To get you started, here are China Adventurer‘s top 10 Chinese vegetarian dishes. But if that still doesn’t satisfy your taste buds try Big Bowl Caulifower (大碗花菜 dàwǎn huācài), Chinese Spinach with Fermented Tofu (腐乳通菜 fǔrǔ tōngcài), Braised Eggplant (红烧茄子hóngshāo qiézi), or Hand-torn Cabbage (手撕包菜 shǒu sī bāocài). Be sure to add “no meat” (不要肉 búyào ròu) before you order, so that the restaurants don’t throw in small meat pieces as they sometimes do. 

Vegetarians in China need not fear Chinese cuisine. Admittedly, the highlights of Chinese cuisine often include meat ingredients like poultry, pork, beef, and (somewhat to the distaste of many foreigners) intestines. The same goes for everyday dishes you are likely to come by on the street, as well as ethnic specials like Shanxi-styled rou jiamo (肉夹馍), the Dongbei (northeastern) dish guobaorou (锅包肉), and south China’s cured meat (腊味 làwèi). But a vegetarian will not find his or her choices limited in the Middle Kingdom. Vegetarian Chinese dishes are just as delicious and as plentiful as ones with meat.