On our first evening as a Vegan in Bangkok, the street lights glowed yellow over the dusty tangle of electrical cables that garland every roadside. An elderly woman tended the charcoal burner perched on top of her ramshackle barrow, hardly bigger than a tea trolley, pushed to the edge of the pavement.
We paused, our group of seven, gathering shyly around our guide Gung, and watched while the woman heated a round dimpled pan, like a giant iron solitaire board, and deftly poured in white liquid from a metal teapot.
“Salted rice flour and coconut milk,” explained Gung, with the serious manner of a school prefect in charge of the newbies. Without breaking rhythm, the cook picked up a second teapot and began topping up the dimples with more milky liquid — sweetened coconut milk this time — before scattering over a few scraps of green spring onion.
It was only seconds before our cook tipped out the kanom krok, or coconut pancakes, tiny gold-crusted domes with a soft custard filling. We ate the creamy rich buns hot, with our fingers, and all our shyness was forgotten as we exclaimed at their deliciousness. And here it was, our first lesson in an essential component of Thai flavour: sweet, salty and savoury, layered rather than blended, building simple ingredients into a magical complexity of tastes.
Our group was just as varied, ranging in age from mid-20s to late 50s, and hailing from Melbourne, California, New York and England. We had just one common thread: we were all keen to explore the wonders of Thailand’s legendary food culture, but without eating any animal products. We were also all staying in rooms Lat Krabang, Bangkok.
Food vendor at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market preparing Thai style noodles, Thailand
Vegan Tours
Not so long ago a vegan food tour would have been unthinkable. But these days forswearing flesh is big business, with one in eight of us now vegan or vegetarian. Supermarkets are falling over themselves to launch vegan ranges and “plant-based” menus have entered the restaurant mainstream. With compelling environmental arguments for embracing a plant-based diet, even those who aren’t vegan are looking to cut down on meat. No wonder then that travel companies are getting on board, with specialized tours catering for the vegan traveller.
Or, in my case, the occasional vegan. Alone of the group, I’m omnivorous. But I did spend a decade during my teens and 20s as a vegetarian, and I increasingly find myself choosing a plant-based diet. I liked the idea of laying off all meat, fish and dairy for a week, while venturing north of Bangkok as far as Chiang Mai, an area I’d never been to before. If that couldn’t keep my mind off milky cappuccinos and roast chicken dinners, what would?
All the same, I’d had some misgivings. While Thailand might sound like a safe destination for vegans — all that coconut milk, those wonderful vegetable curries, the rice — Thai food relies heavily on nam pla, or fish sauce, the clear fermented liquid which they use with the same freedom that the Chinese use soy sauce. And then there are the shrimps, which are an intrinsic part of the curry pastes and even the salads, like the classic pounded papaya som tam. Would the food still taste truly Thai without the body and savoury note that these condiments give?
Over dinner of cassia leaf curry with lime, ginger and stir-fried shiitake stem in a Bangkok vegetarian restaurant, Gung, who is also a trained chef, explained the plan of campaign, while admitting that there would be challenges. It turns out that October is the best month for vegans to visit, when many Thais adopt a flesh-free diet, connected to the Chinese Buddhist tradition.
Tourists and local sellers in their boats with colorful fruits, vegetables, souvenirs and fresh food at a famous floating market near Bangkok in Thailand.
Market Beckons
But then Asia is all about adaptability, as we found the very next morning when we headed to Maeklong market, a few miles east of Bangkok. There we found stalls crammed either side of a railway line, boxes of veg piled on to the sleepers, while shoppers filled the rails. A minute before nine and, in a brief commotion, the stallholders threw covers over the boxes on the ground, pedestrians scrambled to the side and the train ambled slowly past, the sides of the carriages overhanging their boxes.
