Vegetarian
Vegetarian at a Thai restaurant: what to ask about
Most of what determines whether a Thai 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
- Fish sauce
- In nearly every savoury dish. A vegetable stir-fry is very frequently seasoned with it.
- Shrimp paste in curry paste
- Green and red curry pastes commonly contain it even when the curry itself has no visible seafood.
- Oyster sauce
- Standard in stir-fried greens, which is exactly what a vegetarian tends to order.
Usually a good starting point
The jay designation means strict vegetarian in the Buddhist sense — no fish sauce, no egg. It is a far stronger signal than a 'V' on the menu.
Stir-fried mixed vegetables, and the kitchen can usually swap oyster sauce for soy if you ask.
What to actually say
One specific question is easier for everyone than three vague ones — for you and for the person answering.
- “Is there fish sauce in this?”
- “Does the curry paste have shrimp paste in it?”
- “Can this be made jay?”
What Thai menus don’t print
Nobody is hiding anything. These are foundational ingredients that a Thai kitchen treats the way you treat salt — not an ingredient, a medium. That is exactly why they never appear in a description.
Almost every savoury dish, including ones presented as vegetarian. To a Thai kitchen it is salt, not an ingredient.
Many curry pastes — green and red included — and most som tam.
A great many stir-fries, especially with greens.
Som tam, and several salads and relishes.
Satay obviously, but also som tam, pad thai and as a garnish.
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.