I'm vegetarian and enjoy eating in China more than Australia! So many delicious veggie dishes - the flavours are to die for! In smaller cities if I encounter a place without any vegetarian options i find the staff are usually always willing to prepare something special without meat - just ask :)
@@xrobin99 For sure! I also think while China was developing it was much cheaper to grow vegetables and rice, so they became really good at cooking and flavoring their vegetables! (as well as eating every part of the animal - cooking and flavoring it well, so to not waste any, but that's not relevant here haha)
X Robin infact，some Chinese Muslim eat pork and many Buddhismus eat meat…Chinese really only chose something they like in religion to believe in , but not the entire doctrine.
For those who are allergic to peanuts, ask them if they can cook your meals using vegetable oil. Peanut allergies are rare in China so it is best for you to ask. Just to be safe.
@@SeanAlcorn There's no correlation to allergies with vaccines. It has likely to do with our modern diets and how we expose ourselves to things like peanuts etc.
@@ckaybit - that's a load of bollocks. Humans have been eating peanuts for thousands of years and there are little to no cases of peanut allergies in China. Our immune systems have their own intelligence and for us to tinker with them will be our demise. Unfortunately we will now see a rise in allergies in China due to modern vaccination - not "modern diet".
Just to put some additional info here: most of the time, vegetarians in China are religious, they are Buddhists. Almost every large city has at least one Buddhism temple and -- more than one Buddhism restaurants. And in such restaurants, every dish is cooked with strict vegetarian standards, and extremely delicious, even more so than meat. Likewise, there are also many many Muslim restaurants, as you can imagine, they are also religious, absolute avoidance of pork and alcohol. So I think these foods are representing our culture, that every religion, every race, every belief is welcome and encouraged in China (so long as it is not anti-human), and vice versa, these religious establishments welcome guests of all kinds.
I was thinking that while I was watching the video! Like how restaurants with 清真 are Muslim-friendly restaurants and my grandma is a vegetarian for her Buddhist religion. It's great to show the world how China is an openminded place!
Most people probably don’t know that: ONLY CHINESE BUDDHISTS ARE VEGETARIANS! We all grew up eating 素雞/鴨as appetizers, especially in 冷盤to start the banquet .
They always imagine that I am a dog eater while I introducing I came from China,that’s a sad misunderstanding,cause 99% Chinese people do not killing dogs for meal.I own my dog a Alaska,I love it as much as family,don’t take us as dog eaters before understanding us.
@@BlondieinChina ruclips.net/video/JRRFuBFeN0I/видео.html Fell in love with a Hotel in Rural China! The Brickyard at Mutianyu. i, I'm Miriam Follin, from Sweden. In 2015 I moved to China for an exchange semester, but when the time was up I didn't want to leave, so I stayed. Now, in 2018, I am living with my Chinese husband Yonghong in his hometown in rural Qinghai (a northwestern province).
Usually the hot pot spicy side is made with beef fat, esp. for the Chongqing style. If you are a vegetarian, make sure that you ask about the base soup ingredients~
Even when I was watching Amy's video, youtube still send me those anti-China/Chinese propaganda ads. They really want to make sure that everything you heard about China is Negative. Just Amazing.
It's actually ok to be vegetarian in china when I stayed with my host family for an exchange they went out of their way to prepare the most delicious foods ever! My friend was even vegan but she got through just well. Just because there is a lot of meat dishes doesn't mean you don't have options! Thanks for the video!!!
Thank you for making this video! I really liked that you gave us sentences written out in Pinyin with characters. I am still learning Chinese. I'm excited for the vegan video because I am vegan.
Not only dogs, but also cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish, etc. These lives contribute to human beings, but we still eat them for our own appetite. I hope artificial meat as a huge future industry can do something for these animals.
very true! I learned a lot about the meat industry this week and it's made me realise how inhumanely most animals are treated. It's so sad :( all lives matter, not just the cute dogs!
Actually the new wave of fake meats are being targeted towards omnivores and not vegans (hence the high sodium content). The makers see a huge market in omnivores that want to do the right thing ethically and morally, but simply can't give up the taste of animal flesh.
This was our staple diet growing up. So funny, the first time my little brother went to China, I think Guangshi somewhere, he came back and said " Sis! Guess what. You can actually eat fried tomatoes everywhere! They have it in all the eateries." He thought it was only a home cooked dish 😂.
One thing need to point out though, many vegetarian dishes uses animal fat to enhance flavor, meaning even it looks like it only have veggies and flour but chicken fat or lard was added, especially traditional old and famous vegetarian restaurants. Using animal fats in veggies and tofus and rice were considered vegetarian 200 years ago.
Animal fat if comes directly from the flesh - it’s non vegetarian Animal fat that comes as a byproduct like milk as it’s produced by the animal itself to feed its baby - can be considered vegetarian
I've had a dish called Buddhist Delight or Lo Han Jai. I hope I've got them correct but it's a vegetarian dish with wood ears, lotus root, straw mushrooms and more. Love your work. Cheers
I was vegan for 6 months in China, most of which I was in Beijing (Tsinghua) but for anywhere in the world, a super convenient and life saving app is Happy Cow. Also, you can find many buddhist restaurants around China where the food is vegetarian/vegan such as the 素虎 chain in Beijing. If you go to any restaurant you can usually find steamed vegetables, rice, tofu, etc. just make sure they don't add meat to it. Thanks for this video Amy, pretty cool you're doing this. Can't wait to see the vegan week one! 🤗
Haha, I grew up eating vegan temple food on a weekly basis. Mum is a Buddhist, so I'm well acquainted with Chinese veg food even though I'm not veg myself. But I'm glad to hear there are lots of good options around.
Depends where you go and not necessarily near a temple. I went to a Vegan buffet restaurant in Shanghai last month and it was all-you-can eat for only 30RMB.
@Ben Louis It's called 素满香 su man xiang, they have multiple chain restaurants across China. Prices vary depending on location. Best to input these characters in Baidu Maps for exact location and directions.
This was a great vlog.....I love to watch your food videos because going to China every year for the last three years, I seem to stumble around when ordering since I cannot speak Chinese and do not know the food options! I always look forward to your posts....keep up the excellent work!
