Vegetarian Vietnam: Eating Chay

Vietnam is one of the easier Asian countries to eat vegetarian in, thanks to a strong Buddhist tradition that pre-dates the tourist economy. The word for vegetarian food is chay, and dedicated chay restaurants exist in every city, with the strongest tradition in Huế.

The Buddhist context

Most Vietnamese Buddhists are Mahayana, and many lay practitioners eat chay (vegan, in practice) on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month. On those days, hundreds of restaurants across the country switch entirely to chay menus, and the regular dishes return the next day. If you find yourself in Vietnam on a lunar 1st or 15th, even meat-focused street stalls will often have at least one vegetarian option.

Monks in Mahayana temples eat fully vegan year-round and the temple kitchens — particularly in Huế — have produced a rich tradition of mock-meat cooking based on gluten, tofu, mushroom and root vegetables.

Mock-meat cooking

A defining feature of Vietnamese chay is the mock-meat tradition: gluten worked to look like beef, tofu carved into "drumsticks", mushroom and bean curd shaped into "fish". This is not seen as deception but as continuity — a way of feeding lay diners a familiar-looking meal without breaking the precept against killing.

If you don't want mock meat, ask for món chay không giả mặn — "vegetarian dishes that don't pretend to be meat". Most kitchens will be happy to oblige.

City-by-city chay

Huế is the chay capital of the country. Liên Hoa at 3 Lê Quý Đôn is the long-running standard, with a thirty-dish menu of mock-meat versions of Huế classics. Tịnh Tâm Chay on Chu Văn An is the modern alternative. A meal at either runs 100,000 to 200,000 VND a head.

Hanoi — Ưu Đàm Chay at 55 Nguyễn Du is the upscale modern chay restaurant, with a tasting menu that takes Vietnamese vegetarian cooking seriously. Aubergine Restaurant in the Old Quarter is the casual neighbourhood option. Sen Tây Hồ near West Lake does a vast all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet on chay days.

HCMC — Hum Vegetarian on Võ Văn Tần is the most-respected modern Vietnamese chay restaurant, with a long menu and a beautiful courtyard. Pi Vegetarian on Bùi Thị Xuân is the cheaper everyday option. Saigon Vegan Bistro in District 1 is the strictly vegan choice.

Đà Nẵng and Hội An — most temple-attached restaurants and a few central chay places, including An Lạc Chay in Đà Nẵng. Hội An has Karma Waters near the river.

Vegetarian street food

Beyond restaurants, several Vietnamese street dishes are vegetarian or easily adapted:

• Xôi lạc / xôi đậu — sticky rice with peanut or black-eyed bean.
• Bánh xèo chay — vegetarian crepe with mushrooms and bean sprouts.
• Gỏi cuốn chay — vegetarian summer rolls with tofu instead of pork and shrimp.
• Cao lầu chay — Hội An noodle with tofu and mushroom topping; widely available.
• Phở chay — vegetarian phở; common at chay restaurants.
• Bún riêu chay — vegetarian tomato-and-tofu noodle soup; surprisingly close to the original.

Things to watch

Fish sauce (nước mắm) is used in many otherwise vegetarian Vietnamese dishes. If you are strictly vegetarian, ask "không có nước mắm?" — "no fish sauce?" — when ordering. Chay restaurants use soy-based fish sauce substitutes.

Shrimp paste (mắm tôm) is added to several northern dishes, including bún đậu. The same question applies.

Stocks for noodle soups are usually pork or chicken. Only order phở or bún at chay restaurants if you want the broth itself to be vegetarian.

Honest take

Vietnam is friendlier to vegetarians than most travellers expect, especially in Huế and in any city on chay days. The mock-meat tradition takes some getting used to but is well worth one meal; the vegetable-forward strand of modern chay cooking at places like Hum and Ưu Đàm is some of the more interesting cooking in the country.

Related reading: Huế food guide, Central and southern cuisine, HCMC food guide, Markets of Vietnam, Etiquette.