When I first moved to China in 2012, I did not cook once during my entire 6-month internship time I spent there. I simply did not know what to do with the stuff you can find in Chinese supermarkets.
I bet I was not alone. This is why I am introducing this series of videos about cooking in Asia for foreigners!
Linda Living in China 
Can quite relate to this video, I eat out way too much.
Mostly I cook instant noodles! Does that count? Occasionally I cook rice, curry is good, maybe spaghetti (gotta go to the international supermarket though), some egg dishes. Does cheese sandwich count? Rice cooker is well worth having, agreed. Also being a vegetarian, and I’m not much of a chef, my options get limited fast…
well, you should wait for upcoming videos! being a vegetarian doesnt limit your choices! i never eat meat at home!
Ray, China is actually a pretty good place to be a vegetarian because Chinese cuisine has many vegetarian traditions and offers substitutes for meat (the most famous of which being tofu). You could, for example, try some of the Buddhist vegetarian dishes that the Shaolin monks make.
Disagree!
While I enjoy Buddhist restaurants all the time, they aren’t exactly on every streetcorner.
Chinese cuisine: A. Has little bits of meat everywhere, and B. Nobody seems to understand and respect what a vegetarian means. I say I want no meat in perfect Mandarin and then they bring something with meat, happens all the time.
Sorry, I enjoy living in China but that is my main personal complaint.
i see. i do however think it has lots to do what area you live in. here, i see plenty of meat-free dishes, really. because I don’t really like eating meat so I only order some meat-free stuff. but yeah, i can imagine they dont really take your requests seriously… i always tell them don’t put chili on my stuff and what do i get? loads of chili on my stuff…. oh well.
It’s true that vegetarian restaurants are not common in China, but then again, vegetarian restaurants are pretty much rare anywhere. And in terms of the general awareness amongst Chinese people, vegetarianism is usually associated with religiosity and not just a lifestyle/dietary choice, so Chinese people often have trouble wrapping their heads around vegetarians.
However, in terms of the ingredients and the recipes that are available, Chinese cuisine has a range of options. So unless your eating options are limited to eating out, I think China is pretty good for vegetarians.
Just to add to Linda’s comment, there is indeed a lot of meat-free dishes available at restaurants and various food establishments in China, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding meat-free dishes when you eat out.
And the thing about Chinese cuisine is that even dishes containing meat can often be adapted to create meat-free versions because meat is often just used to enhance flavour. For example, mapo doufu (a spicy tofu dish) and yuxiang qiezi (a spicy eggplant dish) are two popular Chinese dishes that can be made with or without minced meat.
(BTW, mapo doufu is probably one of the things I can eat every day without becoming sick of it!)
Great advice 😀 And you are a natural when it comes to vlog’s ! you look so good 😀
Too bad I’m a terrible chef haha.. I can cook a few Chinese dishes, mostly dishes that are popular in CC’s hometown though.. Hopefully when CC and I (one day) live together I’ll be learning to cook more dishes, not just the “standards” haha.
hahaha. i am really NOT a natural… i am happy so many people think like that though….
you will be a great cook!