This is the best video. I don't think anyone else has done a video like this which is so comprehensive. Very useful. I am planning to head there next year and I am veggie. Will save this video to my favourites.
i was in china for 8 months and I did not speak any chinese back then, I still had no problems maintaining a vegetarian/vegan diet there! Now i speak some chinese so I think it would be even easier! 😂
Vegetarian=easy Vegan= challenging. Many Chinese restaurant use animal fat. So if you're asking 100% vegan standard food, be sure tell restaurant when you are ordering.
That's true. THere simply isn't a prevalent vegan culture in China. The only place where you'd get pure vegan food is probably at a Buddhist temple or any restaurant operated by a temple.
I concur with this. I believe if you are very strict vegan it will be hard. Some of the sauces could include parts from animal like dried shrimp etc..etc... I have friends who Hare Krishnans and their diet is so strict that they can even have eggs, garlic and onions. Though they are allowed to have cheese (?)
Thank you for clarifying this dog eating stereotype and trying to defend the unfair portrayals of Chinese by the western society. I have been in the US for 30+ years and I don't know how many times people have asked me do I eat dogs. One even said Chinese eat anything that has 4 legs except a table.
There is no such thing as a dog eating stereotype - only the most ill informed in the west think that way, from what I have personally observed usually elderly ladies.
You're videos are awesome, always love the Mandarin talks, currently learning, know quite a bit myself. But seeing us foreigners talk it helps out a lot too.
It is so easy to be a vegetarian in China. Just list a few, 1.早餐（Breakfast）：豆浆（soy milk), 豆腐脑(Tofu Pudding)，煎饼 （Crispy egg pancake）, 菜包子 （vegetable Steamed bun）， 粢饭糕（fried rice-cake), 番茄鸡蛋面（tomato egg noodle），汤圆 （ sweep rice dumpling)， 蛋挞（egg tart), 葱油饼（green onion pancake）, 2.午餐和晚餐（Lunch/Supper）： 番茄炒蛋 （tomato egg stir-fry），蒜蓉西兰花 （garlic broccoli stir-fry）， 蒜蓉油麦菜 （ garlic lettuce stir-fry）， 地三鲜 （eggplant, potato, green pepper stir-fry), 干煸刀豆（fried green beans），炒土豆丝 （potato stir-fry), 炒时蔬 (seasonal vegetable stir-fry), 香菇菜心 （Shiitake vegetable stir-fry），鱼香茄子（spicy sour-sweet eggplant stir-fry）, 干锅花菜（cauliflower hot pot）， actually most restaurant can do customized vegetable stir-fry. 豆制品 （all kinds of tofu dishes), etc 3.主食（Staple food）： 米饭（rice）， 炒面 （fried noodle with vegetable and egg), 素馅饺子 （vegetable stuffing dumplings）， and the things mentioned in breakfast.
Nic Cola i never would have thought this would be a hard dish to cook!! I’ve only ever ordered it at restaurants haha. I’ll have to give it a go myself some time
I'm not vegetarian, but I loooove the veggie dishes in China! There are so many options, and they are all delicious! I've yet to try a veggie dish that I didn't like. Also, people traditionally don't eat a lot of meat here, so it's extremely easy to find tasty dishes with meat/protein substitutes like mushrooms, beans, soy beans, egg, tofu, eggplant, and green veggies (spinach, broccoli, etc).
I’ve been telling people this for long long time. it’s so much easier to love your vegetables in China. when I first learnt how my many American friends just don’t eat vegetables at all. I couldn’t understood their choices right away. But over the time I realized how vegetables roughly equals to salads and cut vegetables with dips. It’s really hard to be vegan in the west. whenever I want some real good vegetable dishes so bad I just go to a decent Chinese restaurant. So many more options and just better handled in my opinion.
I'm suprised you didn't buy any stir-fried veggies. Many of my vegetarian/vegan eater (mostly Buddish) usually eats stir-fried veggies, as it is quite common in our chinese community. Also, anything with tofu or eggplant are usually vegetarian/vegan, because they are common replacement for meat
You just need to record the following text in your mobile phone and show it to others. 我只吃素，不吃肉，一丁点肉都不能有。所用的油必须是植物油，不能含有动物油比如猪油等。谢谢。 What it means is that: I only eat vegetables, not meat. I can't have any meat. The oil used must be vegetable oil, and shall not contain animal oil such as lard. Thank you. Although now I haven't seen that China still uses animal oil, because all the edible oil is vegetable oil, which is bought from the supermarket in barrels. But to make sure it's 100% correct, it's written. You can copy those Chinese characters to your mobile phone, and if you can, increase the font size.
Vegetarian culture has a history in China, thanks to the wide spread of Buddhism in the culture. Depending on how devoted one is to the religion, you either becomes fully vegetarian, a few days per month (1st and the 15th of the lunar calendar) to a few special Buddhist holidays. So vegetarian welcome to China!
This video was so helpful and interesting. I'm actually vegan but it's nice to know there are plenty of delicious options available when I visit China next year. ❤️
It's so great that you actually putting yourself to vagetatian for a week!! BTW there are some veg only restaurant 素食餐厅 in China that only serves vegan food. You can try it out sometime, it's incredible that veg tastes same as meat ;)
If you are a flexible Vegetarian (e.g., if don't mind cookware that has been used for cooking meat) then I think China is your heaven. There are naturally many many dishes without meat. However, many Chinese food places are not familiar with the concept of "vegetarian", so they might just be making dishes that do not have meat as a tradition, but they may not care about whether the ingredients have touched meat or not. If you are a very strict vegetarian/vegan, I suggest you go to the Buddhism restaurant, they will make sure everything is clear of meat.
I'm a vegetarian and when i went to Chna for three weeks everyone warned me how difficult it'd be being vegetarian in China, but honestly I found it much easier than in Germany :D The food was to die for, honestly. Really can't wait to go back some day.
Hi I love your videos and I live in China is in chongqing for5 months I am learing chienes my father and my mother can speak Chinese my parents teach me know I can talk with people ♥♥♥♥ this all hearts for you
I just spent the summer in China as a vegetarian, and I approve this video :-). I reached out to you about it before my travel, and you were very helpful. Thanks for doing this!
I am a meat lover, while there are at least two vegetarian restaurants that I like, namely 素虎(sù hǔ) and 功德林(gōng dé lín). As you can tell from the names, they are kinda strict for those religious vegetarian practioners. Unfortuately they are too expensive for everyday life compared to others, but insanely delicious.
