People say China is impossible for vegans… so I tried

it fully plant-based. How difficult is it to eat vegan in China？ You know there is a learning curve， but actually, I mean just check out behind me, there's so much produce here. There's so many tofu products. We're living in the land of tofu with a few adjustments, it's actually super easy and super delicious. It's much easier to just walk into any restaurant here in China and find something delicious and vegan. Whereas, like in Europe and Canada probably Australia too, you almost always have to order from a vegan menu, but actually, Chinese flavors-

most of them are actually naturally vegan. We're talking soy sauce, vinegar, pickles. Chili oil is usually vegan too. So all of the flavors that make up Chinese cuisine are plant-based so it's actually really easy to not only have a delicious meal but leave satisfied. Not only are we gonna be eating vegan for breakfast we're eating a dish I've never tried before, so you can still make discoveries and eat vegan at the same time. What's it called again? It's called， 油茶. I've only ever tried it in Guanxi province. And what was that one like? It was

more like a hot pot, to be honest. They put, actually, tea inside this big hot pot and oil. So, it's literally an oil tea. Well, that makes sense cause Youcha”油茶“ means, "oil tea" but this one, I don't think it has any tea in it. It's basically one of our local snacks It's made from various grains then ground into a fine powder. And then it's simmered fresh every day then it's topped with soy sauce, chili oil, rape seed oil, vinegar, pickles, spring onion, ground Sichuan peppercorns, crunchy peanuts, and finally, these super crispy bits called,

sanzi There's going to be one change that we make. So we are gonna ask for, no chicken essence please So no chicken essence. We're following a vegan diet so would it be posible to not add chicken essence? what about peanuts? Can you eat that? yes we only use vegetables here so no oyster sauce? no, no or lard? no, no all just vegetables I'm curious what you think of this, because I have been told that I have a bit of a food blindness. Some foods that are intimidating for other people, I just don't see it. What do people find intimidating about this? I

think the texture of the porridge. So texture-wise, it's quite thick, and pudding like. Wow, it's nice, just super fragrant. Mm-hmm, very smooth texture. That flavors are all hitting me, we got a nice amount of chili in there, which is good. Slightly smoky from the chili oil. It's quite peppery as well. I love the textures that we're getting, we have like the crunchy sanzi, and then, as you eat it, it will also get softer so I always try to eat that part first cause I love the crispiness, but then you also get like a bite from the onion like I feel like

that kind of packs like a little bit of brightness. Banger. I feel like it really sits well in the stomach after. Like it's gonna be filling, it's gonna be satisfying. I think a lot of people think that if there's no meat in your breakfast, you're not going to leave satisfied, but I feel like this type of meal really sits well in the belly and it's gonna keep us full for a little while. Just look at all of these tofu products here. I think back in Canada, we had like two or three tofus in the supermarket, but this I would even almost consider minimalist

for China. But we've got like a few varieties of smoked tofu, tofu puffs, we've got fresh ones back there, soy milk, some fermented soybeans. Oh, my favorite, this tofu skin, you put it in the air fryer, and it makes like the best chip. So you can salt it or put your favorite seasonings, but what I usually just do is I eat it plain and then use it as a- I make a dip and do it like that. So easy like high protein snack. And then this is another one of my favorites it's called, "furu," which is like a fermented tofu. I would say it's like kind of like a

soy cheese. I eat it with like a scallion oil cake or like put it in a sandwich as a spread. Can we get some? Yeah yeah. Can we get some furu please? this is furu right? yep! So we've actually bought some of this furu. This Spicy Furu. Are there any bread or pancake places nearby? Do you prefer bread or mantou (steamed bread) both fine! You can find some mantou just over there Mantou is vegan, right? Usually, now, some of the people on my Chinese social media have said that sometimes they include lard, so we're gonna have to ask about that. Hi there! Do

you have any mantou? yes Do you use lard by any chance? Lard? No we don't use lard. we'll take one mantou please Is that fermented tofu you've got there? yes indeed! It goes great with mantou! Look how spongy! Take a little bit of furu and just kind of smear it on the mantou It's pretty strong, actually. The first time I ever had furu, I ate like a whole cube- I put a whole cube in my mouth and it's super salty so you don't wanna be too generous with it. I've never done this, and this is new for me, putting furu on a mantou. And it's got so much flavor.

