Northern Arizona’s Mountain Living Magazine, September 2021
Story and photos by Gail G. Collins
In Thai culture, meals are a social occasion, and dishes are enjoyed family style — the more, the merrier. There aren’t courses, but choices from many categories served together. These include a variety of colorful stir-fries and fragrant curries, plus soup and pineapple or mango for dessert. A mix of sweet, salty, sour and spicy elements creates a satisfying supper.
Each October in Thailand, a vegetarian festival takes place over 10 days in tribute to Taoist belief barring meat consumption or harming animals in order to refine minds and bodies. The event fosters rich traditions and spiritual practices, but also challenges celebrants, clad in white for purity, to free the soul of wrong and cleanse the body as acts of devotion.
Memory of this joyful celebration pushed Chada Tirakul to fulfill her dream and open Red Curry Vegan Kitchen, her second Thai restaurant in Flagstaff.
“This was a beautiful time in Phuket, and personally, I eat vegan two to three times a week, but in September and October, I am a solid vegan,” she said.
The earnest business graduate grew up cooking with her father for family gatherings and worked as a student in a Thai restaurant, knowing down deep that one day she would open a restaurant of her own.
Tirakul ran herself ragged in the early years to make a success of Dara Thai before she trained up the next generation to take over the reins. After ventures in Taos and Santa Fe, her committed partner, Sasiya Stoneburger, joined her in launching Red Curry in early 2014, the first vegan eatery in Flagstaff. The aim of bringing authentic Thai food as vibrant, vegan fare “… whisk(s) you away to the streets and markets of Phuket,” just as Tirakul hoped.
The space on San Francisco Street is compact, and the kitchen is cozier. This turns market items over quickly, keeping it fresh. Sauces are scratch-made, produce is local and processed foods are avoided.
Royal purple banquettes remind guests that these ladies hail from a kingdom with a reigning monarchy, and a picture of the royal couple hangs on the wall. Wood accents, cheap chic glitz in the chandeliers and art for sale keep the style straightforward, like its hardworking owners.
Start your meal with kale chips, baked as light, crisp greens to liven with sweet and sour sauce, laced with chili flakes or crushed peanuts. Add wontons of potato and onion with Indian influence in masala spices, veggie rolls stuffed with transparent rice noodles, shitake mushrooms, cabbage and carrot, plus fluffy tofu triangles are all perfect for dipping.
The Tokyo Roll is a nod to traditional sushi, wrapping nori around brown rice, cucumber, carrot, avocado and sunflower sprouts in Vegenaise and topped with soy-ginger ponzu-sauced quinoa “roe,” adding citrus and savory flavor.
The aromatic yellow curry blends tomato, onion, bell pepper and carrot in coconut milk with a choice of red or black beans or tofu as a protein boost. Scale your spice from one to five for creamy heat. A signature stir fry, nicknamed PET, combines pumpkin, eggplant and tofu with carrot, bell pepper and basil in a lively sauté. A side of mixed brown and red rice provides a healthy, hearty foundation.
Tom Ka is the benchmark of quality in Thai soups. A variety of vegetables, shitake mushrooms and tofu with lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves swim in coconut milk broth delivering health by the spoonful.
With new projects in Page — Nemo’s Fish & Chips and Dara Thai Express — Tirakul moves forward ambitiously. Still, it’s impossible to forget those who offered help generously along the way. In the early days, one fellow lunched regularly at Red Curry, bringing his computer and aiding in the tech side of things.
“People came in each day and became friends,” she remembered.
Initially, a close friend didn’t think Red Curry would make it, but Tirakul thought the appeal was there.
“I love Flagstaff,” she said. “People like to eat healthy, clean food and see the value in it.”
Even those who don’t live a vegan lifestyle delight in the fresh and vivid flavors.
Tirukal loves to cook and entertain, so her next plan involves hosting dinner parties with donations to charity.
She teared up, adding, “People are so kind, and so many helped along the way — I want them to be my guest and to give back to honor them.” NAMLM