I am a vegetarian living in Shenzhen and it can sometimes feel very intimidating and confusing to find vegetarian food at local restaurants especially when you cannot speak Chinese. Great video - very helpful 👍🙂
@@BlondieinChina For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. (Holy Bible, John 3:16)
Thank you so much for this video! People always told me that it's impossible to get anything vegetarian in China, which I was so sad about because I really want to go to China but I also don't want to eat meat. :') Right now I'm mostly vegan so I'm also really curious for your next video! 😊 I'll hopefully go to China next summer!
China was a farming civilization, and meat was considered luxury food. Also many people believe in Buddhism, and they are vegan. Because of those factors, there are so many Chinese foods that dont have meat.
@@qiyuxuan9437 So true, when i was young in rural area, so many grandmas in my village are buddist, they live together with other non-vegetarian families, and cooked food seperately. And other families respect that as well. Being Vegetarian is nothing new to Chinese at all. Lol...
Keep up the good work Amy! There are numerous vegetarian Chinese dishes and they're yummy! You can also find vegetarian restaurants to have 斋菜 that are derived from buddhism dishes. But be careful with hotpot, some hotpot soup stock is made with animal bones, and some spicy soups are made with cow fat. It's better to ask the restaurant beforehand.
China has some vegetarian restaurants that specializes in making all kinds of food that tastes like meat. Imagine Kun Pao Chicken that takes like chicken, but is actually soy-based?
I watch several travel/food shows and they almost never mention vegetarian let alone vegan options, so thank you so much for this. The only issue I see in this episode, and perhaps it will be addressed in the vegan episode, is that a lot of Chinese food uses fish sauce or oyster sauce. Not a major problem if you're cooking at home as there are vegan "fish" and "oyster" sauces available at most Asian groceries, stateside at least, but I would think that out "in the wild" this would be an issue to try and workaround. Again, Thank You! I just started watching your channel last week when I found your pu'ehr tea episode, and I've already learned a lot.
Thank you so much Rick!! These are awesome tips. I didn't even think about oyster/fish sauces, so it's definitely something to look out for this week while I'm being vegan
Fyi, egg isn't vegan, and some vegetarians don't consider egg to be acceptable. Ma la tang's soup is usually made with meat broth and beef fat. Also, many stir fries at restaurants in China use lard instead of vegetable oil.
There are a lot of dish options without meet but they are not vegetarian, and especially they don't suit vegan as the oil in restaurants is usually used repeatedly. Most near dishes, the chef would stir fry the meat and drain the excessive oil, then stir fry veggies and add the meat back in. So if you are vegan, you'd better go to a vegetarian or vegan restaurant. Also you have to be careful with Chinese pastries, many of them contain chicken or pork fat.
The reason why we sometimes get ignited about people have the dog-eating stereotype is not because of we actually do so. We are just defending their freedom to choose what they eat. It is ok to say “I disagree with it”, but people will feel offended when their culture getting judged from the moral high ground.
Terry Zha yeah I totally understand. I truly apologise if i gave that impression. It’s never okay to judge another culture by your own cultural values, I just wanted to help dispel a stereotype that causes a lot of people to ‘look down’ on Chinese culture. Also, I do really think that those dog eating festivals are quite cruel towards dogs, which is what I have the biggest problem with. But then again, I’ve learned this week that a lot of animals in the meat industry are treated absolutely terribly, so it’s really opened my eyes a lot, and all animals deserve to be treated with respect, regardless of how cute and cuddly they may be. Thanks so much for sharing your viewpoint, I learn a lot from it :)
When Australia stops eating cows, they will have the right to tell China to stop eating dogs and Japan to stop hunting whales. You don't hear India telling other countries what or who they should and should not eat. My country (Australia) needs to pull it's head in sometimes!
BOC Yes but no. In China, there is an often time chef will use animal fat in the dish. Or a lot of seasoning sauce are made out of animal product(like oyster sauce is use in at least 70% of the food when you are eating out). The use of chicken or bone broth is very common there too. It is actually not that easy to be a complete vegetarian here, especially you have no idea what goes into the food. But still I can find way more plant-base food option in China than when I am in US. But if you ask the waiter they can let the kitchen know to avoid certain thing.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO!! This literally reduces my food stress so much as a vegan. I know ima have to mostly do the vegetarian options, but ahhhh!! I really look forward to my China trip! I'll probably be careful to see how the food is cooked too even if it's vegetarian cause that sneeze tho @13:25 reminds you to be cautious!
Forgive me but I laughed out load when you say ‘我吃素’. Hahahaha, so cute
Месяц назад
I think the 小南瓜 was actually refering to the pumpkin when it's young and green, I remember my grandma used to shred them and make pancakes, absolutely delicious.
I love dogs too and I don't want to eat them. But I FULLY RESPECT DOG-EATING CULTURE in the areas where people have thousands years of tradition and history of dog meat consumption, as long as they consume farm-raised dogs, not someone's pet. Whales are facing the danger of extinction but Alaska natives are allowed to hunting them. Why do people mind so much about some culture groups eating animals that are raised for meat? The over-criticism against dog-eating culture is more like a DISCRIMINATION than a humanitarian move to me.
Yeah, totally understand you Steve. A culture should never be judged by an outsiders own cultural values - and I sincerely apologise if I gave that impression in my intro. I didn’t mean to disrespect, I wanted mainly to dispel a stereotype so prevalent in western countries that cause people to look down on Chinese culture, which always makes me angry. I mostly have an issue with the mistreatment of dogs at the dog eating festivals, not necessarily the practice of eating dogs in general, after all, why should eating dog be different to eating pig or cow? this week has really opened my eyes to the mistreatment of many animals in the meat industry, and it’s made me think a lot! Thanks so much for sharing your perspective!
