Chinese food is very popular in England. But if you don’t eat meat (or don’t have much money) there are alternatives to buying expensive ready-meals and take-outs. Learn to make your own Chinese classics!
Don’t eat rice after 24 hours. Read how to keep people & pets safe in the kitchen. Use bamboo chopsticks and don’t release fire lanterns (cause wildfires).
Vegan Chinese Food uses plant-based alternatives for sauces, dumplings, noodles and desserts. Also learn how to season a wok. The book is written by a couple who met in Spain and now live in Australia. But Yang Liu was born in Hunan province in China and spent her early years sampling cuisines from each region. Recipes include:
- Kung pao king oyster mushrooms
- Zha jiang mian noodles
- Hong Kong milk tea
other good vegan Chinese recipe books
Yorkshire chef Katy Beskow’s Vegan Fakeaway is full of no-nonsense recipes to replicate all your fast food favourites. One chapter focuses on Chinese food, with recipes including:
- Hong-Kong-style sweet & sour cauliflower
- Crispy vegetable spring rolls
- Bean curd & broccoli in plum sauce
The Vegan Chinese Kitchen is by a woman who wished to still enjoy the food her family ate, when she went plant-based. She learned of zhai cai (a plant-based Chinese cuisine that uses umami-rich ingredients traced back over to centuries to Buddhist temple kitchens) and offers recipes for:
- Soft tofu in black bean sauce
- Sichuan chilli-oil wontons
- Spicy mushrooms in dandan noodles
- Fllaky scallion pancakes
- Pea shoots in mushroom broth
The Vibrant Hong Kong Table is a visual guide to 88 classic colourful dishes, made plant-based, from banquet-style restaurant feasts to simple home-cooked dinners. After leaving Hong Kong, the author yearned to recreate flavours and textures of her family’s food. Christine Wong (@conscious_cooking) is a cook and health coach with a focus on environmental sustainability. Organised by a day of eating through the city and paying homage to its culinary heritage, these fresh recipes include:
- Sampan congee
- ‘Egg’ tarts
- Baked tempeh chop rice
- Sweet & sour cauliflower
- Salt & pepper ‘squid’
- Laughing sesame cookies
- Hong Kong sweet bun
good vegan Chinese restaurants
Some people understandably feel a bit iffy when ordering food from Chinese takeaways, due to so-called ‘wet markets’ in China and reports of illegally-imported ingredients like shark fins. However, it’s been reported that many fish and chip shops are selling fish that’s really shark. So it’s safest to just choose plant-based items on the menu anyway. You won’t have any trouble finding tofu on the menu!
If you live near Golders Green, Islington or Spitalfields, Tofu Green offers tofu and mushroom dishes with Asian imitation meats, prepared by chefs from Sichuan, Dongbei and South Canton. Manchester also has a restaurant serving spring rolls, crispy won ton, dumpling soup and ‘vegan aromatic crispy duck!’
where to buy vegan prawn crackers
When you get your takeout home, have it with Native vegan prawn crackers! Made with natural ingredients, they are available in plain or spicy flavours, and also sold wholesale to Chinese restaurants, pubs and hotels. They also have 25% less fat than crisps, so you can eat more!
plant-based Chinese ready-meals
If ordering online, keep dry ice away from children and pets. Although it’s nice to cook from scratch, it’s always good to stash a few quality plant-based ready-meals in the freezer, as they last a long time, once bought.
You can find good Chinese vegan meals from Root Kitchen (Korean-style tofu noodles or Szechuan aubergine noodles) and Allplants (Hoisin mushroom or Szechuan noodles and Kung Pao Cauli with tofu fried rice). Order just Chinese meals or mix-and-match with other cuisines). If you find them a tad expensive, you can always half the quantities and bulk up with potatoes and veggies, then eat the other half the next day.