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Vegetarian food
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MestariTomte -
As a person who has a) never visited China, b) is about to and c) is a vegan I'm wondering how
easy it is to avoid meat/milk/eggs/etc there. I'm putting my hopes on the "monastery-culture" and
the denial of "earthly pleasures". Right... If those terms sounded funny put it on my tiredness :)
And does people get insulted if one refuses to eat what is on the table on the basis of veganism?
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geek_frappa -
don't like meat and Chinese family offers it to you?
eat it.
or face the wrath of losing face.
bwwaaahahahahah!!!
when in rome, do as the romans do...
Tsunku -
Watch out, they like to sneak meat into things that you might not expect to have meat. For
example, don't assume that your tofu dish is meat free, lots of times there's pork in the sauce.
You can eat vegetarian in China, but you need to make sure they understand that when you say no
meat, you don't mean just a little bit of meat. One of my roomates in China was a vegetarian and
people would often tell her the dish didn't have any meat, and then when it would come out,
there'd be some meat in it, and the the Chinese would act like the meat wasn't enough to count or
something and get agitated when she complained that the meatless dish did, in fact, have meat.
If you say you're a Buddhist, that should work. If you eat in temples or monasteries, the food
will be vegetarian. Kunming has a really hardcore vegetarian restaraunt where they go to great
lengths to make veggie dishes that look and taste like meat. I think it's in the Lonely Planet
guide (where are you going anyhow?).
Avoiding dairy isn't hard, you'll only have to avoid eggs really, which isn't as hard as avoiding
meat.
wix -
characters, but you should still find it useful in China. I am no longer vegetarian, but I used to
be. At times it can be a major hassle as people simply don't understand your food requirements.
Any restaurant should be able to prepare a vegetarian dish or dishes if they put their mind to it,
but sometimes they just don't get it.
The phrase "wo chi su" (I am vegetarian) may simply be interpreted as "I want to eat vegetables"
rather than being vegetarian. You will be served a plate of green vegetables and rice. IT happened
to me several times in the beginning when my Chinese wasn't so good.
I would advise you to write down in Chinese exactly what you want. (You could cut and paste the
appropriate sentences from my webpage into MS Word if you like). Don't be afraid to be specific as
another problem is that many people think vegetarian means "quan su" or total vegetarian in the
Chinese Buddhist tradition. This prohibits the eating of onions and garlic.
Once your spoken Chinese is OK you might like to say something like "I can't eat meat or seafood.
I can't eat eggs. I can eat onions and garlic." This will communicate the message more effectively
than just saying "I am vegetarian"
Also have a look at the China and Taiwan sections of the Happy Cow website.
geek_frappa -
i have heard of vegan cuisine in the cities.
but in the countryside? other than temples... where else can we find dishes in areas outside of
the cities??
Alainna -
Just tell people that you're Buddhist. I've had more success with that than with telling people
that I'm just "su de". I also didn't eat much when I was in the countryside and tried to ignore
the fact that things were probably made with animal fats. My stomach didn't ignore this, but at
least I didn't pass out from malnutrition.
chengdude -
I always remember a good friend of mine telling me that traveling together with a vegan in China
was the worst travel experience of her life...no offense to the OP, obviously.
One issue that hasn't been completely broached is where exactly in China our vegan traveller is
planning to visit. I managed 2 years in Sichuan as a vegetarian with few problems...although I
wasn't bound by ethics as specific as veganism, so I'm not under the illusion that I didn't end up
ingesting some taboo bits here and there. In Sichuan, the primary cooking medium is rapeseed (AKA
canola) oil, so that lessens the worry of animal fats in one's food. Sichuan is also an
agricultural heartland, so fresh vegetables and fruits are a given. There are uncounted streetside
eateries that display their veggies du jour in plastic baskets; just point out an appealing
combination and they'll fry it up. But, coming back to the "worst travel experience" anecdote,
it's true as has been pointed out, that bits of meat-for-flavor find their way into everything.
Also, restaurants big or small don't really assign a wok for meat, a wok for vegetables, etc., so
your veggies might be coming into contact with the residue of the last meat-filled order. Granted,
the temperature on the surface of the wok is on the order of a million or-so degrees F, but if
you're strict enough that something like this becomes an issue, then it will be difficult. There's
always the possibility of reused cooking oils as well....can the OP ignore that for hunger's sake?
There are wonderful vegetable combinations stuffed in jiaozi (AKA dumplings), but they will be
boiled in the same water that meat-filled ones are and there will always be some inevitable
leakage of juices. You will be able to eat noodle soups: tofu and vegetable combinations are
always good and should use water rather than stock as a base. In Sichuan, hot & sour noodles
from one of the innumerable noodle stalls are also OK, but you have to request that they leave out
the instant chicken boullion powder that is inevitably one of the ingredients spooned into the
bowl. Fried rice mixed with vegetables is another possibility, with the caveat of residual contact
in the wok as mentioned above. And, as already discussed, you'll be able to eat at any Buddhist
temple with a restaurant that you run across. And, then there is breadstuff on the streets:
steamed bread is OK, as should be baked breads like "guo kuei," which are pretty basic. Of course,
in proper bakeries, the specter of eggs, fat, and/or dairy rises. Any bread fried on a giant
griddle has to be viewed skeptically, although again in Sichuan, the fried breads with green onion
or chives will be OK. In the north, the fried breads with generic names like "da bing" or "bing
zi" will be suspect for their cooking fats...
I guess I could go on and on, but without knowing where the OP will be or just how strictly they
view the contact/preparation of food, it's kind of a waste of bandwidth.
MestariTomte -
So it looks like that I'm going to be a monk, eh? :-) Anyway, thanks for replies and about the
issue where excatly will I be going ...well I'm not sure yet. If I get really lucky and get the
job I'm wanting to I'll be then found from Changsu which is quite close to Shanghai (assuming that
job-Changsu is map-Changsun). If that doesn't happen - well perhaps I just take off and go where
ever... north most likely - perhaps somewhere near Beijing...
WallyRus -
Good job putting an effort forth! i bet it'll be hard! Ive never been to china, so I have no
advice for you, but good luck. How long have you been a vegan?
TSkillet -
My then-girlfriend came to visit me in Guangzhou a few years ago - and she was veggie - mainly for
moral reasons against commercial farming. She found it easier to give it up for a while (not
suggesting that this is what you do - it's your own choice) and eat mainly vegetable dishes or
tofu dishes, but not really fuss when there were random bits of meat thrown in there -or worry
about the food being cooked in animal based oil.
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