I don’t eat meat…我不吃肉

I have been told that the only vegetarians in China are the Buddhist monks. But if you are a vegetarian visiting or living in China, don’t despair! It is not has hard as you might think to find food. So far, I have been here for about six weeks and I am surviving wonderfully. When you go out to a restaurant, there is usually plenty of food that you can find that does not have meat in it.
Many times, there are noodle dishes that are made with only vegetables. Sometimes there is also fried rice with vegetables, as well as an array of dishes that contain many vegetables I have never seen or heard of in the United States. There are also a lot of tofu dishes. Just be careful that the tofu dishes you order do not come with meat in them as well! That has happened to me a couple of times.
The Chinese style of eating makes being a vegetarian easier when you go out in a group, as long as the group doesn’t mind ordering a few vegetarian dishes. Each person gets a bowl of rice, and then there main dishes in the middle of the table for everyone to share. Just make sure that some vegetarian dishes have been ordered: one or two tofu dishes as well as vegetable dishes and maybe a noodle dish. There are also some soups that are vegetarian and delicious! This way, you can have a variety and you get all the nutrients you need as well.
I was very lucky to learn this information while I was travelling with my friends in the beginning of my adventures in China. At the beginning of my journey, they took care of me very well and when we went out, they made sure that I had all of the food that I needed (and more!). From them, I learned how to order vegetarian dishes in Chinese and how to be positive that the dishes that I ordered contained no meat.
In order to order vegetarian dishes, there are a few important key phrases. These are:
I don’t eat meat. – Wo bu chi rou – 我不吃肉。
Is it vegetarian? – Shi su de ma? – 是素的吗？
Does it have meat? – You mei you rou? – 有没有肉？
One tip – the best places to go for vegetarian food are the Buddhist temples. They have wonderful vegetarian food because the monks only eat vegetarian food.