@@BlondieinChina Beautiful blonde, we understand you. Of course, some parts of Europe also have a tradition of eating dog meat. I don't think it's a problem as long as the dogs we eat are meat dogs. Although I have never eaten dog meat. But I will not object to it. and I think that banning people from eating dog meat is actually a discrimination against other animals, such as horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, etc. They are all the same and can't be treated differently. If so, how do you let vegetarians deal with other people who are different from their habits? I think it's reasonable to thank these animals for bringing us food as long as we don't abuse them. If everyone in China has a dog, fewer and fewer people will eat dog meat. But in fact, the proportion of Chinese who have dogs is very small. They can't understand the feelings of dog owners for dogs. So they should not be forced to agree. After all, I'm a panda lover. Naturally, I don't want panda to be killed. Actually I love all kinds of animals. Even chickens are so cute. But maybe we can only pity the animals that have feelings. It's impossible for this compassion to expand infinitely.
@@BlondieinChina There's an ancient Chinese proverb from 孟子(Mengzi, around 300 BCE) saying "君子远庖厨" - A gentlemen should stay away from the Kitchen and the Butcher's. There once was a cow on its way to sacrifice for a festival, 齐宣王 - The king of Qi state, saw it and stopped the man leading the cow. The man asked the King if he were to abandon the sacrifice. The King said: No, bring a goat to replace it. After the festival, the King was confused why he was doing it. There was an animal being killed anyway and this move caused the people to criticize him for his stinginess. Mengzi explained, this is true humanitarian mercy. Once you see a life living and crying, you don't want them killed or butchered. Therefore, a good man will stay away from the butcher's. If he always keep this mercy in his heart he will be a true gentleman. This is also the way to make a King to become a great King that could give his people peace and happiness, finally the people will choose him to lead the world. This is Chinese ancestor's wisdom and philosophy to balance humanitarian and the need for killing animals.
There's always a backup option if you feel uncertain about your food being vegetarian friendly or not, you can go to a Buddhist temple nearby and ask if they provide meals, and in most cases they do. The food temple provides contains no animal product, and only charges a little if not free.
I'm vegetarian and enjoy eating in China more than Australia! So many delicious veggie dishes - the flavours are to die for! In smaller cities if I encounter a place without any vegetarian options i find the staff are usually always willing to prepare something special without meat - just ask :)
try to go to taiwan , there is heaven of vegan food.
The food is more iwth mashroom and vegetable.
more tasty than meet .
Danielle Jane u know y? Because lots Chinese r honest Buddhism , they happened to be vegetarian cuz of that
@@xrobin99 For sure! I also think while China was developing it was much cheaper to grow vegetables and rice, so they became really good at cooking and flavoring their vegetables! (as well as eating every part of the animal - cooking and flavoring it well, so to not waste any, but that's not relevant here haha)
X Robin infact，some Chinese Muslim eat pork and many Buddhismus eat meat…Chinese really only chose something they like in religion to believe in , but not the entire doctrine.
@@johanneslee7616 Muslims eat pork here in China?Don't know anything about that.
For those who are allergic to peanuts, ask them if they can cook your meals using vegetable oil. Peanut allergies are rare in China so it is best for you to ask. Just to be safe.
Great tip! Hope those with peanut allergies see your comment
Give it a few more generations for the vaccines to kick in
Ask to cook it with pig oil. Safer most vegatable oil are peanut oil
@@SeanAlcorn There's no correlation to allergies with vaccines. It has likely to do with our modern diets and how we expose ourselves to things like peanuts etc.
@@ckaybit - that's a load of bollocks. Humans have been eating peanuts for thousands of years and there are little to no cases of peanut allergies in China. Our immune systems have their own intelligence and for us to tinker with them will be our demise. Unfortunately we will now see a rise in allergies in China due to modern vaccination - not "modern diet".
Just to put some additional info here:
most of the time, vegetarians in China are religious, they are Buddhists. Almost every large city has at least one Buddhism temple and -- more than one Buddhism restaurants. And in such restaurants, every dish is cooked with strict vegetarian standards, and extremely delicious, even more so than meat.
Likewise, there are also many many Muslim restaurants, as you can imagine, they are also religious, absolute avoidance of pork and alcohol.
So I think these foods are representing our culture, that every religion, every race, every belief is welcome and encouraged in China (so long as it is not anti-human), and vice versa, these religious establishments welcome guests of all kinds.
in china we call 吃斋饭
I was thinking that while I was watching the video! Like how restaurants with 清真 are Muslim-friendly restaurants and my grandma is a vegetarian for her Buddhist religion. It's great to show the world how China is an openminded place!
Most people probably don’t know that: ONLY CHINESE BUDDHISTS ARE VEGETARIANS!
We all grew up eating 素雞/鴨as appetizers, especially in 冷盤to start the banquet .
They always imagine that I am a dog eater while I introducing I came from China,that’s a sad misunderstanding,cause 99% Chinese people do not killing dogs for meal.I own my dog a Alaska,I love it as much as family,don’t take us as dog eaters before understanding us.
鄙视自身基因的港台人是人类的低贱下限 im only thumb up to you because of your nickname lol
兄弟，好名字，赞了
我只吃热狗🌭️😄
@@ZhangBangsFury Must be hard bro... just put on some makeup and then you can be the white bitch you want to become
@@ZhangBangsFury 哈哈，你好可怜，整个东亚都被认为是中国人，不然你只能去漂白了。
This has got to be your longest video. I hope there's more of this to come.
Glad you like the longer video!! Next week (vegan in china) will probably be even longer!! haha
@@BlondieinChina I'm excited for the vegan video! I live in Hangzhou, and I'm vegan:)
@@BlondieinChina as long as your blond
@@BlondieinChina ruclips.net/video/JRRFuBFeN0I/видео.html
Fell in love with a Hotel in Rural China! The Brickyard at Mutianyu. i, I'm Miriam Follin, from Sweden. In 2015 I moved to China for an exchange semester, but when the time was up I didn't want to leave, so I stayed. Now, in 2018, I am living with my Chinese husband Yonghong in his hometown in rural Qinghai (a northwestern province).
@@BlondieinChina Nice! Thank you so much for doing this, was looking for a video like this! You rock
As a vegan I appreciate this greatly! ❤️
My next week video will document my experiences as a vegan in china for a week! Hope it's helpful for you :)
the true vegetarian restaurants in China are effectively vegan. check out happycow.net/
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@@SeanAlcorn That's such a handy website! We are moving to Beijing in Jan 20 and my daughter and husband are veggies. Thank you :)
@@BlondieinChina thank you😍
@@BlondieinChina Can't wait!
