A Defiant Vegetarian

I am a vegetarian. I am now unable to explain if my reason for not trying non-vegetarian food (Popular
term in India for food that contains eggs, chicken, meat or fish/sea food) is based on my upbringing, or
me being religious or some unknown principle but irrespective, never felt the urge to try non-vegetarian
food. After several arguments with my husband who eats anything that walks, crawls, swims or flies,
(and dares to believe that vegetarians are not foodies); and after explaining to friends who look at you
almost with pity when you tell them you are a vegetarian and plan to travel to say, China , that their
concern is misplaced; and after having gone through the phases of being explanatory, annoyed, I am now
just defiant!
Yes, I do agree that in many countries, vegetarians do not have as many options in the local cuisine. I also
agree that in these countries finding the vegetarian options is arduous. However I have also learnt that
patience and persistence pays. Dont give in to the temptation of giving up and making do with alternate
clich vegetarian catch all options like salads, sandwiches or pizza. The delight when you get the
vegetarian option or when you successfully convince the local chef to make a vegetarian version for you
makes the effort all worth it. At the risk of sounding pompous, I have travelled to more than 160
countries and I have, in nearly every one of those countries, had a vegetarian dish that has ranged from
super delicious to super contrived.but I have persisted and succeeded and many times even had my
husband sheepishly dig into my yummier vegetarian option!
This is an attempt to share my experiences on traveling to many of these countries, the stories around
finding vegetarian food, related photos, and sometimes recommendations. I have not listed countries like
India, Italy or ones in the Middle East where there are numerous vegetarian options but I have tried to
pick countries/cities combinations where it is either not popular for and/or easy to get local vegetarian
options like China or Brazil or countries like Ecuador and Serbia where it was unexpected and I was
surprised by the fantastic vegetarian options I tasted!
Hopefully the write-up will act as an aid to help vegetarians know that it is possible to have a great time
being vegetarian, to explore, to be persistent, to be defiant and to savor!
There are 10 entries, each entry being dedicated to one of the countries that I have traveled to and my
food adventures in the same. The chapter starts by providing a broad outline of ordering and eating food
in the country then goes on to speak specifically to any unique experience I had in finding the vegetarian
options, and then ends with other details that includes photos. At the end of each chapter, I have
provided the list of cities that I visited in that country where I was able to sample the food. It does not
mean that the other cities in the country dont offer and/or that those are the only vegetarian options
available, but it just provides guidance for your research to get started. The city colored in red is the ones
where I found most options/ found it easier than the others.
Please note that some of the pictures are mine and some are borrowed but should not take away from the
authenticity of my experience eating these delicious varieties!

Within each entry, I have also tried to build a scale of sorts, that ranks between 1 to 5, with 1 being lowest
and 5 being highest, across parameters that include

Country factor
- perception regarding the country - is the country known for vegetarian options (e.g. Italy)?

Persistence factor
- was vegetarian easy or difficult to find (e.g. does every local restaurant have a local vegetarian
option on the menu that is not a catch all like salad or sandwich)?

Husband factor
- did my husband dig into my vegetarian dish more than his non-vegetarian dish?

Defiance factor
- did my defiance pay off my opinion if the veg. option was actually worth the effort?

CHINA
With its reputation for people eating snakes, frogs, grasshoppers and steamed turtles, it was no wonder
that my friends and family were worried for me when I moved to China for an assignment in 2008. It is a
hard country to live in because of the language (hardly anyone in the service industry spoke English) and
since my Mandarin barely allowed me to order a hot coffee or a cold beer, I knew it was going to be a
challenge to order and get vegetarian food in China. It is further complicated because it is not just saying
that you dont want meat or chicken but going further to say that you dont want the fish oil or chicken
broth that they usually cook with/in. I started off first by getting all of my specifications written by a
local and carrying it with me to all restaurants. So once the waiter came, I would flip out the piece of
paper and hand it over to him/her and then hope they made something suitable for me and then use my
very basic charade skills to answer any questions. Thanks to the extremely nice and patient Chinese, I
carried this on for a while! Then as I stayed there for a while and got comfortable, I decided to learn how
to order for myself. Bu in Mandarin means No and in my orders, it was a long list of Bu(s)! Bu meat,
Bu chicken, Bu egg, Bu chicken broth, Bu fish oil and such! Sigh! However while I did end up
having some interesting tasting dishes, I had really delicious vegetarian dishes in China! There is
nothing called Chinese food each region in China has their own specialty and starting from sichuanese
spicy peppercorn, mapo tofu, dan dan noodles, to yunanese spicy potatoes, to Xinjiang roti to Cantonese
veggie friend rice to hunanese fried rice, it was a memorable range of delicacies! and now, when I hear
vegetarians tell me that they are traveling to China and are worried about food, I could smirk and snigger
but instead I try my best to convince them about the delicacies awaiting them, if they only tried!
Cities Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu, Xian, Sanya

