British veganism long ago moved from grain sacks and carob bars at the back of health-food shops into the mainstream.
But animal-free eating can still be a challenge abroad, when the language barrier gets in the way of attempts to agonise about fish sauce. With summer holidays looming, many vegan converts face weeks far from Tofurkey and beyond the reach of lifestyle bloggers, a challenge that is at least as great as learning to love cheese made out of beans.
As a travel writer currently cycling around the world, and a vegan of 16 years, I’ve learned that there’s no need to worry about your next meal when travelling as a vegan. Many countries – particularly in Asia – have a food culture that celebrates vegetarian food, and dishes that can be easily adapted for vegans. There are a wealth of resources to help you track down vegan restaurants all over the world. From the Gili Islands to Ghana, here are some tips to help you stay vegan abroad.
Plan ahead
In mainland Europe – where a bit of bacon is considered seasoning – and in Scandinavia, listings website HappyCow comes into its own. Featuring restaurants in more than 100 countries, it gives you the option of filtering for vegan, vegetarian and vegetarian-friendly offerings and sorting by price and distance. Community reviews are usually spot on, but listings can be out of date, so it’s worth calling ahead. Restaurants are often proposed by locals, too, which means you’ll find somewhere off the beaten track. Another option is to search TripAdvisor’s restaurant listings for “vegan”. This combs both keywords and tags, which can sometimes uncover a restaurant that has turned out vegan versions of dishes before, even if they aren’t advertised on the menu.
Take it to the streets
Night markets and street-food vendors can be a great option for the travelling vegan because you can see everything that’s going into your meal. Look out for rice balls in Kuala Lumpur; tempeh (best described as wholegrain tofu) on sticks in Indonesia; churros (doughnuts) in Mexico (check that they aren’t made with egg; many authentic recipes don’t call for it); fried dough on the streets of Rio de Janiero and noodle carts throughout Asia, where you can select toppings from what’s on display.
Join the movement
Throughout the world, restaurants run by the Hare Krishna movement, often called Govindas, serve up cheap, wholesome vegetarian curries that are usually vegan. The branch in London’s Soho is an institution. You can find a full directory of restaurants on the Hare Krishna website. Other places to look out for include Loving Hut, a vegan restaurant chain that has outposts in countries including Paraguay, Benin, Congo and Ethiopia.
Do it yourself
Desperate times and a tight budget can sometimes mean that cooking for yourself is the best option. Build up fruit bowls from local markets, bearing in mind that in some countries you’ll need to stick to fruit that’s prepared in front of you – such as watermelon – or that you can peel yourself to avoid contaminated tap water. Hire barbecue pits in Vietnam and Cambodia, as local families do, and cook your own feast on the beach.
Learn the language
Vegan isn’t as commonly understood a word as vegetarian, so have someone else write out phrases for no meat, dairy, eggs and fish on a flashcard. Use pictures if you have to. In southern China, a barman wrote the Mandarin word for “Buddhist nun” on a card for me – because many Buddhists in China avoid animal products – and it worked like a charm.
Source:theguardian