Gung bought us fresh coconuts, which the stallholder whacked open with a heavy knife, so we could sip the cool, woody water inside as we stood under his awning watching the jolly red and yellow carriages clatter by. Then Gung showed us how to eat the flesh, telling us firmly that these were the finest coconuts, and “in other parts of the country they are not so sweet, not such a nice aroma. And the best flesh is right at the bottom”. So we scooped out the gelatinous coconut with metal spoons Gung had given us to keep, so that we didn’t have to use disposable plastic cutlery at street food stalls.
Coconuts were to feature heavily in our eating, along with rice and banana. We travelled up to Thekla floating market and drifted peacefully in a narrow canoe through verdant waterways to a tiny plantation where farmers were gathering coconut nectar and boiling it down to make coconut sugar. Back at the market we ate rice-paper dumplings stuffed with fragrant chives, and miang kham, betel leaves wrapped around a zingy mix of shallots, chopped limes, coconut and galangal, which Gung arranged to be made for us without the usual shrimp paste.
In the main cities, in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, it’s relatively easy to find restaurants with a vegan menu, mostly patronised by Westerners. But if you want to eat vegan with the locals, or go off the beaten track, or eat at the street food stall, a guide and translator who understands food is key. Thais are not used to adapting dishes to suit vegans, and meat and dairy can lurk in unexpected places.
In the Kitchen
Some of our favourite lunch stops were in the Jain cafes, vegan canteens found throughout Thailand, popular with locals and recognizable by their red and yellow signage, but even there we needed our guide to decode the myriad dishes devoid of English language description.
Some of the fun was more closely tailored to vegans. In the markets of Kanchanaburi, near the famous Bridge on the River Kwai, we shopped with chef Noi, an effervescent Thai woman with an irreverent sense of humor, and learnt how to recognize old-fashioned tiny Thai shallots and reject the modern, western fat bulbs which lack the intensity needed.
She explained how we should eat them with garlic and small flexible dried chillies to burn fat and keep our blood pressure down, showed us how to pop purple mangosteen fruit open and eat the sweet white flesh and crunchy seeds without getting the magenta staining skin on our clothes, and to choose smooth-skinned ginger for slicing and the older roots for a fiery heat.
We piled into the back of an eight-seater tuk-tuk and headed back to Noi’s pristine cookery school on the other side of the River Kwai. First up was chilli paste — we were to grind salt, galangal, lemongrass, coriander root, cumin, coriander, shallots and plenty of chilli. “Chilli is good for cleaning,” Noi crowed, patting her bottom mischievously.
“Keep pounding!” We bashed on, adding shallots, and lemon-scented “finger ginger”, inhaling the fragrance of the spices.
Our leisurely journey continued north to Ayutthaya, where in a dark basement we watched a young man with rippling muscles pulling ropes of hot sugar, folding and pulling again until the threads were candyfloss fine, ready to stuff into pancakes called roti sai mai. On wards we went, on the night train to Chiang Mai, waking in the dawn light as we chugged past paddy fields and temples. On the outskirts of the city we stayed in a traditional northern Thai wooden house, and cooked in an outdoor kitchen surrounded by banana trees, sleeping in the loft on mattresses swathed in mosquito nets.
It was a long way from that dark roadside stall, and I hadn’t missed meat all week. Instead, as we navigated our vegan adventure, new Thai delicacies like pancakes called roti sai mai, I’d overlooked on previous trips had come into focus. More of those Thai layers of flavour, in fact.
Vegetarian Chiang Rai
There are a few places to eat Vegan in Chiang Rai, but as most seem to be out of the center of town we only went to the one near the night bazaar – Oasis Vegetaurant. It’s a big place with plenty of seating and a huge choice of dishes. Oasis is a vegan, Thai and Chinese restaurant.
A plate of food above cost 55 baht ($1.80, £1.20). The restaurant has a selection of about 15-20 hot dishes, plus about 5 or 6 fake meats. All of this food is pre-cooked and on display. On the wall behind the counter they also have a list of other dishes that can be cooked to order.
