There is an amazing wealth of cuisine in the world today, and we have more options than ever before – but if you’re a vegan, you might sometimes feel constricted in the kinds of food you have available to you. You might be wondering, for example, whether Thai food is generally suitable for vegans.
A lot of traditional Thai meals are not suitable for vegans as they tend to contain fish sauce, and many contain meat. However, it is pretty straightforward to make Thai food vegan, and that can open up a whole new way of cooking for you. If you’re ordering in a restaurant, always double-check ingredients before assuming something is vegan.
In this article, we’ll be checking out how you can tell if Thai food is vegan, and what common ingredients you should look out for. We’ll also look at the top substitutes for Thai cooking, and cover some of the most commonly vegan-friendly dishes that you should look out for.
Is Thai Food Usually Vegan?
Although there are some vegan Thai recipes, a lot of Thai food is not suitable for vegans. This is partly because many Thai meals depend upon things like fish sauce and fermented fish – which immediately makes them unsuitable for vegans and even vegetarians. Eggs, oyster sauce, prawns, fish sauce, and more make it difficult for vegans to eat Thai food.
That isn’t to say that no vegan Thai dishes exist, but on the whole, Thai food is not enormously vegan-friendly. A lot of people struggle to find vegan options in Thai restaurants, and Thai street food can be even more challenging. That said, in some parts of Thailand where Buddhism is practiced more seriously, you may find that some Thai foods are vegan-friendly.
If you are going to make Thai food at home, you can easily make sure it’s vegan and you can swap any non-vegan ingredients for alternatives. However, if you’re going to eat in a restaurant, it’s a good idea to look for ones that specifically cater to vegans, and check out reviews in advance.
This increases the chances of you getting a good meal, and decreases the risk of the food containing unexpected non-vegan ingredients. With that in mind, let’s check out some of the things you should be particularly wary about.
Which Common Thai Ingredients Are Not Vegan-Friendly?
It can be difficult to check labels every time, and if the Thai words are used for ingredients instead, you may find it even more challenging to determine what you can and can’t eat – so let’s check out the commonest ingredients you should avoid.
Firstly, there’s nam pla (fish sauce). This is the most ubiquitous Thai ingredient that appears in many, many meals, and it’s obviously not suitable for vegans. It is what gives Thai food its classic, salty flavor and fishy aroma – and you’ll have to completely avoid it.
An astonishing number of dishes contain nam pla, and if you’re eating out, you’ll need to make sure the restaurant knows not to include this. Always check the label for either “fish sauce” or “nam pla” if you are buying a Thai dish in a store.
Another important one to look out for is kapi (shrimp paste). This is commonly used too, and it is again not a vegan-friendly ingredient. It tends to be in things like soups and vegetable red curries, which may look otherwise innocent. Even if all the other ingredients are vegan-friendly, the presence of kapi makes it non-vegan.
You should also be wary of nahm man hoi (Chinese oyster sauce). This isn’t the same as traditional Thai fish sauce, but it’s another common ingredient, especially in stir-fried dishes. It is used to give the dishes flavor, but it’s unsuitable for vegans.
In most cases, restaurants will be able to remove these ingredients for you because they cook the food fresh. However, you should check carefully to make sure you have requested that all animal-based ingredients are removed from a meal before you order it. Always ask the wait staff to check the ingredients for you to minimize the risks.
Not all Thai meals can be customized to be vegan. If they contain things like powdered shrimp, this may already have been added before the meal is cooked. Find this out before you go to a restaurant to avoid disappointment.
One more thing to bear in mind is that many thick noodles contain eggs – so this is something else you will need to check before making an order. If you cannot eat the noodles at a restaurant, rice usually makes a viable alternative, and this should be automatically vegan provided they haven’t seasoned it with any animal products.
It’s surprising how many Thai dishes do contain one or more of these seasonings, which makes it crucial to know their names in both English and Thai and to recognize them on the ingredients list. This will make it much easier to get Thai food tailored to your needs.
It may help to know that the word for Buddhist vegan food is jay (or jey). If you are traveling in Thailand, it’s a good idea to say “kin jay” so that you can express your dietary requirements even if you’re dealing with a language barrier that might otherwise make it difficult for them to understand what you need.
What Can You Swap Into Thai Cooking?
If you’re cooking for yourself at home, you might be wondering which ingredients are the best for replacing the non-vegan ingredients in a Thai meal. Of course, you can use what you like, but let’s look at some swaps that may help you.
Firstly, fish sauce: this can be swapped for various ingredients, including things like soy sauce or tamari. These will lend the dish its umami flavor and give it richness, and they include no animal products whatsoever. They can be used on a 1:1 ratio.
Some supermarkets also sell vegan fish sauce, which closely mimics the flavor, but contains no animal products. These sauces tend to contain shiitake mushrooms and soy sauce.
To replace the meat in some Thai dishes, you might want something like firm tofu. This will give you the texture and provide a base to soak up the flavors of the sauce, so it generally works well. Silken tofu may prove too soft, although you can use it if you prefer. Tofu will work well in a whole range of dishes because it takes flavors well and it has a great texture.
Oyster sauce can similarly be replaced with soy sauce. Shrimp paste can be a little more difficult; there are some vegan shrimp pastes, but these aren’t readily available. You may want to try a little fermented miso or soy paste to create the depth of flavor that shrimp usually adds to Thai meals.
If you’re really stuck, using a good quality salt will stand in for some of these seasonings, but you will find that your dish tastes different overall. Add plenty of other spices to make it flavorful and rich.
For noodles, you can use thin white noodles, which won’t usually contain any egg. If you can’t get vegan noodles, swap for rice, which will work reasonably well in most dishes and should always be suitable for vegans.
Which Thai Meals Are The Most Likely To Be Vegan-Friendly?
Before we plunge into this, bear in mind that you should always check the ingredients list before you eat Thai food. Although the meals in this section are usually vegan-friendly, there is no guarantee, as different restaurants will make them in different ways. Do not just assume a dish is vegan based on what you’ve heard about it.
With that in mind, let’s look at what tends to be the safest option when you’re ordering vegan meals. You should consider:
- Pad Phak (Stir-fried vegetables)
- Khao Pad Pak (Vegetable fried rice)
- Pad Krapow Hed (Basil and mushroom)
- Gang Jay (Vegetarian curry)
- Pad See Ew (Rice noodles)
- Pak Boong Fie Daeng (a spicy sauce with garlic and whole chilies)
Other dishes that can be easily made vegan include things like Pad Thai and Larb Jay. If you ask for tofu as a meat substitute and remind them not to add fish sauce, oyster sauce, etc., these are generally safe options to choose from.
However, if you want to be really safe, stir-fried vegetables with rice are often the best option, as there is little risk of animal products being key to these dishes. Remember to use the phrase “kin jay” if you are eating in a Thai restaurant and you need to express your dietary requirements to your waiter in a clear way.
Conclusion
As you can see, Thai food can be vegan, but it’s something you should treat with caution. Do not assume that a dish will be vegan; the fish sauce is a very common ingredient. Look out for seafood on the ingredients list, and remember to be cautious about side dishes as well as your main meal.
