Vegetarian Food in Thailand

We have vegetarian teachers and students so there are several people you can consult about the availability and choices of vegetarian food in Thailand.

Vegetarian food (Ahaan Jay) is popular in Thailand. Most of the restaurants in Thailand know how to prepare vegetarian food. In Asia, when you mention vegetarian food, it means pure vegetarian, no meat at all. Chinese vegetarians in Asia even don't have eggs, garlic, onions and spring onions. It is not considered abnormal to order vegetarian food in Bangkok or even outside the capital as people in the country are familiar with the term. This might be due to the "Nine-Day Vegetarian Food Festival" period during the 1st -9th of the lunar ninth month which normally falls in October. People don't eat meat during those nine days. The tradition is strictly practiced.

-- Paradee

Many restaurants have a "Jay" menu. When you tell the waitstaff that you are a vegetarian ("gin Jay", which translates as eat only vegetables) they will point to things you can eat on the menu. As for food stalls on the street, I usually stay away from them, most of them are laden with meat and also prepare their food with meat and meat/fish sauces. There are a couple food stands/restaurants near the school that I like to eat at for lunch a couple times a week. They even clean their pans before making the next dish. People are very friendly and helpful when it comes to asking for Jay food. You can also order something from the menu or a Thai dish that you know and get tofu (pronounced tawwoo) instead of a meat product. Thais cook with fish sauce and oyster sauce for everything, unless you tell them you are a vegetarian.

If you like to cook your own food, you can get a mushroom sauce substitute for Thai home cooking. I have also found Thai Vegetarian cookbooks at most book stores here.

There are a number of vegetarian resturaunts in Bangkok. There are a couple dine out books which can help in your search that you can also purchase once arriving in BKK. You can also check out websites that have Jay food in BKK using a google search.

Sometimes you may wind up somewhere, especially when traveling, and there aren't many options. I tend to go with the staple :cow pat pak, (fried rice with vegetables). That's always safe and everyone can make that for you! I ate a lot of this when I first arrived, until I found out how to order some other Veg dishes…

Bangkok has most every kind of food…not to worry!

-- Kara