Can I eat vegetarian or vegan here?
Short answer
Yes, with care. The tourism board publishes guidance for it, but anchovy and beef stock turn up in dishes that read as vegetable.
Stock is the thing to ask about
The difficulty here mirrors Japan's: the visible ingredients are often fine and the broth is not. Anchovy stock underpins a great many everyday soups and stews, and beef stock a great many more.
Kimchi is the other common surprise. Many recipes include salted seafood as part of the fermentation, so it is not automatically a safe side dish even though it is made of cabbage.
Where it gets easier
Temple cuisine is the equivalent of Japan's shojin ryori and is vegan by tradition. Bibimbap without egg or beef, and pancakes made from mung bean or scallion, are widely available and easy to explain.
Seoul and the larger cities have a growing set of dedicated vegetarian and vegan restaurants, and the tourism board maintains guidance aimed specifically at vegetarian visitors.
How to ask so it works
Naming the stock is more effective than naming a diet. Asking whether a dish contains anchovy or beef broth gets a straight answer; asking for something vegetarian often does not, because the word does not map cleanly onto how the kitchen thinks about the dish.
Banchan arrive unasked and unlisted, so ask about them too rather than assuming the small dishes are safe by default.
Good to know
- Ask about anchovy and beef stock by name rather than asking for "vegetarian"
- Kimchi often contains salted seafood — it is not a default safe side
Yes, but it takes planning. The problem is not visible meat — it is fish stock hidden in things that look plant-based.
The tourism board calls Vietnam one of the most vegetarian-friendly countries in the world. One word finds you the restaurant — chay. A second phrase is the one that actually keeps fish sauce off the plate.
More easily than almost anywhere in the region. The tourism administration's own guide opens with "Taiwan — a great place to be vegetarian!" and lists restaurants across the whole island.