Many people worry that eating vegetarian in the old town means missing out on the flavors of Hoi An. In fact, once you know which dishes are easy to make meat-free and how to place your order clearly, you can still enjoy meals that taste unmistakably of Quang Nam, from a morning bowl of mì Quảng (turmeric rice noodles) to a cup of sweet corn pudding when the lanterns come on.
Why eating vegetarian in Hoi An is not hard
For many families in central Vietnam, going vegetarian is a familiar rhythm: on the first day and the full-moon day (15th) of the lunar month, plenty of people eat vegetarian, and some do so permanently. Around the old town you will find many pagodas, vegetarian restaurants that are open all year, and a good number of casual eateries that also offer a vegetarian version of their signature dish.
The ingredients are close at hand too: fresh herbs from the villages around town, tofu, mushrooms, corn, peanuts and rice crackers. Hoi An also welcomes many vegetarian and vegan visitors, so more and more places mark their vegetarian dishes clearly on the menu.
Familiar dishes worth trying
You can easily find the dishes below at vegetarian restaurants, or as vegetarian versions at many places in the old town:
- Vegetarian mì Quảng: flat rice noodles, usually golden with turmeric, in just a little rich broth made from vegetables, mushrooms and tofu. Sprinkle on roasted peanuts, break in a grilled sesame rice cracker, and add fresh herbs, chili and lime to round out the flavor.
- Vegetarian cao lầu: chewy, brownish-yellow noodles that, in the traditional method, are made with lye water. Only a few places offer a vegetarian version, usually swapping the roast pork for tofu or mushrooms, served with fresh herbs and a little thick sauce.
- Vegetarian bánh xèo (crispy Vietnamese pancake): small, crisp pancakes filled with bean sprouts, mushrooms and tofu, wrapped in rice paper with fresh herbs and dipped in peanut sauce or a vegetarian dipping sauce.
- Vegetarian bánh mì: a crusty baguette filled with tofu, mushroom pâté or vegetarian ham, cucumber, pickles, fresh herbs and chili sauce.
- Sweets: chè bắp (sweet corn pudding) made with sticky corn from the Cam Nam alluvial island, silky tofu pudding in ginger syrup, or a cooling cup of sweet bean chè.
Trà Quế herbs, the soul of the herb plate
Most Hoi An dishes come with a plate of fresh herbs, and many restaurants prefer the herbs from Tra Que village, a few kilometers from the old town. The village has grown herbs for generations and is known for its basil, cinnamon basil, perilla, Vietnamese balm and lettuce. Growers fertilize with seaweed gathered from a lagoon near the village, which many people believe gives the herbs their distinctive aroma.
For vegetarians, herbs make a dish come alive without any fish sauce or scallion oil: a few leaves of basil, perilla and Vietnamese balm torn into a bowl of mì Quảng make a real difference. If you have a free afternoon, you can cycle out to the village, stroll between the vegetable beds and watch the gardeners carry two watering cans along the dirt paths.
How to order so your meal is truly vegetarian
At a vegetarian restaurant you hardly need to worry. At a place that serves both meat and vegetarian dishes, a few simple requests will get your meal just right:
- Say so as soon as you order: a vegetarian portion for me, please, with no fish sauce, no fermented anchovy sauce, no scallion oil and no pork cracklings.
- Ask about the broth, because some dishes are made vegetarian just by leaving out the meat, while the broth is still simmered from bones.
- Ask for soy sauce, peanut sauce or a vegetarian dipping sauce instead of fish sauce or fermented anchovy sauce.
- For bánh mì, regular pâté is made from liver and the rich sauce may contain egg, so ask to swap in mushroom or tofu pâté.
- If you follow a Buddhist vegetarian diet and avoid onion, chives, garlic, shallots and similar alliums, say so separately, because many everyday vegetarian dishes are still fried with onion and garlic.
- If you eat vegan, ask about eggs, milk and butter in baked goods and sauces.
Full-moon days in the old town
On the first day and the full-moon day of the lunar month, many Hoi An families light incense and eat vegetarian. The market has extra vegetarian stalls, vegetarian restaurants are noticeably busier, and a few dishes may sell out early, so eat early or call ahead if you are coming with a group.
On the 14th of every lunar month, Hoi An usually holds its old town night: electric lights are kept low to make room for lanterns, with bài chòi folk singing and flower lanterns floating on the Hoai River. A vegetarian dinner followed by a slow stroll under the lanterns is a very Hoi An way to welcome the full moon.
Read moreRead more: full-moon night in Hoi An's old townA vegetarian meal at Nhà An Hoi An when we open
Nhà An Hoi An is the yellow house in the old town, now being finished and getting ready to welcome guests. Like every branch, everything on the menu here is vegetarian: broths are simmered from vegetables, we use no MSG, and vegan dishes without egg or milk are labeled separately at the counter. The dishes planned for the menu include vegetarian mì Quảng, vegetarian bánh xèo wrapped in rice paper with Tra Que herbs, Cam Nam chè bắp and Hoi An lotus tea.
We plan to open 24/7, with a late-night vegetarian menu from 22:00 to 04:00 in the kitchen, so after an evening stroll or a night of chasing a deadline, you will still have a place for a light meal. The address and opening date will be announced on the Nhà An website and on Zalo.
Read moreSee Nhà An Hoi An Read moreExplore the Nhà An vegetarian kitchen
