greens, Chinese broccoli - anything that's crisp and fresh works. Keep firm-then-soft order.
Storage
- Best fresh; reheats poorly because the textures soften. Don't refrigerate or freeze.
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