Generally, the unspoken rule about vegetarians is that they tend to get the short end of the stick. Many people chose to be, “an chay,” to maintain a healthier diet or because of moral issues concerning animal welfare and ecological well being. What ever the reasons may be they now find themselves to be some what socially ostracised. The result of this life changing decision is that of now having to continuously struggle to find and obtain the variety of foods that they desire and need. Vegetarians are shafted in restaurants with limited options on the menu, or are completely forgotten as some restaurants do not offer any vegetarian alternatives. Salads have even joined the proverbial dark side with such creations as ‘beef fajita salad’ or ‘warm lamb salad,’ which omnivores truly love to gobble up. Worst is when we get our teeth kicked in by realising that we just bit into some unwanted meat in their meal.
Mind you, having limited options is still much better than having no option! Mixed vegetable stir fry is usually a vegetarians last resort when ordering at a restaurant. This decision is typically made when travelling outside of Ho Chi Minh City and it is a safe thing to order. Other varies of this dish include boiled mix vegetables, which is even safer if want you to avoid fried foods. However, even though these two options are readily available they are truly a last resort for a very good reason. Somehow or for some unknown reason ‘mixed vegetables’ seems to be a term lost in translation; these two dishes usually include a dish full of fried spinach with garlic or simply a plate covered in boiled cabbage. Looking on the bright side, these two dishes can easily be accompanied by another tradition dish of steamed or garlic fried rice, and to zest it up tad you can add copious amounts of soya sauce and chilly peppers.
Luckily Ho Chi Minh City has huge array of restaurants serving and specialising in all sorts tasty vegetarian dishes. Rarely will a vegetarian find that there is absolutely nothing to eat at a restaurant. This is thanks firstly to the almighty bowl of ‘com’ known to many a foreigners living in Vietnam as com or rice. Rice in Vietnam is a basic staple providing its inhabitants with everything from rice paper to rice noodles. Secondly, we thank soya because from it everything a vegetarian may desire can be concocted. Soya magically gives us soya milk, soya bean curd, and it is a major ingredient in tofu. From soya an infinite number of vegetarian food products are made such as ‘vegetarian meat,’ which is made to look, feel and taste like the real thing. Third on the list are the fresh and vast selection of fruit and vegetables that always seems to be available and in season. Due to Vietnam’s tropical climate it is hard to find a market that doesn’t have ripe tomatoes, a smelly durian, or tempura tofu, which in turn create some of the most exotic salads one can hope to savour.
Luckily Ho Chi Minh City has huge array of restaurants serving and specialising in all sorts tasty vegetarian dishes. Rarely will a vegetarian find that there is absolutely nothing to eat at a restaurant. This is thanks firstly to the almighty bowl of ‘com’ known to many a foreigners living in Vietnam as com or rice. Rice in Vietnam is a basic staple providing its inhabitants with everything from rice paper to rice noodles. Secondly, we thank soya because from it everything a vegetarian may desire can be concocted. Soya magically gives us soya milk, soya bean curd, and it is a major ingredient in tofu. From soya an infinite number of vegetarian food products are made such as ‘vegetarian meat,’ which is made to look, feel and taste like the real thing. Third on the list are the fresh and vast selection of fruit and vegetables that always seems to be available and in season. Due to Vietnam’s tropical climate it is hard to find a market that doesn’t have ripe tomatoes, a smelly durian, or tempura tofu, which in turn create some of the most exotic salads one can hope to savour.
