While many traditional Thai dishes incorporate some bit of meat, it’s usually simple to prepare them without, add in tofu for a hit of protein or substitute meaty for hearty mushrooms and aubergine. Throughout the country, local vegan Thai restaurants are identified with a red and yellow “เจ” sign. (เจ (jay) means vegan in Thai while มังสวิรัติ (mung-sa-wee-rut) means “vegetarian”.) At these simple eateries, all dishes are made without any eggs, fish sauce or oyster sauce but often include substitute meat products made from mushrooms, soy, tempeh or textured vegetable protein.
With eating plant-based meals and veganism becoming more in vogue, plenty of mainstream restaurants (especially within holiday hotspots such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Koh Samui) also offer a range of international and Thai vegetarian, vegan and raw dishes packed with nutritious ingredients.
Ever tried beetroot tartar or vegetable larb? What about northern Thailand’s iconic khao soi but without the customary stewed chicken leg? Even if you’re a carnivore, these dishes from some of the country’s top hotel dining venues will still delight with their myriad flavours, eye-catching colours and careful presentations.
To bring out the farm fresh flavours even more, each dish listed below highlights a pairing recommendation of our favourite fruit-based libation selected from the respective restaurant’s wine list.
COMO POINT YAMU PHUKET
Some vegetarian cooks seek substitutes for meat while others truly embrace the medium and let vegetables be the star of the show. If the directly-named Our Big Raw Salad is anything to go by at La Sirena, Como Point Yamu’s Executive Chef Steven Black definitely falls into the latter category. The base alone contains a farmer’s market worth of ingredients including cabbage, onion, zucchini, pumpkin, cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli and avocado. These are then topped with a colourful medley of stringed beetroot, sliced mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts and hemp seeds. If you are what you eat, this dish promises plenty of health and beauty.
Wine companion: This salad dances with colour and texture on the plate and should be accompanied with a drink that will waltz in the mouth. Nothing extravagant, just an ice-chilled glass of N.V. Prosecco IL Fresco Rose, Villa Sandi, Treviso DOC, Veneto, Italy; perfectly satisfying as you enjoy the views over Phang Nga Bay.
For more: comohotels.com