I'm obsessed with it. You can taste That it's aged, it's like a very complex flavor. It's probably the kind of tofu with the most steps involved because you start with tofu, you've got mould fermentation, and then it's salted, and then it's brined and flavoured, and then it's aged to give it this spreadable, creamy, almost yeasty cheesy flavor and texture cause it's undergone fermentation. Yes, actually the process is very similar to what we know in the West as cheese making in Anhui I went to this pizza store run by a foreigner who's making pizza with

furu as a cheese substitute. You know, like, "girl dinners?" This is my girl dinner- it's like crackers or bread with furu. I love it, life hack. Yes. Great for the vegans and non-vegans this is what you need to be doing. It's so flavorful, I think, like, a lot of people think- and it's even in China- like the word 'su' means like, "plain," but also, "vegetarian" and so a lot of people think su means, "bland." But I think this is like a perfect example of how vegan food in China can pack a punch. As you're probably able to tell through the instructions

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stepping stones here on the side of the road so that you can "I haven't seen that before, my goodness." And now we're really gonna put this video and this concept to the test. Remember before, I said that you can eat vegan at any restaurant? This restaurant is called Yuxiang Paigu Mian, which translates to, "fish fragrant pork rib noodles." so like, you really can find vegan food in the most unexpected places. We're basically gonna look at the menu and see what we can find. Yes. I actually just realized when we sat down that I have actually eaten here

but once before. Okay. They're quite famous for their, um, their wontons, their spicy wontons. Obviously, that will not be an option for us, no. But we have a lot of things. What's your what are you thinking? So I see, "Dan Dan Mian," which is a Sichuan classic. I think we might need to ask for no meat, so I'm curious to see how you feel about it with a missing ingredient. I will be brutally honest cause I've had a lot of "Dan Dan Mian," but never one without the meat. We're following a vegan diet, so... vegan? Yes, so please would it be possible to

avoid lard and chicken essence? would that be okay? sure we'll have the dandan noodles but without meat no worries so the dandan noodles can be vegan? no prob do you think they'll still taste okay? yeah, still good And the tianshui noodles, they're naturally vegan, right? yep, meat free Do you get a lot of vegan customers? yes, a lot oh, a lot? That's wonderful! Maybe thanks to your content? Maybe I hope so. Oh thank you. Guys, I had to laugh. Our vegan dan dan Mian arrived on our table and this is what it looks like... But the thing about Chinese

noodles is the sauce is always on the bottom, so that does look like a sad vegan noodle... but I promise you it's not okay I mean look underneath there You've got all of that sauce. It smells good. "Yeah." It smells very fragrant. Okay, well here goes nothing. It's a delicious bowl of noodles. I mean yeah I think the meat does add a meatiness, a slight extra texture, a slight extra saltiness, which probably makes it maybe a little tastier, but it's definitely not a-not a bad bowl of noodles. One of the things I want to also just say is that, like not

every meal is going to be a winner. Yeah. But one of the things that I love about China is that like, I don't have to be afraid of going hungry. Like, I can go into any shop and I'll be fed at least. Like I think Vegans can't always count on that when traveling, but I feel like in China you can. The texture of the noodles is amazing. It's like very chewy. But you know what's gonna make it even better? "What?" At every good noodles store here in Chengdu, you'll find this station over here- the pickle station. What that's giving is quite salty and like

flavorful, and when we add a little bit of pickle, that's gonna take it to the next level. And I'm actually sending it off to the kitchen. Did you know that Chengdu people like to eat their paocai (pickles) with chilli oil? That's new for me. So this is how they do it. Oh, that looks so good. I could just come here and have that with rice cause it's the smokiness with the sourness- I'm a happy girl. Now, let's see what those pickles do to these noodles. This is now a dish I'd come here and have- happily have for lunch. just adds like a little bit of

extra sourness, Yep. some texture that was missing. This was the one I was worried about you having because you do have something to compare it to, but the next ones that we're having are vegan by default so I feel like they can stand alone by themselves a little bit more. So let's try them. so this is one of Chengdu's most iconic noodles "Tian Shui mian," literally sweet water noodles because they are, in fact sweet, thanks to the brown sugar in the sauce but you've also got soy sauce, chili oil, and garlic in there too, so it's this amazing balance of