The restaurant is on the street that links Sirikorn Market and the Night Bazaar in Bangkok. If you’re in the night bazaar food area, walk behind the stage, and you’ll see a row of small shops. Walk behind this row of shops, and Oasis vegetarian restaurant will be facing you at the end of the road. It’s about two minutes’ walk from the bus station.
Americans are revolting against McDonald’s and other fast-food establishments. This is harming French fry suppliers like Lamb Weston.
Lamb Weston, North America’s largest manufacturer of french fries and a significant supplier to fast-food chains, restaurants, and grocery stores, is closing a production facility in Washington state. Last week, the company stated that it would lay off almost 400 employees, or 4% of its workforce, and temporarily shut down manufacturing lines in response to falling customer demand.
Lamb Weston (LW) shares have plummeted 35% this year.
America’s French Fry King Sounds An Alarm
The potato giant is oversupplied at a time when demand is low. In recent years, restaurant prices have risen faster than grocery store prices, prompting shoppers to avoid fast-food establishments.
This move has had an impact on Lamb Weston because individuals are less inclined to prepare French fries at home. According to Lamb Weston, fast-food restaurants account for around 80% of all french fries consumed in the United States.
Fast-food restaurants, such as McDonald’s, are offering bargain menus to entice customers back. McDonald’s has introduced a $5 meal that contains a McDouble cheeseburger or a McChicken sandwich, small french fries, four chicken nuggets, and a small soft drink. However, these promotions are not benefiting Lamb Weston because customers are purchasing fewer portions of fries.
“Many of these promotional meal deals have consumers trading down from a medium fry to a small fry,” Lamb Weston CEO Thomas Werner stated during an earnings call last week.
McDonald’s, Lamb Weston’s largest customer, accounts for 13% of revenue. As McDonald’s goes, so does Lamb Weston.
America’s French Fry King Sounds An Alarm
And McDonald’s is struggling. Sales at US restaurants open at least a year declined 0.7% last quarter compared to the same period a year ago, dragged down by fewer consumers visiting the brand.
Lamb Weston is also heavily exposed to other fast-food companies, according to analyst R.J. Hottovy of analytics firm Placer.ai, in a research note to clients last week.
Customer traffic to fast-food restaurants fell 2% last quarter and 3% the prior quarter compared to the same period last year, according to Lamb Weston.
YouTube’s top stars have launched their competitor to Lunchables.
MrBeast, Logan Paul, and KSI are collaborating on a “groundbreaking new better-for-you lunch option” called Lunchly, combining all their goods into a single meal geared at their younger fans.
The all-in-one meal includes a bottle of Prime Hydration, a sports drink alternative founded by Paul and KSI that has grown in popularity; a Feastables milk chocolate bar created by MrBeast, a popular YouTube star with over 300 million subscribers; and one of three processed food options, including pizza, nachos, or turkey aand cheese with crackers.
Logan Paul And MrBeast Have A Lunchables Competitor That They Say Is Healthy
“Our ultimate goal has always been to offer not only high-quality products, but also healthier alternatives,” Lunchly cofounder Logan Paul stated in a press release. He also stated that the school lunch industry has been “dominated by Lunchables” since he was a child, and that it is “time to provide a better option for those looking for a convenient, healthier choice.”
Lunchly promises to be “healthier” since Prime contains more electrolytes than a Capri Sun in Lunchables, and Mr. Beast’s chocolate bar contains less sugar than a Kit Kat or Crunch bar.
Lunchly’s launch comes after Lunchable, owned by Kraft Heinz, announced a huge initiative last year to participate in school lunch programs. However, the company had to reformulate the components first to guarantee that the items met regulatory rules, which included incorporating fresh fruit into their meals.
Consumer Reports reported in 2024 that it recently studied the nutritional profiles of two Lunchables kits supplied in schools and discovered that they contain significantly more sodium than the Lunchables kits available in stores.
