Ask Mang | How do I order vegan food in China?
** “Ask Mang” is the China Vegan Society's Q&A series. "Mang" is the Romanization of 茻, the Chinese character which the China Vegan Society uses to represent veganism. Email Mang with your questions about veganism in China and she'll do her best to answer you!
Q: What do I need to know to order vegan food in China?
A: When you're eating out in China, the easiest way to ensure you get vegan food is to eat in vegan restaurants. But depending on where you are or what time it is, that's not always an option. Luckily, China is much more vegan-friendly than many people think, and you can easily get vegan meals in non-vegan restaurants. With its diverse cuisine, China offers an abundance of vegan dishes...as well as many foods that are almost vegan, except for one or two hidden animal ingredients which you may (or may not) be able to opt out of.
For reasons we explained here, just telling people "I'm vegan" or "I'm vegetarian" in Chinese is often not enough to ensure you get a vegan meal. Interpretations of "vegan" and "vegetarian" vary widely between individuals. Besides knowing how to identify and ask for vegan options, you should also know which hidden animal ingredients to watch out for and how to ask about them. We’ll talk about that next.
Q: What hidden animal ingredients should I look out for in typical Chinese foods?
A: Foods and ingredients will vary a lot between regions, but here is a guide to some of the more typical foods you'll find in Chinese restaurants and streetside snack stalls, along with the hidden animal ingredients you are most likely to need to ask about.
Dumplings and wontons. Vegetable-based fillings often contain egg 鸡蛋, and sometimes a little ground pork 肉末 for flavoring. Steamed soup dumplings (小笼包, xiaolongbao) often contain bone broth 骨汤. Some trendy black-skinned dumplings contain squid ink 墨鱼汁.
Is that filling vegan? You’d better check!
Noodles. Wonton noodles and egg noodles are made with eggs 鸡蛋.
Soup (noodle soup, wonton soup, hot pot and malatang). Brothy soups are often meat-based stock 骨汤 or flavored with powdered chicken bouillon 鸡精. The layer of chili oil floating on top of a spicy Sichuan hot pot is often made with beef tallow 牛油.
That soup could be just a simple broth of salt, spices, and vegetable oil…or it could be beef broth!
Garnishes (on soups, cold dishes, silken tofu, etc). Many vegan-friendly dishes are topped with animal-based garnishes. Look out for dried shrimp 虾皮/虾米, shredded omelet 蛋皮, pork floss 肉松, and ground pork 肉末.
Look closely—can you spot the animal ingredients in these almost-vegan dishes?
Sauces (on noodles and snack foods). Look out for pork fat 猪油, pork gravy 肉燥, and oyster sauce 耗油.
Is that soy sauce or oyster sauce?
Breads and buns. Breads and buns often contain fresh milk 鲜奶 or milk powder 奶粉, especially if they are sweet. Cookies often contain egg 鸡蛋 or egg white 蛋清 and sometimes butter 黄油 or cream 奶油. Some breads are stuffed or topped with dried pork floss 肉松. Pineapple buns are made with dairy and topped with egg yolk 蛋黄.
Traditional pastries often contain lard and eggs.
Cookies, pastries, and cakes. Traditional Chinese cookies often contain egg 鸡蛋 or preserved egg yolks 咸蛋黄 and sometimes dairy. Green bean cakes sometimes contain milk powder 奶粉. Moon cakes, wife cakes, and other traditional stuffed pastries are often made with lard 猪油, and more modern or fusion versions may be made with butter 黄油 or other dairy products. Cakes usually contain eggs and sometimes dairy.
Sticky rice soup dumplings (汤圆, tangyuan). Sweet sesame and peanut tangyuan often have lard 猪油 in the filling. Some trendy new-style tanguan are colored with squid ink 墨鱼汁.
Flatbreads （煎饼, jianbing; 烧饼, shaobing）and fried bread sticks （油条, youtiao). Baked or fried flatbreads are often flavored with pork fat 猪油, or have pork fat mixed with vegetables in the filling. Fried bread sticks are sometimes made with egg as a leavener.