sweet, spicy and salty. I like this one. It's nutty, it's almost creamy, actually I really like this one because it's not leading with sweetness. Yes, the sweetness is like an undertone but it's more creamy and sesame and a little bit salty and yet also sweet, so I feel like it's all about the balance. I am loving that chili oil. Their chili is great, I mean I might buy one after. That's great and yeah the thickness of this noodle is so different from other noodles it's- and it looks handmade and I love how like it has ridges so the sauce like clings to

it in a different way. but as I've learned from Alex you'll find accidentally vegan dishes like "Tian Shui mian" on pretty much every Chinese menu and not just in restaurants local corner shops are full of snacks many of them vegan by chance. So one thing I find really interesting about Chinese accidentally vegan snacks is sometimes they have very meaty names so for example, this is Su Mao Du which is basically vegan stomach. In case anyone is wondering what exactly does vegan stomach taste like well oh- packets in packets- I thought I would buy some and

try it for you guys so this is what it looks like. I believe it's made from konjac noodle and the texture falls somewhere between jelly like a crunch with a bit of a bite and resistance to it it's very satisfying. It's quite spicy it's got a zing to it, which I really like. I would definitely get this flavor again. Also, I know this is like one of your favorite snacks I've seen you eat on the channel before is Latiao. so this is basically like an oily gluten stick that's super spicy, very unhealthy, but like so delicious. I thought while I'm at it why

not also do a Latiao tasting session- not sponsored by the way- this is just a brand that you'll find everywhere like I'm actually in Australia as I do this tasting session right now and I just went up to my local Asian grocer and got me some Latiao. They have so many different flavours but I thought I'd get this one because, since we're on the topic of accidentally vegan snacks, this is meat flavoured latiao yet it is still somehow vegan I mean I'm no expert, but I have checked the Chinese ingredients I've checked the English ingredients, there is no

mention of milk egg meat anywhere to be seen, so I'm taking that as a win. Let's see what meat flavoured Non-meat stick tastes like. "Oh, I tell you I love a Latiao. That texture and my- my mouth is filling with water as it's in my mouth. Hmm, does it taste like meat? It tastes like all the other Latiao that I've had. They all have a very specific kind of flavour, they're spicy, they're mouth-numbing. What I love is the texture because it's so spongy. I mean you can push that down and you can just see the flavor come out. Tofu snacks, which are also

really popular Doufu Gan -so that's great. The protein that you're worried that the vegans aren't getting! This was the first mistake I actually made as a vegan in China is thinking that soy milk is always vegan so especially like the powder ones and yes, this one too, it's got whole milk powder. So Amy like you're lactose intolerant, you also probably shouldn't be drinking like The powdered soy milk. Also some Oreo flavors some really funky flavors you can get that are vegan. Right now there's this limited edition uh red bean one. There's also this one,

unfortunately it contains milk powder but mushroom flavor. We actually tried the red bean ones and wow, yeah it tastes exactly like red bean with almost zero sweetness as well so I definitely feel like this would appeal to a lot of people in China. And side note I've never seen as many localized flavors of Oreos as I have here in China and I'm curious to know what the Oreo aisle looks like in the country you live in. Let me know in the comments Since we're on the topic of dessert, let's just dive in deep and actually try some Chengdu desserts that all

happen to be very pleasantly vegan. And dessert is actually a category that I feel very confident in knowing how to eat vegan because I've been lactose intolerant for many years and the good thing about China is you don't really see that much dairy in local desserts unless you're in very specific regions of China and here in Chengdu, actually some of my favourite desserts are completely vegan. Like, obviously you've got bingfen- Actually talking of bingfen, a little later we stumbled across a store that specialises in something I've never seen before-

hot Bingfen. If you've watched my channel for any amount of time you'll know I love bingfen, but I've never tried a hot one. I'm a bingfen fan too, but this is kind of freaking me out I just don't know what it's gonna be- Well, it's gonna be vegan- It is that's one thing. It will be so that's one thing that's interesting. So a lot of people they see jelly and they think it's made of gelatin but bingfen is made from a seed. You may remember a certain hotel room experiment I did recently where I tried making bingfen from seeds I picked up at a local

market. The end result was a very questionable shade of yellow, but I did get to see how it works you soak the seeds, rub them together, and they release this pectin which sets into that jelly-like texture. So while my bingfen wasn't exactly appetizing I can personally vouch that it was 100% vegan. This place is amazing, this is an entire bingfen menu. And the top three here can all be made hot. So they basically just got a normal vat of bingfen which they then just heat up and add to the bowl and top with ingredients of choice as usual. I went for the

