The good news and the bad news#
Good: China has a serious vegetarian tradition rooted in Mahayana Buddhism, going back over a millennium. Tofu, gluten and mushroom "mock meat" cookery is highly developed and genuinely delicious. Vegetables are treated as dishes in their own right, not garnishes. Dairy is rare in traditional cooking, so much of what you eat is incidentally vegan.
Bad: the concept of vegetarianism as a secular lifestyle choice is not widely understood outside big cities. A dish described as vegetable will frequently contain lard, a few slivers of pork "for flavour", chicken stock, oyster sauce or dried shrimp — and the cook will not consider that meat.
The phrases that work#
我吃素 (wǒ chī sù) — "I eat vegetarian". This is the phrase to use, because it maps onto Buddhist vegetarianism, which is a recognised category. Say it first.
Then be specific, because chī sù is understood as a religious practice and may be assumed not to apply to a foreigner:
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| I'm vegetarian | 我吃素 | wǒ chī sù |
| No meat | 不要肉 | bú yào ròu |
| No pork | 不要猪肉 | bú yào zhū ròu |
| No meat broth | 不要肉汤 | bú yào ròu tāng |
| No fish / seafood | 不要鱼/海鲜 | bú yào yú / hǎi xiān |
| No eggs | 不要鸡蛋 | bú yào jī dàn |
| No lard | 不要猪油 | bú yào zhū yóu |
| Vegetable oil only | 只用植物油 | zhǐ yòng zhí wù yóu |
| Vegetarian restaurant | 素菜馆 | sù cài guǎn |
Where to eat#
Buddhist vegetarian restaurants (素菜馆). The best option by far. Found near major temples in every large city, they are strictly vegetarian — traditionally also excluding the "five pungent" alliums (garlic, onion, leek, chive, asafoetida) — and serve elaborate mock-meat dishes made from wheat gluten, tofu skin and mushrooms. Often excellent value.
Notable examples: Gongdelin (Shanghai and Beijing), the restaurants at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, Wenshu Monastery in Chengdu, Nanputuo Temple in Xiamen, Jing'an Temple in Shanghai.
Sacred mountains. Emei, Wutai, Putuo and Jiuhua are Buddhist pilgrimage mountains where vegetarian food is the default rather than the exception.
Modern vegan restaurants. Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Hangzhou all have contemporary plant-based restaurants. Search on Dianping for 素食 or use HappyCow.
Muslim (清真) restaurants — no pork, but plenty of lamb and beef. Not vegetarian, but their hand-pulled noodles and flatbreads can often be made without meat.
Dishes that are usually safe#
- 麻婆豆腐 mapo tofu — only if you ask for it without minced pork (不要肉末)
- 干煸四季豆 dry-fried green beans — often contains pork; specify
- 地三鲜 di san xian — potato, aubergine and pepper, usually vegan
- 鱼香茄子 fish-fragrant aubergine — contains no fish; may contain a little pork
- 炒青菜 stir-fried greens — ask for no oyster sauce
- 凉拌黄瓜 smashed cucumber salad — reliably vegan
- 西红柿炒鸡蛋 tomato and egg — vegetarian, not vegan
- 素包子 vegetable baozi — steamed buns with cabbage and mushroom
- 煎饼 jianbing — ask for no meat floss; contains egg
- 豆浆 soy milk and 油条 youtiao — the classic vegan breakfast
- Malatang — you choose every ingredient yourself; ask for the vegetarian broth (素汤底)
- Hotpot — order the mushroom or tomato broth and vegetable plates
The hidden-meat list#
Watch for these in dishes that look vegetarian:
- 猪油 lard — used widely in stir-fries, especially in the south
- 高汤 / 鸡汤 stock — chicken or pork stock is the base of most soups, and of the water many vegetables are blanched in
- 蚝油 oyster sauce — in a great many vegetable dishes
- 虾米 dried shrimp — in cold dishes, fillings and sauces
- 肉末 minced pork — added in small quantities as seasoning
- 鸡精 chicken bouillon powder — ubiquitous as a seasoning
- 火腿 ham — in soups and fried rice
Regional difficulty#
Easier: Yunnan (vegetable-rich, huge mushroom culture), Fujian and Guangdong (strong Buddhist restaurant tradition), Shanghai and Beijing (international restaurant scenes), any Buddhist mountain town.
Harder: the northeast, Hunan and Xinjiang, where meat is central to almost every dish and vegetarian eating is unfamiliar.
Vegan specifics#
Dairy is genuinely rare in traditional Chinese cooking, which helps enormously — no butter, no cream, no cheese outside Yunnan's rubing goat cheese and modern Western-style cafés.
Eggs are the main obstacle, appearing in fried rice, noodle dishes, jianbing and many soups. Say 不要鸡蛋 (bú yào jī dàn).
Honey appears in some sauces and pastries. Gelatine is uncommon in Chinese desserts, which more often use agar or starch.
Frequently asked questions#
Is it hard to be vegetarian in China?#
Harder than the abundance of vegetables suggests, because lard, chicken stock, oyster sauce and small amounts of minced pork are added to dishes that appear vegetarian. Saying 我吃素 (wǒ chī sù) and carrying a written card listing exclusions solves most of it, and Buddhist restaurants solve all of it.
How do you say vegetarian in Chinese?#
我吃素 (wǒ chī sù), literally "I eat vegetarian". It is understood as Buddhist vegetarianism, which is a recognised category, and works far better than attempting to explain a dietary preference.
Are there vegan restaurants in China?#
Yes. Buddhist vegetarian restaurants (素菜馆) near major temples are strictly plant-based and often excellent, and Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Shenzhen have modern vegan restaurants. Search 素食 on Dianping or use HappyCow.
What Chinese dishes are vegetarian?#
Di san xian (potato, aubergine and pepper), smashed cucumber salad, stir-fried greens without oyster sauce, vegetable baozi, tomato and egg, and mapo tofu ordered without minced pork. Soy milk with youtiao is a reliably vegan breakfast.
Is dairy used in Chinese cooking?#
Very little. Traditional Chinese cuisine uses almost no butter, cream or cheese, which makes much of it incidentally vegan. The exceptions are Yunnan's goat cheese, dairy in Inner Mongolian and Tibetan food, and modern Western-influenced cafés and bakeries.