【Shigeo’s Review】
A Spanish vegan couple’s experience with stir-fried vegetables in China highlights the complexities of food culture and the difficulties of managing a diet as vegans.
They ordered a “meatless” vegetable stir-fry in a Chinese restaurant and were impressed by how good it tasted.
They were impressed by how well the Chinese prepare vegetables and shared their impressions on social networking sites. However, it was later revealed that the dish actually contained animal ingredients, and as a result, they unknowingly praised a dish that contained animal ingredients.
The event received a wide range of reactions on the Internet.
Many comments pointed out that it is difficult for vegans to eat Chinese food in a completely safe manner because of the extensive use of oil and the complex seasonings and hidden ingredients often of animal origin.
Chinese food culture has a tradition of using a wide variety of meat and seafood, and even “stir-fried vegetables” often have added flavor components of animal origin, such as chicken stock and oyster sauce.
This has reaffirmed the need for vegans to strictly check the ingredients and seasonings used when eating abroad, especially in China.
On the other hand, there were many comments on the Internet that were both humorous and scathing.
Some pointed out the contradiction of being a vegan and finding food containing animal ingredients “delicious,” and some dryly commented that “vegans were insensitive to the smell of animal products” and “vegans may have an altered sense of taste due to nutritional deficiencies.
There was also a smattering of derision, such as “veganism is like a hobby,” and practical advice, such as “if you are going abroad, you might as well give up your dietary restrictions.
This incident demonstrates not only the difficulty of adhering to a vegan diet, but also the misunderstanding of information on ingredients due to cultural and language barriers.
Especially in China, it is dangerous to simply assume that “stir-fried vegetables = no animal products” because in many cases seasonings and cooking methods include animal products. It is necessary to confirm detailed ingredient information and, in some cases, to ask for more information through communication with the staff.
This episode is a good example of the importance of careful ingredient verification and a reminder to vegans of the difficulties of managing their diets in foreign countries such as China.
For those who choose to eat as vegans for health or ethical reasons, adequate preparation and information gathering is essential to upholding one’s standards in a different culture.
On the other hand, there is also the aspect of “enjoying good food without knowing it,” and how to strike a balance between the pursuit of a “perfect vegan diet” and the deliciousness of local cuisine will continue to be a topic of debate in the future.