Usually the hot pot spicy side is made with beef fat, esp. for the Chongqing style. If you are a vegetarian, make sure that you ask about the base soup ingredients~
as a vegetarian this was so great to watch, thank you! :D
hope it was useful!!
@Ali Ahsan - Yeah, just be aware that most Chinese will not consider fish and prawns as meat.
The paper with many mosquitos on day 6 is actually a way to kill the mosquitos without using chemicals.
Ni Xin 苍蝇啦 那里来的蚊子
@@nagisaindaegu784 doesn't matter, it's for flies in general
Even when I was watching Amy's video, youtube still send me those anti-China/Chinese propaganda ads.
They really want to make sure that everything you heard about China is Negative. Just Amazing.
Exactly
It's actually ok to be vegetarian in china when I stayed with my host family for an exchange they went out of their way to prepare the most delicious foods ever! My friend was even vegan but she got through just well. Just because there is a lot of meat dishes doesn't mean you don't have options! Thanks for the video!!!
You are such a positive girl! love you
我竟然在RUclips上看着澳洲人带我了解祖国的大好河山
王柯 我也是 哈哈哈哈
Thank you for making this video! I really liked that you gave us sentences written out in Pinyin with characters. I am still learning Chinese. I'm excited for the vegan video because I am vegan.
Not only dogs, but also cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish, etc. These lives contribute to human beings, but we still eat them for our own appetite. I hope artificial meat as a huge future industry can do something for these animals.
very true! I learned a lot about the meat industry this week and it's made me realise how inhumanely most animals are treated. It's so sad :( all lives matter, not just the cute dogs!
Actually the new wave of fake meats are being targeted towards omnivores and not vegans (hence the high sodium content). The makers see a huge market in omnivores that want to do the right thing ethically and morally, but simply can't give up the taste of animal flesh.
"Tomato and eggs" is really my favorite dish. I often scramble it with rice and make the meal.
li cheng yummmm that sounds great
This was our staple diet growing up. So funny, the first time my little brother went to China, I think Guangshi somewhere, he came back and said " Sis! Guess what. You can actually eat fried tomatoes everywhere! They have it in all the eateries." He thought it was only a home cooked dish 😂.
西红柿炒鸡蛋！
Traditional Chinese food:
1, dumplings
2, spicy noodle soup
3, tomato and eggs
为什么外国人都喜欢吃西红柿炒鸡蛋还有鱼香肉丝还有个菜忘记了，觉得不好吃呀
Are you serious, China is like the vegetarian heaven. The vegetarian options are often even more delicious than the normal options
Janus Jones China's biggest religion is Buddhism, lots them r very honest , which is y there r lots vegetarian, it's very common to be one in china.
they know their veggies, green eggplants and lotus flowers, never seen them
@@xrobin99 Just a little correction, Buddhism is one of the largest religions in China, not the only biggest.
No 😂
I love that you’re introducing the important vocabulary during your video! Helps a lot !
Thank you for a 17 minute video!
Hope you like it!
One thing need to point out though, many vegetarian dishes uses animal fat to enhance flavor, meaning even it looks like it only have veggies and flour but chicken fat or lard was added, especially traditional old and famous vegetarian restaurants. Using animal fats in veggies and tofus and rice were considered vegetarian 200 years ago.
Animal fat if comes directly from the flesh - it’s non vegetarian
Animal fat that comes as a byproduct like milk as it’s produced by the animal itself to feed its baby - can be considered vegetarian
I've had a dish called Buddhist Delight or Lo Han Jai. I hope I've got them correct but it's a vegetarian dish with wood ears, lotus root, straw mushrooms and more. Love your work. Cheers
Yep, that sounds about right. Spelled in pinyin as "Luo Han Zhai"
yes, it's a cantonese dish
Absolutely loved this video! So much amazing vegetarian food that we really don’t think about. So helpful 👍🏻 Thanks for sharing!
4th. This is such a hot topic! Love this channel!
I was vegan for 6 months in China, most of which I was in Beijing (Tsinghua) but for anywhere in the world, a super convenient and life saving app is Happy Cow.
Also, you can find many buddhist restaurants around China where the food is vegetarian/vegan such as the 素虎 chain in Beijing.
If you go to any restaurant you can usually find steamed vegetables, rice, tofu, etc. just make sure they don't add meat to it.
Thanks for this video Amy, pretty cool you're doing this. Can't wait to see the vegan week one! 🤗
Haha, I grew up eating vegan temple food on a weekly basis. Mum is a Buddhist, so I'm well acquainted with Chinese veg food even though I'm not veg myself. But I'm glad to hear there are lots of good options around.
Actually, if you go to some buddhist temples, they indeed sell very delicious veggie food, but very expensive!
liberatark Lee YES. Some dishes there are EXQUISITE! And more expensive than regular restaurants.
Depends where you go and not necessarily near a temple. I went to a Vegan buffet restaurant in Shanghai last month and it was all-you-can eat for only 30RMB.
@Ben Louis It's called 素满香 su man xiang, they have multiple chain restaurants across China. Prices vary depending on location. Best to input these characters in Baidu Maps for exact location and directions.
Great video!
( I'm the person who asked you about your camera ) :)
This was a great vlog.....I love to watch your food videos because going to China every year for the last three years, I seem to stumble around when ordering since I cannot speak Chinese and do not know the food options! I always look forward to your posts....keep up the excellent work!
This is exactly what I was looking for
This is the best video. I don't think anyone else has done a video like this which is so comprehensive. Very useful. I am planning to head there next year and I am veggie. Will save this video to my favourites.
i was in china for 8 months and I did not speak any chinese back then, I still had no problems maintaining a vegetarian/vegan diet there! Now i speak some chinese so I think it would be even easier! 😂
Vegetarian=easy
Vegan= challenging.
Many Chinese restaurant use animal fat.
So if you're asking 100% vegan standard food, be sure tell restaurant when you are ordering.
In fact, no. If something was cooked with animal fat, like lard, butter, it would show on menu, otherwise，rapeseed oil or peanut oil. 猪油捞饭，牛油火锅
animal fat is more expensive in China
That's true. THere simply isn't a prevalent vegan culture in China. The only place where you'd get pure vegan food is probably at a Buddhist temple or any restaurant operated by a temple.
