Coconut Vegetable Stew

This is an adaptation of a popular Thai standard. I learned it from my good friend, Chalie Amatyakul, who founded the Thai Cooking School at The Oriental in Bangkok. It is a simple dish that can easily be done in the wok. There is a secret, however: do not add all the vegetables at once. As in the technique of stir-frying, with stewing, different vegetables require different cooking times. When the cooking times are carefully observed, the whole dish comes out perfectly done.