1
2
3

Mapo Tofu - Sichaun

Stuffed bread - Xian

Braised Eggplant

Spicy Yunanese Potatoes

BRAZIL
Typically Brazilian food uses meat from pig, cattle, poultry and seafood to make a variety of dishes
ranging from stews to pasties. It is a huge country, with different regions having their own specialty
ranging from Portuguese to African influences, all thanks to the immigrants from these regions. On my
first attempt, I remember going to a traditional restaurant, where us not knowing any Portuguese,
resulted in my husband and the waiter moving away from their unsuccessful charade efforts to actually
making animal noises so that my husband could convey he did not want beef (with a moo noise) and
then the waiter nodding and on bringing the dish, reiterating that it was not beef (with a baa noise).
Tables around us erupted into laughter and finally someone who knew English from the adjoining table
took pity on us and helped translate to get us some dishes, which for me, sadly, was some salad and rice.
Still hungry, we walked out to find a local bakery that had a bunch of pasties with a variety of fillings that
included minced meat, chicken and such and not so surprisingly, no vegetarian except for one with
cheese, which while tasty, it still did not leave me satisfied. Very disappointed with this attempt, I was
determined to do better! However I had to wait out hopping multiple restaurants browsing menus
unsuccessfully for vegetarian options, and one more meal, until
Based on further research and thanks to a very informed concierge, I tasted the super delicious moqueca,
which is a Brazilian stew, that while is made usually with seafood, was made for me with a mix of fresh
vegetables that was an awesome treat!! Eating that with fried cassava and rice satisfied those frustrated
taste buds and I ate that for 3 whole meals straightI am not complaining because thats how delicious it
is!
A night of pub crawl in Bahia, Salvador with a friend, introduced me to street food, and who would have
thought, in Brazil, I would get one of my favorite street foods - fantastic acaraje (peeled black eyed peas
made into a ball and deep fried) and beiju ou tapioca (pancake/crepe of tapioca flour) with cheese,
coconut and spicy seasoning!! Well, if I had thought I could live in Brazil for the sun, beaches, people and
the carnival, now I knew, I could add food to the list too!
Cities Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador de Bahia

0
4
4

Brazilian Mocqueca Stew (urbannaturale.com)

Acaraje (rescharf.wordpress.com)

Beiju o tapioca

TRINIDAD
One of the countries where I went to doing very little researchone because it was a bit of an impulse
trip and two, because I was very excited about going to see a one day match between India and West
Indies my first in the Caribbean! Having heard so much about how the thrill of watching cricket in the
West Indies, I just could not wait to see the soca band, the dancing and the joi de vivre of the carribeans!
They did not disappoint the rum was flowing from 930 a.m. in the morning, the band was in full swing
and the game was not too shabby either! However the highlight was the food! While I expected conch
and other varieties of fish preparations, grilled meat thanks to the Jamaican influence from closeby, who
knew that they also have a heavy African and East Indian influence?
Roti (not the Indian version of roti but a lighter, flakier, version filled with spinach, potato, chickpea
curies and spicy sauce fillings, dal puri (roti with gram flour filling inside), buss-up-shut (shredded roti,
gets its name because it looks like a busted shirt), Doubles (chickpea curry sandwich bread) , baighan
chokha (smoky fire roasted eggplant with onion, pepper, garlic), rice with vegetable curry (african
influenced), okra and pineapples. I ate it before the pub crawl, after the pub crawl, when hungover and it
was so delicious and unexpected, that I nearly forgave the Indian team for losing the match!!
Cities Port of Spain

3
2
5

Trinidad Roti

TUNISIA
Roman ruins, sites of Star Wars movie sets, beaches and desserts, Tunisia has it all. With french
influenced baguettes and pastries, African, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influenced dishes; I was
prepared that there was a good chance that I would be able to get local vegetarian options! What I was
not expecting however was that I was going to eat, what I can safely say, is one of my most favorite
dishes in all of my travels LEBLEBI (Chickpea soup with croutons/slightly stalebread, harissa and other
seasonings)! Available in most street side cafes, it is usually eaten by locals for breakfast but is so
fantastic, that I wanted to have it for every meal!! And yes, there are other vegetarian dishes available,
but I will let you do the research and let this chapter just stick to my love for LEBLEBI!
Cities Tunis, Sousse, Dougga, Matmata

4
2
5

Tunisian Leblebi

SERBIA
In my limited geography capacity, I convinced myself before going to Eastern Europe that I was going to
struggle with the food because as far as I was concerned, they were going to eat just meat and lots of
bland meat! And did Serbia show me up! What I did not know was that Serbia has been influenced for
centuries by Ottoman, Greek, and other cuisine influences and so, I found several options in stews,
stuffed peppers, delicious pastries but I am dedicating this page to the awesome Burek(baked, filled
pastries)! Filled sometimes with cheese, sometimes with spinach and other times with vegetables, this
puff pastry had with a side of natural yoghurt, melted in my mouth, time and again! I had it as an
appetizer, as breakfast and even as a snack during my pub crawl in Bosnia, only made more delicious by
the warmth and niceness of the Bosnians, despite them having gone through several hardships of being a
war ravaged city!
Cities - Bosnia
3
3
5

