For good reasons, Thai cuisine is one of the most popular in the world. Although popularly described as a single cuisine, Thai food is actually best characterized as a combination of four regional cuisines coming from Northern, Northeastern, Central and Southern Thailand.

A glance at the menues of Thai restaurants in western countries suggests that there is almost no place for vegetarian food in Thai cuisine. However, this is not the truth. Most Thai dishes consist of rice with vegetables, meat and sauce on top. Meat and fish or sea food are viewed as just one portion of a meal and not as the primary ingredient of the meal.Much of the flavour of Thai food comes from the sauces and vegetables, so you can frequently substitute bean curd or other ingredients that you do eat for the specified meat.

Below, you will find a vegetarian meal from Central Thailand.

Vegetarian Thai Stew

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes

2 carrots

2 onions

3 cakes of tofu (bean curd)

250 grams of ricestraw mushrooms

15-20 small cherry tomatoes

150 grams of green beans

1 tbsp of light soy sauce

1 tbsp of dark soy sauce

3 cups of vegetable stock

2 tbsp of arrowroot starch

salt and pepper

vegetable oil

Wash and cut the tomatoes into pieces and then fry them in the oil.

Cut the carrots into 1-inch pieces and the onions into quarters.

Wash the mushrooms and cut them into halves.

Cut the tofu into flat pieces, about 1/2-inch thick.

Marinate the tofu in dark soy sauce for about 20 minutes.

Fry the marinated tofu until it's brown and firm.

Add the vegetables, soy sauce, salt and pepper.

Mix the starch with water and add it to the stew.

Boil the stew for a few seconds and serve it in a warm bowl.