classic Hongtang bingfen the brown sugar bingfen which is made with this gorgeous, rich brown sugar syrup. And Alex went for the lychee and rose bingfen. I am just confused on so many levels by this First, like touching it, and it's hot- but it looks like bingfen and bing means ice so this is very weird. it's not bad but I think I'd prefer it cold. It's hard for me to know because for me that isn't Bingfen. Bingfen is with the- I'm a purist-it has to have the Hong tang, it needs to have the the Hawthorn the ciba (glutinous rice bits) so for me I'm more

interested to try this one to actually sense whether I like it hot or cold. The tastes are all there the creamy, caramelly rich sweetness is there. You've got the textures from all the ingredients, but I have to agree with you I think I would prefer it as a cold dish. But it's not it's not bad it's not bad but I think it it's exactly how it sounds in your head it's hot bingfen. But bingfen is not the only vegan dessert on the menu here in Chengdu, you have so many others. Welcome to our collection of very jiggly desserts. Check this out, look how jiggly!

First, we're gonna try the lianggao it comes from Yibin, it's a city not too far from Chengdu, and it's actually made from rice and what I love about this is its texture. The texture, it looks like it could be tofu but it's also very different from tofu. It's also not glutinous; it's not jelly. It's somehow all of those somehow together. And as a vegan, this Liangao always kind of confuses me because I always feel like it has a little bit of a sulfuric eggy taste "Yeah." but I've done my research and I've asked many times and it doesn't contain egg, so

it's very like flan- like I feel like it's the Chinese version of flan. Especially with that Hong tang on top kind of the Brulee sauce. "Yes." Next up, very important category of dessert here in China in general, this is "Douhua," basically tofu pudding. So another way that vegans can enjoy their tofu in China and get your protein but also your dessert at the same time. You can get it in all different ways, one of my favourite, and I really want you to go to this place you will love it, it tastes exactly like creme brulee. It's called Bing Douhua and

it's the texture is like nothing else oh um and it's exactly like creme brulee but completely vegan. This one's a little bit different this one I think is gonna be like Jiu Liang, a little bit alcoholy, as with Molihua, which is jasmine flower. oh that's nice I love that it's very refreshing without being too sweet in your face, it looks pretty plain, but it's just the right amount of everything. I'm getting like what is that? It's like- eggnoggy? Eggnoggy. That's it yeah. Right, it has a bit of an eggnoggy taste. This one's a little bit of a wild card.

Have you had Oufen before? I've never had, but so, Oufen, that's lotus, right? Lotus powder or lotus starch powder and it's got to have the most interesting texture. Whoo hahaha and I thought the youcha was gonna be intimidating. But, yeah, look I mean, check that out, it does not come off the spoon. Like it's stuck to the spoon. It's got the most interesting texture. Okay, I know I said before that I had food blindness but this one is intimidating for me I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, it's got a very interesting texture but it really- essentially- has not

much of a taste at least the ones I've had in the past. But it's um oh I mean it's very gloopy. The texture is so intense it's almost hard to eat cause it coats my throat as it goes down and imagine that but on the inside of your your pipe. "Yeah yeah yeah." so I don't know it's definitely not my favorite of the three but it's very unique and interesting and also vegan. I, well, thank goodness for that! I mean I feel like I could learn to like it, but I'm not gonna lie, this- it's not love at first sight. "No." Or first taste. It's better when you mix it

all together. I I I'm starting to become more and more convinced. I think I will still go for the Douhua. You can have that, but actually I hahaha that's definitely my favorite but it's definitely been a very sweet end to this food adventure, it's gonna bring us to the end of today's video. Thank you so much for joining me, thank you for imparting your vegan wisdom. I mean, yes, I do eat everything on this channel but I think we should all be eating a little less meat and um these are some great tips for how you can go about it when you're in China

whether you're vegan whether you're vegetarian whether you're vegan curious. So thank you and uh feel free to follow Alex on all of her platforms, I'm putting them all here. Thank you so much for everything "Thank you, Amy." Yeah this has been so much fun! We'll have to make this an ongoing series and definitely see how we can eat vegan all over China I would love that. "Yeah." Well, thanks guys for watching/ Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe and I will see you next week. Goodbye from Chengdu! Bye!