Borek, had with yoghurt

EL SALVADOR
Think of Central and South America and you think of pork and beef. El Salvador, was not even on my list
of countries that I must visit but thanks to my husband, I did it as part of a triangle of countries that
included Nicaragua, Honduras as the other two. I did my usual short language- practice ritual that I do
before traveling to any Spanish speaking country where I can bug every poor waiter with my sin huevo,
sin carne, , sin mariscos (no egg, no meat, no seafood) and una cerveza muy fria (one very cold beer)!
To be fair, I had done my basic research on food too and knew that I should be looking forward to the
Pupusa (shallow fried toritillas with fillings)! What I thought was that I would have to search for the
vegetarian options of the Pupusa but was I wrongavailable from street sides to restaurants are these
melt-in- your-mouth corn tortillas that have easily available vegetarian options filled with cheese, beans
and/or vegetables and served with salsa roja on the side. Break a piece of the pupusa, dip it in the salsa
roja and oh my, muy delicioso! (very delicious)!
Cities San Salvador, Suchitoto
2
4
5

Pupusa with different fillings

SPAIN
I have been to Spain a few times, starting the first time in 2001 to as recent as 2015. I have seen the
country transform in keeping up with current increasing vegetarianism and adding a few vegetarian
options to even their traditional outlets. However, what was most pleasantly shocking is from being
laughed at for being vegetarian (no, seriously, they did laugh at me in 2001 and asked me then, what do
you eat?), from eating potato bravas and more potato bravas, to I did not see it coming that a holiday in
Spain would become one of my favourite eating trips ever, and that was I went on the Pintxo (short eats)
crawl in San Sebastian! That pintxo crawl, in bar after bar, caf after caf, sipping on wines, guzzling on
beers and popping one mouth-watering pintxo after another goes into the record books for the sheer
number of bars and cafes we did in one day and for the wicked hangover I had the next morning!
Cities Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Rhonda, Alicante, Malaga, San Sebastian
2
4
3*

*this comes up with caveat that while he did enjoy my vegetarian pintxos, this was one country where his
love for ham made him super biased! Oinc, Oinc!

ECUADOR
At 9300 feet, the beautiful city of Quito in the valley of the Andes is a lovely city set on ancient Inca land.
High enough that you many people need acclimatization to prevent the altitude sickness. So knowing
that usually you can rice, beans and yucca/cassava frites in most of these regions that were inhabited by
Incas/Aztecs, etc, I had decided on my diet to include just these and loads of coca tea. First meal there
and I know it must have been the great food, because not only did I not even realize the altitude change
but also I was hopping from one meal to the other with high expectations that never let me down! Let
alone the restaurants, it was the street food that had me snacking away enough calories for a trekker!
Choclos(Corn on the cob with cheese), Maduro con queso (plantains filled with cheese), empanadas
(stuffed baked pastry), tostadas available at street corners could rival the custom vegetarian stews of
lenteja (lentil) or frijole (bean)!
Cities Quito
2
2
4*

*Oh well, he is not as much of a street food fan as I am!

Tortillas with lentil stew

Choclos (roasted corn with lime, salt, cheese)

Empanadas

NEW ZEALAND
Famous for gorgeous landscapes, rugby and ofcourse Lord of the Rings, when websites and books talk
about the cuisine in New Zealand, they ofcourse talk about the abundance of seafood, roast lamb and of
cuisine influenced by immigrants from Asia Pacific countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and such.
However, there is one other item, that is inherent to the cuisine and identity of New Zealand and its
neighbor, Australia and that is the PIE. Ofcourse even though chicken and meat options are available,
what I gorged on was pies filled with potato, roast vegetable, mushroom, onion and combinations
thereof! Available in cafes, bakeries and just about every corner and block, it is super hard to resist and I
definitely did not resist! Hot coffee with a warm pie let me see you resist that combination!
Cities Auckland, Wellington

4
1
5

SICILY
I am breaking away from the rule here. I know that Sicily has popular vegetarian options. However, it
needs mention for the sheer volume of those options and for my decadence. If at all possible, I think I ate
my weight in food everyday and I could not stop! Ancient Greek temples and Roman ruins check;
beautiful Mediterranean blue waters check; delicious wines check; warm people - check; remnants of
bygone mafia era check: and then after all this, the FOOD check, check, check!!!! How anyone in Sicily
maintains their weight is a mystery to me and maybe I should write a book on that ! Cannoli, Cassata,
Arancini (stuffed, fried rice balls with filling), Panelle (chickpea fritters), Caponata (aubergine dip/side)
just to name a few! Now, just mentioning that list has made me hungry and so, I think, I will take a break
from writing this edition of the write-up and actually get started on an apertivo, Palermo style!
Cities Palermo, Cefalu
5
1
5

Canoli!

Capanota

Cassata

Arancini