A Vegan Guide to Chinese Food

I grew up with an aversion to vegetables.  There.  I admit it.  I was a meat and meat kind of guy.  Not even interested in the potatoes.  I’ve grown (though, I’ve never aged) to enjoy, really enjoy, the taste of vegetables.  Especially when they’re crispy, have a little snap to them, and taste almost raw.  At first, all I ever ate were raw veggies.  Then I discovered vegetables Chinese style.  In a wok.  Stir fried.  Maintaining all the goodness, crispiness, and taste of the vegetables themselves.  Though I’m not going to go crazy and give up meat, I recently read that THE very best way to lose weight is to go on a Vegan diet.  So, I thought I would do some research.  You KNOW I’m not giving up my Chinese food.  So, let’s explore Vegan food, Chinese style!

Almost every Chinese restaurant has tofu, a versatile vegan staple, which can replace meat in pretty much any dish—making any menu item a potentially vegan one.  I’m not a fan of tofu, but if you can stomach it, you’re on your way.  If you’re like me, and don’t go for the tofu though, here are some other great alternatives:

Appetizers:

• Vegetable spring rolls with sweet-and-sour sauce
• Vegetable steamed dumplings
• Hot or cold sesame noodles
• Salad with ginger or sesame dressing

Main Entrées:

Remember, you can ask for any meat to be replaced with tofu, and check for fish sauce.  Apparently that’s a no no.  Hey, I’m not a vegan.  I only do my research, in the name of making our readers healthier, wealthier (think Fortune Cookies), and (hopefully) wiser!  

• Garlic tofu
• General Tso’s tofu
• Sweet-and-sour tofu
• Cashew tofu
• Tofu and broccoli
• Mapo tofu (Specify no pork since traditionally this dish is cooked with it.)
• Mongolian tofu
• Orange tofu
• Kung Pao tofu
• Noodles and Rice
• Veggie chow mein
• Tofu chow mein
• Steamed rice
• Vegetable fried rice (Specify no eggs… apparently that’s a no no too!)
• Tofu fried rice (Specify no eggs)

Vegetables:

• Steamed vegetables with a side of sesame sauce
• Sautéed green beans
• Garlic eggplant

So, there you have it.  A healthy way to have your Chinese food, and lose your weight too!

Remember to read some of our other Guides to Eating Healthy Chinese food.

Humbly submitted for your consumption,

—Mee Magnum  (“Chop!  Chop!”)