Vegan Thai cuisine: Tradition and creativity in plant-based cooking
- InFusion
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
A cuisine full of flavour, perfectly suited to a vegan lifestyle
Thai cuisine is not historically vegetarian, yet it lends itself remarkably well to a vegan diet thanks to the country’s abundance of fresh produce. The tropical climate allows for a wide variety of herbs, fruits and vegetables to flourish all year round, providing the foundation for colourful and fragrant dishes. Tofu, coconut milk, chillies, lemongrass, galangal and Thai basil form the basis of a naturally balanced cuisine. These essential ingredients make it easy to recreate Thailand’s most iconic dishes in a fully plant-based version without compromising authenticity or depth of flavour.
Thai classics in their vegan form
Thai gastronomy is built on harmony between salty, sweet, sour and spicy flavours, a balance that can easily be achieved in vegan cooking.
Soups such as Tom Yam and Tom Kha can be made with vegetable stock and assorted mushrooms instead of animal-based broths or seafood. Curries, the cornerstone of Thai cuisine, are easily adapted: green curry, red curry, panang curry and massaman curry all become vegan when prepared with homemade curry pastes free from shrimp paste, replaced by fermented soybeans.
Stir-fried dishes and noodle recipes are equally versatile. The famous Pad Thai needs only a few changes to become vegan, featuring firm tofu, tamarind, coconut sugar and light soy sauce, while Pad See Ew combines rice noodles with vegetables and dark soy sauce. Other beloved dishes, such as stir-fried tofu with ginger or wok-fried aubergines, showcase the vibrant balance of Thai flavours.
Among sauces and condiments, the sweet and sour cucumber relish (Nam Atjat), peanut sauce and sweet chilli sauce are indispensable. These foundations of Thai cooking highlight the refined aromatic character of modern Thai vegan cuisine.
Naturally vegan Thai desserts
Thai desserts hold a unique place within the country’s gastronomy. Unlike Western traditions, they rarely use dairy products. Coconut milk, grated coconut, palm sugar, tapioca and tropical fruits naturally replace cream, milk and butter, making many Thai sweets vegan by nature.
In our Vegan Thai Cuisine cookbook, you will find beloved classics such as mango with sticky rice, a staple of the hot season, banana fritters with coconut sauce and coconut sugar, and delicate coconut or mango jellies, subtly infused with pandan or butterfly pea flowers. These simple yet refined desserts reflect the creativity and generosity of Thai culinary culture.
Substitutions and flavour balance in vegan Thai cooking
Adapting Thai cuisine to a vegan diet is not about omission but intelligent substitution. Fish sauce can be replaced with light soy sauce, mushroom sauce, or a vegan fish sauce made from seaweed and shiitake mushrooms, which replicates its subtle marine depth. Coconut milk brings smoothness and body, while tofu and mushrooms stand in for meat or seafood, preserving texture and richness. Balancing flavours remains central: palm sugar, tamarind juice and fresh chillies combine to reproduce the distinctive sweet, sour and spicy harmony that defines authentic Thai cooking.
Learn vegan Thai cooking on Koh Samui
Would you like to learn how to prepare these dishes yourself? Join our private cooking classes on Koh Samui and master the essentials of vegan Thai cuisine. Discover all available options on our page Thai Cooking Classes on Koh Samui.
Discover more about vegetarian and vegan Thai cuisine
Find these recipes in our book
The book Vegan Thai Cuisine gathers 60 authentic recipes, reimagining Thailand’s great classics in fully plant-based form. Available as part of the InFusion Cooking Classes Koh Samui collection.
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