I concur with this. I believe if you are very strict vegan it will be hard. Some of the sauces could include parts from animal like dried shrimp etc..etc... I have friends who Hare Krishnans and their diet is so strict that they can even have eggs, garlic and onions. Though they are allowed to have cheese (?)
@@此人据说奇帅无比 也不是，很多老店，素食斋，包的“素馅”饺子包子都会加鸡油猪油提鲜，加上各种高汤的使用，纯素食超难
Thank you for clarifying this dog eating stereotype and trying to defend the unfair portrayals of Chinese by the western society.
I have been in the US for 30+ years and I don't know how many times people have asked me do I eat dogs. One even said Chinese eat anything that has 4 legs except a table.
and Chinese eat everything that flies except a plane.
We are preparing for the end of the world, Chinese the last standing
That was PrincE Philip comments in 80s
Actually if India is the world super power, eating beef will be the biggest sins instead.
There is no such thing as a dog eating stereotype - only the most ill informed in the west think that way, from what I have personally observed usually elderly ladies.
You're videos are awesome, always love the Mandarin talks, currently learning, know quite a bit myself. But seeing us foreigners talk it helps out a lot too.
Wow thank you! As a vegan this really was needed
Hey Amy, you need to put out more videos. My wife loves watching your videos about China. Love your positive attitude and big smile.
as a vegan, I appreciate this a lot!
It is so easy to be a vegetarian in China. Just list a few,
1.早餐（Breakfast）：豆浆（soy milk), 豆腐脑(Tofu Pudding)，煎饼 （Crispy egg pancake）, 菜包子 （vegetable Steamed bun）， 粢饭糕（fried rice-cake), 番茄鸡蛋面（tomato egg noodle），汤圆 （ sweep rice dumpling)， 蛋挞（egg tart), 葱油饼（green onion pancake）,
2.午餐和晚餐（Lunch/Supper）： 番茄炒蛋 （tomato egg stir-fry），蒜蓉西兰花 （garlic broccoli stir-fry）， 蒜蓉油麦菜 （ garlic lettuce stir-fry）， 地三鲜 （eggplant, potato, green pepper stir-fry), 干煸刀豆（fried green beans），炒土豆丝 （potato stir-fry), 炒时蔬 (seasonal vegetable stir-fry), 香菇菜心 （Shiitake vegetable stir-fry），鱼香茄子（spicy sour-sweet eggplant stir-fry）, 干锅花菜（cauliflower hot pot）， actually most restaurant can do customized vegetable stir-fry. 豆制品 （all kinds of tofu dishes), etc
3.主食（Staple food）： 米饭（rice）， 炒面 （fried noodle with vegetable and egg), 素馅饺子 （vegetable stuffing dumplings）， and the things mentioned in breakfast.
地三鲜 tasted amazing! It is also one of my favourite foods. Although it is super simple and yummy dish i find it really hard to cook
Nic Cola i never would have thought this would be a hard dish to cook!! I’ve only ever ordered it at restaurants haha. I’ll have to give it a go myself some time
@@BlondieinChina I have tried it at least three times and still can't get the flavours right, but it is still really fun making it :)
@@BlondieinChina哈哈， 做这道菜确实要比看上去难一些，三种主料都要用油炸一下，新手可能不太好控制油温。祝成功！
The biggest issue with ordering vegetarian food is that most people think that adding beef/chicken/fish stock is OK. Like cooking with lard.
GO VIGAN for a week !! I would love to see the options
I won't but it's possible.
I'm not vegetarian, but I loooove the veggie dishes in China! There are so many options, and they are all delicious! I've yet to try a veggie dish that I didn't like. Also, people traditionally don't eat a lot of meat here, so it's extremely easy to find tasty dishes with meat/protein substitutes like mushrooms, beans, soy beans, egg, tofu, eggplant, and green veggies (spinach, broccoli, etc).
I’ve been telling people this for long long time. it’s so much easier to love your vegetables in China. when I first learnt how my many American friends just don’t eat vegetables at all. I couldn’t understood their choices right away. But over the time I realized how vegetables roughly equals to salads and cut vegetables with dips. It’s really hard to be vegan in the west. whenever I want some real good vegetable dishes so bad I just go to a decent Chinese restaurant. So many more options and just better handled in my opinion.
YES!! Thank you, Amy! This was just the video I needed. 🤩
I'm suprised you didn't buy any stir-fried veggies. Many of my vegetarian/vegan eater (mostly Buddish) usually eats stir-fried veggies, as it is quite common in our chinese community. Also, anything with tofu or eggplant are usually vegetarian/vegan, because they are common replacement for meat
Next week I'm going vegan! Will take your advice and get some stir fried veggies :)
Blondie in China awesome!
@@BlondieinChina looking forward to your video
You forgot to mention the vegetables are sometimes mixed in fish sauce and meat oils.
Thank you so much for your Videos!
They are so helpful!
I will travel to China next Month and I am vegetarian. :)
You just need to record the following text in your mobile phone and show it to others.
我只吃素，不吃肉，一丁点肉都不能有。所用的油必须是植物油，不能含有动物油比如猪油等。谢谢。
What it means is that: I only eat vegetables, not meat. I can't have any meat. The oil used must be vegetable oil, and shall not contain animal oil such as lard. Thank you.
Although now I haven't seen that China still uses animal oil, because all the edible oil is vegetable oil, which is bought from the supermarket in barrels. But to make sure it's 100% correct, it's written.
You can copy those Chinese characters to your mobile phone, and if you can, increase the font size.
Thank you for this! I'm definitely going to use these suggestions in the coming months 🌺
Vegetarian culture has a history in China, thanks to the wide spread of Buddhism in the culture. Depending on how devoted one is to the religion, you either becomes fully vegetarian, a few days per month (1st and the 15th of the lunar calendar) to a few special Buddhist holidays. So vegetarian welcome to China!
This video was so helpful and interesting. I'm actually vegan but it's nice to know there are plenty of delicious options available when I visit China next year. ❤️
It's so great that you actually putting yourself to vagetatian for a week!! BTW there are some veg only restaurant 素食餐厅 in China that only serves vegan food. You can try it out sometime, it's incredible that veg tastes same as meat ;)
The last snake you eat is really common here in Pakistan and you can find it everywhere. Here we called it “Naan”.
Awesome! Just had my first jianbing in Shanghai a week ago!