Logan Paul And MrBeast Have A Lunchables Competitor That They Say Is Healthy
Of course, KSI, Paul, and MrBeast know how to create brands, thanks partly to their devoted following. Despite government worries about the caffeine content of some of its drinks, Prime sales have risen, threatening industry leaders such as Gatorade and BodyArmor.
“Prime brings a youthful buying cohort that hasn’t had a lot pitched their way beyond traditional kids’ drinks,” Jeffrey Klineman, editor-in-chief of BevNet, previously told CNN. “Paul is significantly more intriguing to a 13-year-old than a juice box.”
Pressure cookers are very popular cooking utensils for preparing soups, stews, and tenderising meats in quick time. However, their versatility and uses go far beyond these traditional uses.
If you’re trying to use your 5 litre pressure cooker differently, you are at the right place, as we are going to explore unexpected and creative ways to use this essential kitchen utensil.
Infused oils and extract
You can use your pressure cooker to prepare infused oils and extracts. To do that, you have to put the herbs, spices, or citrus peels in a jar filled with oil or alcohol. Then, seal the jar and cook under low pressure for a short time to infuse the flavours uniformly.
By this method, you can extract intense flavours in a quick time as compared to what it takes through traditional infusion methods. You can also experiment with combinations like rosemary-infused olive oil or vanilla extract for baking.
Artisanal Curd Making
You can use your pressure cooker to prepare yoghurt. To do that you have to heat the milk to a proper and specific temperature, and then cool it down before adding yoghurt culture. After that, keep the mixture in jars, seal, and ferment in the pressure cooker with the use of the yoghurt setting. And yes, after that, you will have creamy, homemade yoghurt at a much lower cost than store-bought varieties. You can add up your yoghurt, various flavours and toppings for a healthy breakfast or snack option.
Quick pickling
You can also prepare quick pickles using your pressure cooker. For doing that combine the ingredients such as vinegar, water, salt, and your choice of vegetables or fruits in the cooker.
Now, after that, cook under pressure for a few minutes to infuse the flavours rapidly.
Once it is done and cooled, your quick pickles will be ready to eat and enjoy, giving a taste of tangy flavour to sandwiches, salads, or charcuterie boards. You can do this using different spices and herbs to prepare unique flavour profiles for your pickles.
Steaming vegetables and seafood
You can use your pressure cooker’s steaming capabilities to cook vegetables and seafood very easily and quickly. To do that, you have to place a steamer basket inside the cooker, add water, and put your ingredients.
Then, after that, cook under pressure for a few minutes to keep the nutrients intact and also get the perfect tenderness. From crisp-tender asparagus to succulent shrimp, the possibilities of preparing the dishes are many. You can add different flavours using aromatic herbs, spices, and citrus zest.
Homemade bread and desserts
You can amaze your family with freshly baked bread and delicious desserts that can easily be prepared in your pressure cooker. To do that, use the cooker as a makeshift oven by placing a trivet inside and also adding water to it.
After that, you have to place your bread dough or dessert batter in a heat-proof container, cover it, and then cook under low pressure. In very little time, you will get tender bread or delicious desserts without even messing up the kitchen. You can also try various other recipes like chocolate lava cake or savoury herb bread for a delightful treat.
One-pot pasta dishes
You can easily prepare one-pot pasta dishes that are cooked perfectly in your pressure cooker. To do that you have to combine pasta, sauce, vegetables, and protein in the cooker, and also remember to check and put enough liquid for cooking. Then, seal and cook under pressure for a few minutes. This will allow the flavours to get mixed beautifully.
And with this, from classic spaghetti marinara to creamy Alfredo, your pressure cooker can do it all. You can enhance your pasta with your favourite ingredients and garnishes.
Conclusion on a pressure cooker
Cooking indeed is a creative method. Do justice to your creative culinary spirit with your 5-litre pressure cooker. Bake bread, make homemade yoghurt, and make several main dishes as well as side dishes using a wide pressure cooker.
Impress everyone and yourself! Make the best out of your culinary instincts.
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