Tempted? Better ask if they can make you one without 猪油! (Photo: Blog de Doug)
Stuffed steamed buns (包子, baozi). Baozi vendors often sell baozi with tofu or vegetable fillings, but these may contain lard 猪油 or small quantities of ground pork 肉末.
Tofu. Not all tofu is vegan. Some kinds of tofu are made with egg white 鸡蛋豆腐 or fish paste 鱼豆腐, and some packaged tofu snacks are flavored with meat or chicken bouillon 鸡精.
Know your tofu! The tofu on the left is made from pureed fish, and the one on the right is made from egg white.
Soy, coconut, and oat milk beverages. In China soymilk is a beverage in its own right, not a dairy alternative, so there's nothing strange about mixing the two together. Many flavored soymilk beverages add milk powder 奶粉. Most of the leading coconut milk beverages are thickened with casein 酪蛋白, as are some oat milks.
Miscellaneous snacks. Some packaged snacks that look like dried fruit, chocolate, or potato chips are actually beef jerky 牛肉干, donkey collagen 阿胶, pork rinds 猪皮, or crispy fish skin 鱼皮. Other snacks may contain chicken bouillon 鸡精 or dairy products. Recently, it has become popular to enhance snack foods and beverages with whey protein 乳清蛋白 or collagen 胶原蛋白.
Q: I don't speak Chinese. How can I ask if the food I want contains animal ingredients?
A: Your best bet is to print out a "cheat sheet" or card stating your request for animal-free food and listing the specific ingredients you want to avoid. Here's our suggested approach, plus a list of specific animal ingredients you may want to ask about:
哈喽，我是纯素主义者，我不吃肉、海鲜、鸡蛋、乳制品等等任何来自动物的食物，你们有哪些适合我的菜品？
Hello, I'm a vegan. I don't eat meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, or any other animal-based foods. Do you have any suitable options for me?
Common animal ingredients in English and Chinese
Primary animal products
Meat 肉
Pork 猪肉
Beef 牛肉
Mutton/lamb 羊肉
Chicken 鸡肉
Duck 鸭肉
Goose 鹅肉
Organ meat 内脏
Seafood 海鲜、水产、海产
Fish 鱼
Shellfish 贝类
Shrimp 虾
Crab 螃蟹
Dairy 奶制品、乳制品
Milk 牛奶、牛乳
Eggs (chicken, duck, quail) 鸡蛋、鸭蛋、鹌鹑蛋
Honey 蜂蜜
Derivative products
Dairy derivatives:
Cheese 奶酪、芝士
Cream 奶油
Milk powder 奶粉、乳粉
Yogurt 酸奶、优格乳
Food additives:
Casein 酪蛋白
Gelatin 明胶
Whey, whey protein 乳清、乳清蛋白
Squid ink 墨鱼汁
Soups and flavorings:
Chicken broth 鸡汤
Pork broth 豚骨汤、骨汤
Beef broth 牛肉汤
Chicken bouillon 鸡精
Shrimp paste 虾酱
Fish sauce 鱼露
Bonito 鲣鱼
Fats:
Pork fat 猪油
Beef fat 牛油
Butter 黄油
Garnishes:
Shredded omelet 蛋皮
Pork floss 肉松
Dried shrimp 虾米、虾皮
Sauces:
Gravy 肉燥、肉汁
Oyster sauce 耗油
Mayonnaise 蛋黄酱
Other products:
Fish tofu 鱼豆腐
Egg tofu 鸡蛋豆腐、鸡蛋豆腐干
Blood tofu 鸭血、猪血
Beef/pork jerky 牛肉干、猪肉干
Pork rinds 猪皮
Fish skin 鱼皮
Jellyfish 水母
Swallow's nest 燕窝
Non-food products:
Silk 丝绸、真丝
Wool 羊毛、羊绒
Leather 皮具、皮革
Down 羽绒
Fur 皮草、皮毛
Lanolin 绵羊油
Beeswax 蜂蜡
Carmine 胭脂虫
Do you have any questions about veganism in China? Ask Mang!