Chinese Buddhist cuisine

Vegetarian restaurant buffet, Taipei, Taiwan. July 2003.

One basic tenet of Buddhism is that of reincarnation and there is a belief that animals can been reincarnated as humans and vice versa. As a result, many Buddhists do not eat animal products because in requires the killing of living beings, and this is considered to be bad for their karma.

Buddhist dietary restrictions are structured very differently than those of the Abrahamic religions such as Judaism and Islam. In those religions, the dietary restrictions make a clear distinction between permitted foods and unpermitted foods. By contrast, there is no such clear distinction between permitted and unpermitted foods. The theory behind Buddhist dietary restrictions is that eating certain foods necessitates actions that result in bad karma, however the level of bad karma depends on the food.

For example, it is common for a Buddhist to believe that vegetarianism is better for their karma than eating meat, but to nevertheless eat meat and consider it something of a bad habit. In addition, eating some animals are considered worse for one's karma than others. For example, eating beef is often considered to be far worse than poultry or fish, because cows are larger than chickens or fish and hence slaugthering a cow results in worse karma than slaughtering a chicken or catching fish.

In some areas, such as Japan, vegetarianism is not a large part of Buddhism. Even Buddhist monks in some parts of the world eat meat.

Many adherents allow milk and (unfertilized) eggs in their diet, but some strict believers do not. Additionally, such beliefs may be due to objections about the environment in which the animals producing such products are raised. Some Buddhist vegetarians, particuarly from China and Vietnam, don't eat onion, garlic or leek either. Buddhist cuisine is not necessarily vegan.

In order to cater to those Buddhist customers who have missed the meat dishes, Buddhist vegetarian chefs become extremely creative in imitating meat using gluten, tofu, agar and other plant products. Gluten and tofu are very versatile materials, because they can be manufactured into various consistencies and textures. With the proper seasoning and flavour, they can mimic various kinds of meat quite closely. Many fermented soy products provide a meaty favour. Pure vegetable dishes in these restaurants are not different from those offered in regular Chinese restaurant, perhaps with the exception that lard is not used. Occasional customers to Buddhist restaurants have been known to forget about pure vegetable dishes and order only imitation meat dishes due to novelty.

Buddhist vegetarian restaurants can be profitable businesses because the material cost is much cheaper than meat, but the dishes are sometimes priced as if they were made of real meat. Also, particularly in Taiwan and Hong Kong there are many Buddhist vegetarians, ensuring a constant supply of customers.

Related topics

• Buddhism in China
• Chinese cuisine
• Cooking
• Cuisine
• Wikipedia Cookbook

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