If you are a flexible Vegetarian (e.g., if don't mind cookware that has been used for cooking meat) then I think China is your heaven. There are naturally many many dishes without meat. However, many Chinese food places are not familiar with the concept of "vegetarian", so they might just be making dishes that do not have meat as a tradition, but they may not care about whether the ingredients have touched meat or not.
If you are a very strict vegetarian/vegan, I suggest you go to the Buddhism restaurant, they will make sure everything is clear of meat.
In China if u r looking for vegetarian u need to go look for Zhai斋. To a lot of us, vegetarian literally means food "without meat appearing on it"
北京的斋全是清真牛羊肉。。。。。哈哈
I'm a vegetarian and when i went to Chna for three weeks everyone warned me how difficult it'd be being vegetarian in China, but honestly I found it much easier than in Germany :D
The food was to die for, honestly. Really can't wait to go back some day.
For many Buddhist vegetarians in China, egg is a no no, considered meat also.
Always enjoy your videos. You make me want to come to China.
Hi I love your videos and I live in China is in chongqing for5 months I am learing chienes my father and my mother can speak Chinese my parents teach me know I can talk with people ♥♥♥♥ this all hearts for you
I just spent the summer in China as a vegetarian, and I approve this video :-). I reached out to you about it before my travel, and you were very helpful. Thanks for doing this!
I'm so happy it could be helpful!!
I am a meat lover, while there are at least two vegetarian restaurants that I like, namely 素虎(sù hǔ) and 功德林(gōng dé lín). As you can tell from the names, they are kinda strict for those religious vegetarian practioners. Unfortuately they are too expensive for everyday life compared to others, but insanely delicious.
I am a vegetarian living in Shenzhen and it can sometimes feel very intimidating and confusing to find vegetarian food at local restaurants especially when you cannot speak Chinese.
Great video - very helpful 👍🙂
Thacia Bhim glad it was helpful!!!
I found liver in my Veggie noodles was a great surprise ahaha
oh dear!!! hahahahah
@@BlondieinChina For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. (Holy Bible, John 3:16)
Your struggle deserve to be liked 👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you so much for this video! People always told me that it's impossible to get anything vegetarian in China, which I was so sad about because I really want to go to China but I also don't want to eat meat. :') Right now I'm mostly vegan so I'm also really curious for your next video! 😊 I'll hopefully go to China next summer!
China was a farming civilization, and meat was considered luxury food. Also many people believe in Buddhism, and they are vegan. Because of those factors, there are so many Chinese foods that dont have meat.
China is also a paradise for vegetarians, rest assured
@@qiyuxuan9437 Good job~~
@@qiyuxuan9437 So true, when i was young in rural area, so many grandmas in my village are buddist, they live together with other non-vegetarian families, and cooked food seperately. And other families respect that as well. Being Vegetarian is nothing new to Chinese at all. Lol...
Why would they tell you that? Or more importantly, how did they come to that conclusion?😅
Amy, absolutely brilliant idea of creating this episode.
I enjoyed watching it and at the end, I really think my mom will like you. Lol
For day three, I suppose the food is called ma la tang4 which is different from hot pot but similar
Keep up the good work Amy! There are numerous vegetarian Chinese dishes and they're yummy! You can also find vegetarian restaurants to have 斋菜 that are derived from buddhism dishes. But be careful with hotpot, some hotpot soup stock is made with animal bones, and some spicy soups are made with cow fat. It's better to ask the restaurant beforehand.
Thank you for this video.
You have great taste.
Love all of these! I am vegetarian in China and I also enjoy Buddhist restaurants they always have Chinese dishes but veganized yummm
Thank you for making this.
Thanks for introducing vegetarian options for traveler in China . I love you videos .
China has some vegetarian restaurants that specializes in making all kinds of food that tastes like meat.
Imagine Kun Pao Chicken that takes like chicken, but is actually soy-based?
You make great videos girl seriously i love them, just keep going queen 🤗
其實中國的純素食主義者 比外國素食主義者還要嚴格非常多 從原物料到烹煮過程 都不可以含有動物類的任何東西 ~
不過 在這時代 黑心商家真是太多了 很難去避免到油類 香料等等的參雜到動物油,
假若素食餐廳 能仿效回教徒的清真餐廳認證 應該可以避免很多地雷!
我想表達的是 視頻中雖然都是素食的原材料 但是烹煮過程 不一定沒有含動物用油或者配料 所以 並非全素者的好選擇!
Amy說了下一期會做純素的喔🥰
I watch several travel/food shows and they almost never mention vegetarian let alone vegan options, so thank you so much for this.
The only issue I see in this episode, and perhaps it will be addressed in the vegan episode, is that a lot of Chinese food uses fish sauce or oyster sauce. Not a major problem if you're cooking at home as there are vegan "fish" and "oyster" sauces available at most Asian groceries, stateside at least, but I would think that out "in the wild" this would be an issue to try and workaround.
Again, Thank You! I just started watching your channel last week when I found your pu'ehr tea episode, and I've already learned a lot.
Thank you so much Rick!! These are awesome tips. I didn't even think about oyster/fish sauces, so it's definitely something to look out for this week while I'm being vegan
Fyi, egg isn't vegan, and some vegetarians don't consider egg to be acceptable. Ma la tang's soup is usually made with meat broth and beef fat. Also, many stir fries at restaurants in China use lard instead of vegetable oil.
There are a lot of dish options without meet but they are not vegetarian, and especially they don't suit vegan as the oil in restaurants is usually used repeatedly. Most near dishes, the chef would stir fry the meat and drain the excessive oil, then stir fry veggies and add the meat back in. So if you are vegan, you'd better go to a vegetarian or vegan restaurant. Also you have to be careful with Chinese pastries, many of them contain chicken or pork fat.
great informative video, who would have known that there were so many options for vegetarians 👍. I love eating pork dumplings too much to try 😅😅
Thanks for sharing another great video Amy.
The reason why we sometimes get ignited about people have the dog-eating stereotype is not because of we actually do so. We are just defending their freedom to choose what they eat. It is ok to say “I disagree with it”, but people will feel offended when their culture getting judged from the moral high ground.
