Obviously I’m not asking if there’s something like the Western version of veganism, although I’m curious if that’s the case too.
I’m wondering if something like a vegan way of life is part of the culture or tradition in any part of China. In Greece, for example, there’s a dedicated type of cuisine νηστεία (“nisteia”, i.e. “fasting”) that’s fully animal-free and is what you’re meant to eat on fasting days (if you’re a strict Greek Orthodox Christian, that’s something like half the year). Although interestingly, octopuses are allowed when fasting…
Are there similar practices in China that you know of? Are there any good vegan (or “veganozed”) Chinese recipes you’d recommend? I’m soon going to try and make my own kao fu, but other than that I don’t know much, and welcome any tips/ideas…
My boss a few years back was a Chinese expat who used to be vegan when she was younger and living in China, so there are definitely some vegans there even if it’s not a massive proportion of the population!
There is the Buddhist tradition of eating su, which excludes meat, and is therefore often vegan when it comes to Chinese food. Unfortunately it also means no alliums (onions, garlic, yadda yadda).
It’s really a kind of incomplete vegetarianism but you end up finding a lot of accidentally vegan options at a su restaurant.
Oh interesting, I will look into this for sure. You think there are good su restaurants outside of China by any chance?
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It’s very uncommon in China unfortunately. I’m Chinese living abroad and adopted veganism but everyone from my family thinks that it’s crazy.
Vegan recipes on the other hand is quite abundant. Sautéed vegetable dishes are in every meal. Personally I just like simply boiled tofu with some soy sauce, or baked sweet potatoes (in China it’s also common to add sweet potatoes into the rice cooker while cooking rice so that saves time), or boiled edamame with shells.
