Vegetarian
Vegetarian at a Chinese restaurant: what to ask about
Most of what determines whether a Chinese dish works for vegetarians is not printed on the menu. Here is what is usually in there, and how to ask about it without an interrogation.
What catches people out
- Oyster sauce on greens
- Stir-fried vegetables are the classic vegetarian order and the classic place oyster sauce appears.
- Chicken stock in 'vegetable' soup
- Used as a base seasoning almost by reflex.
- Dried shrimp in fillings
- Common in dumplings and in XO sauce.
Usually a good starting point
Though traditionally made with minced pork, so this is one to ask about rather than assume.
Frequently available in a meat-free version, and the dish does not depend on the pork.
What to actually say
One specific question is easier for everyone than three vague ones — for you and for the person answering.
- “Is there oyster sauce in this?”
- “Is the stock vegetarian?”
- “Do you have a sù version?”
What Chinese menus don’t print
Nobody is hiding anything. These are foundational ingredients that a Chinese kitchen treats the way you treat salt — not an ingredient, a medium. That is exactly why they never appear in a description.
A default seasoning in an enormous number of stir-fries, including plain greens.
Vegetable dishes and soups, as a base seasoning.
Dried shrimp in XO sauce and many fillings; shrimp paste in some regional dishes.
Most soy sauce contains wheat, which surprises people who assume soy means soy.
Recipes vary between restaurants and change without notice, so treat all of this as what to raise with the kitchen rather than a guarantee about any particular dish. The staff always have the final word.
TableSage reads menus using an AI language model, which gets things wrong sometimes.
Know which dishes to ask about.
Photograph the menu and it flags what is worth raising — including the ingredients that are never printed.