Terry Zha yeah I totally understand. I truly apologise if i gave that impression. It’s never okay to judge another culture by your own cultural values, I just wanted to help dispel a stereotype that causes a lot of people to ‘look down’ on Chinese culture. Also, I do really think that those dog eating festivals are quite cruel towards dogs, which is what I have the biggest problem with. But then again, I’ve learned this week that a lot of animals in the meat industry are treated absolutely terribly, so it’s really opened my eyes a lot, and all animals deserve to be treated with respect, regardless of how cute and cuddly they may be. Thanks so much for sharing your viewpoint, I learn a lot from it :)
When Australia stops eating cows, they will have the right to tell China to stop eating dogs and Japan to stop hunting whales. You don't hear India telling other countries what or who they should and should not eat. My country (Australia) needs to pull it's head in sometimes!
Yayy a long and awesome video 🥳🥳🥳
i think the most easy thing of this world is to be a vegetarian in China.
BOC Yes but no. In China, there is an often time chef will use animal fat in the dish. Or a lot of seasoning sauce are made out of animal product(like oyster sauce is use in at least 70% of the food when you are eating out). The use of chicken or bone broth is very common there too. It is actually not that easy to be a complete vegetarian here, especially you have no idea what goes into the food. But still I can find way more plant-base food option in China than when I am in US. But if you ask the waiter they can let the kitchen know to avoid certain thing.
@@titankuma5870 I mean China has abundant of vegetables.
@@titankuma5870 Chinese feed on rice and noodles. most oil are made of beans and pepper
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO!! This literally reduces my food stress so much as a vegan. I know ima have to mostly do the vegetarian options, but ahhhh!! I really look forward to my China trip! I'll probably be careful to see how the food is cooked too even if it's vegetarian cause that sneeze tho @13:25 reminds you to be cautious!
I still love you Blondie, even if you were a vegetarian.
hahahahahahh
Your longer videos are a treat ：）
Vegetarian (for a week)
Enjoying
Great
Grub
Is
Entertaining! :D
Thank you for keeping sharing such positive mixing culture videos
06:20 Hi Amy, it's called 麻辣烫(tang 四声), instead of 麻辣汤。Love your videos, keep going!
Mengxing Liu ahhh that’s my mistake!!! Thanks for helping me out :)
It's also interesting that 麻辣烫 does not even grammatically make sense, but that's the name.
Love your video!! Miss the time back in China.
Forgive me but I laughed out load when you say ‘我吃素’. Hahahaha, so cute
I think the 小南瓜 was actually refering to the pumpkin when it's young and green, I remember my grandma used to shred them and make pancakes, absolutely delicious.
I love dogs too and I don't want to eat them.
But I FULLY RESPECT DOG-EATING CULTURE in the areas where people have thousands years of tradition and history of dog meat consumption, as long as they consume farm-raised dogs, not someone's pet.
Whales are facing the danger of extinction but Alaska natives are allowed to hunting them. Why do people mind so much about some culture groups eating animals that are raised for meat?
The over-criticism against dog-eating culture is more like a DISCRIMINATION than a humanitarian move to me.
If the west had pigs in stead off dogs well you now what I mean
Yeah, totally understand you Steve. A culture should never be judged by an outsiders own cultural values - and I sincerely apologise if I gave that impression in my intro. I didn’t mean to disrespect, I wanted mainly to dispel a stereotype so prevalent in western countries that cause people to look down on Chinese culture, which always makes me angry. I mostly have an issue with the mistreatment of dogs at the dog eating festivals, not necessarily the practice of eating dogs in general, after all, why should eating dog be different to eating pig or cow? this week has really opened my eyes to the mistreatment of many animals in the meat industry, and it’s made me think a lot! Thanks so much for sharing your perspective!
@@BlondieinChina
Beautiful blonde, we understand you.
Of course, some parts of Europe also have a tradition of eating dog meat. I don't think it's a problem as long as the dogs we eat are meat dogs. Although I have never eaten dog meat. But I will not object to it. and I think that banning people from eating dog meat is actually a discrimination against other animals, such as horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, etc. They are all the same and can't be treated differently. If so, how do you let vegetarians deal with other people who are different from their habits? I think it's reasonable to thank these animals for bringing us food as long as we don't abuse them. If everyone in China has a dog, fewer and fewer people will eat dog meat. But in fact, the proportion of Chinese who have dogs is very small. They can't understand the feelings of dog owners for dogs. So they should not be forced to agree. After all, I'm a panda lover. Naturally, I don't want panda to be killed. Actually I love all kinds of animals. Even chickens are so cute. But maybe we can only pity the animals that have feelings. It's impossible for this compassion to expand infinitely.
@@BlondieinChina There's an ancient Chinese proverb from 孟子(Mengzi, around 300 BCE) saying "君子远庖厨" - A gentlemen should stay away from the Kitchen and the Butcher's.
There once was a cow on its way to sacrifice for a festival, 齐宣王 - The king of Qi state, saw it and stopped the man leading the cow. The man asked the King if he were to abandon the sacrifice. The King said: No, bring a goat to replace it.
After the festival, the King was confused why he was doing it. There was an animal being killed anyway and this move caused the people to criticize him for his stinginess.
Mengzi explained, this is true humanitarian mercy. Once you see a life living and crying, you don't want them killed or butchered. Therefore, a good man will stay away from the butcher's. If he always keep this mercy in his heart he will be a true gentleman. This is also the way to make a King to become a great King that could give his people peace and happiness, finally the people will choose him to lead the world.
This is Chinese ancestor's wisdom and philosophy to balance humanitarian and the need for killing animals.
There's always a backup option if you feel uncertain about your food being vegetarian friendly or not, you can go to a Buddhist temple nearby and ask if they provide meals, and in most cases they do. The food temple provides contains no animal product, and only charges a little if not free.
Your fan from Melbourne. One simple way to go vegetarian, find a Buddhist restaurant/buffet. They can be found in many big cities.
great tip!! Will check one out in my vegan video!
Blondie in China It costs around 30 RMB (6.25AUD) for a Buddhist buffet.
Love your video. No propaganda, just about life!😊
a lot of places use animal fats instead of things like canola oil to make their dishes so idk if this is something to look out for...👀
Definitely something to look out for! Something I didn't even think about - thanks so much for sharing the tip
Thanks for this video, I want to go to China next year and try your suggestions :)
*GOD I MISS THOSE* FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Aw :3, that comment at the end was so sweet