Thai Vegetable Stir Fry in 15 minutes

Name: Thai Vegetable Stir Fry in 15 minutes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 4 cloves garlic (– minced); 250 g mushrooms (– chopped into quarters); 300 g carrots (– peeled and chopped); 200 g broccoli; 2 tbsp light soy sauce; 2 tbsp dark soy sauce; 1/4 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce; 1 tsp sugar; 1/4 cup water; 500 g Chinese cabbage (or white cabbage); 1 tbsp vegetable oil (optional); Fresh coriander; Cashews; Fresh chopped chillies

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This Thai Vegetable Stir Fry only takes 10 minutes to cook, yet is full of flavour! You’ll just need 10 ingredients and some rice or noodles to serve them with. Carry on reading for this super quick, simple and tasty meal…

Vegan Thai stir fry with mixed vegetables, chillies in the background, set on a pink background — Thai vegetable stir fry is a delicious, quick and umami rich dinner!

These Thai stir fried vegetables are a super simple take on the classic dish, vegetables in oyster sauce, only it’s totally plant based. We used a DIY work around for a vegan substitute for oyster sauce. However, if you have a vegan oyster sauce in the cupboard, that will work just fine too! We go into more detail on that later…

This dish is great for eating ‘Thai style’, and by that we mean putting it in the middle of the table and sharing. We love sharing our meals generally, but especially when at restaurants that encourage you to do so! It also means that you can try more from the menu, so what’s not to love?

Alternatively – of course, it works as a main too. You might be thinking ‘but it’s just veggies’ – where’s the tofu or meat substitute? We found that it just doesn’t need it – this one puts the veggies in the centre of the dish. We definitely won’t be changing that – we love vegetables too much!

If you want to add tofu, tempeh or another substitute, then please do. Just because we don’t, doesn’t mean you can’t! As far as protein goes, there is mushroom and broccoli included so nutritionally, there is protein in this meal so we’re happy that it’s balanced, we’re not dieticians though.

Ingredients

There’s a whole lotta veggies in this one!

Mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, broccoli and garlic laid out on a chopping board — This Thai stir fry is packed full of veggies!

These are the vegetables that you’ll need for this vegetable Thai stir fry:

Cabbage (Chinese or Savoy works great)
Carrots
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Garlic

For the vegan stir fry sauce, you’ll just need these 5 items:

Light Soy Sauce
Dark Soy Sauce
Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
Sugar
Water

Ingredients laid out on a chopping board, focusing on the soy sauces, sugar and chillies for garnish — You just need 5 ingredients for the stir fry sauce!

It’s really as simple as that! We would also recommend topping with fresh coriander, fresh chilli (or chilli flakes) and cashews. But that’s all optional.

As a side note, so many different vegetables would work in this dish. If you don’t have everything that’s listed, or you want to make it more seasonal, then go ahead! Other veg that would work well includes:

Baby corn
Pak Choi
Courgette
Sugar snap peas
Asparagus
Brussels sprouts (they’re not just for Christmas!)
Cauliflower

...and that’s just off the top of my head!

Vegan substitute for oyster sauce

Now, it might sound weird to use vegan Worcestershire sauce. If you don’t have an oyster sauce substitute, dark soy sauce mixed with the vegan Worcestershire is a great alternative!

The best vegan substitute for oyster sauce, in our opinion, is the Mama Sita’s brand. This is the only brand that comes close – that we’ve found, anyway!

The second best option is the Mushroom Vegetarian Stir Fry sauce by Lee Kum Kee. It’s a lot easier to come by and can even be found on Amazon! However, the flavour isn’t perfect, that’s why we prefer the other one. As below…

Best stir fry sauce to buy

If you don’t want to bother with making the sauce, you can always get a pre-bought sauce, like this Biona one. It’s similar to the one used in this dish, but it’s pre-made! It won’t be exactly the same as the sauce we make from scratch, as it's a sweet and sour sauce, but it will be tasty.

Bottle of Biona stir fry sauce in a glass bottle set to a white background

Another shop-bought stir fry sauce includes this vegetarian mushroom one by Lee Kum Kee. The mushroom flavour really adds a deep, rich umami flavour. You can use it in place of the dark soy and Worcestershire sauce in this dish, and it will be delicious!

Top down view of the veggie stir fry on a pink background with a spoon balanced on the plate on the right. — Feel free to mix up the veggies in this stir fry!

How to make Thai Vegetable Stir Fry in 10 minutes!

This is such a quick recipe, sometimes we surprise ourselves when we make it! It really does only take a few minutes to bring together.

First things first. Measure out all the ingredients, prepare and chop the veggies, and put the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and vegan worcestershire sauce in a pot together.

Step 1
Pop a splash of veg oil (optional) into your wok, then add the garlic and stir fry for a minute. Add in the mushrooms and stir fry over a high-ish heat until they release water. If you choose not to use oil, you may need to add a splash of water to stop the garlic from catching.

Step 2
Add the carrots and broccoli, and continue stir frying for a few minutes.

Step 3
Pour in the soy sauces, vegan Worcestershire sauce and sugar, followed by the water. Continue to stir fry until all is combined. The sauce should come up to the boil, but only for around 30 seconds before the next step.

Step 4
Add in the cabbage, then stir until it wilts down. Serve and enjoy! Optional garnishes can be added such as cashews, fresh red chilli and coriander leaves.

Veggies on a white oval plate in a Thai stir fry sauce with chillies in the background and a dome of rice on a yellow plate is visible in the background too

Thai Vegetable Stir Fry FAQs

What vegetables can I use?

A number of different veggies can be used. This recipe is in fact great for just chucking in leftover produce from the fridge! We use mushrooms for a protein but would recommend using a whole variety of other vegetables with them (as listed above) such as baby corn, bok choi, peppers, cauliflower, sugar snap peas... the list goes on and on!

Does this stir fry freeze?

This stir fry can be frozen. However, we would omit the chestnut mushrooms if you plan on freezing this meal. We always find that the texture of chestnut mushrooms become leathery and unenjoyable once defrosted and then cooked.

Can I make this stir fry without oil?

Yes, as long as you have a non-stick wok. As garlic burns easily, you can add a small splash of water to help prevent it catching at the beginning of cooking.

What if I don’t have vegan oyster sauce or vegan Worcestershire sauce?

You can omit both vegan oyster sauce and vegan Worcestershire sauce but the flavour won’t be as umami rich.

If you love Thai food, read even more about it in our Ultimate Vegan Thai Food Guide!

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