Vegetarianism in unlikely or exotic places

[Second Summer]

Two articles from "exotic" locations popped up in my Google news feed today.

One about vegetarian food in Egypt:
http://www.egyptindependent.com/new...vegetarian-fare-natural-part-egyptian-cuisine
(Hm, it does reuse the "pulses and rice in the same meal" protein myth... Still interesting.)

The other is from Beijing, talking about a restaurant called Samadhi:
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90782/8113094.html

Both articles speaks highly of vegetarian food based on their respective national cuisines, which is certainly a sentiment I share.

Feel free to share your stories / articles about vegetarianism in unlikely or exotic places here

 

[ledboots]

Those are great, kind of "vegetarian can be normal". I have never really had Egyptian food specifically, but have had similar dishes. So of course I'm going to go read a bunch of recipes now.

 

[Freesia]

I saw a cook book about Vegetarian middle east and North African food. I was often tempted to buy it.

In China I think it is the influence of Buddhism which has led to many vegetarian dishes.

 

[Fromper]

Not quite the same, but since moving to the Chicago area, I've noticed something interesting. The Chicago suburb of Skokie is probably the most heavily Jewish town in the world, outside the nation of Israel. There are a ton of Jews who keep a strictly kosher diet living in the area. There's one particular branch of Jewel-Osco (the biggest supermarket chain in the area) very close to the heavily Jewish areas of Skokie and northern Chicago, which has a huge amount of kosher food to cater to them. We're talking three full aisles, including an entire row of freezers, of just kosher stuff, along with a kosher deli, bakery, etc.

I happen to go to that particular store because it's relatively close to home and has good produce. There are actually closer supermarkets to my apartment, but they aren't as good. But beside the good produce, I've realized that because of the kosher obsession with keeping meat and milk separate, the Jewish community consumes a whole lot of dairy substitute items that are strictly vegan. One of the freezer sections in the kosher aisle actually has the largest selection of Tofutti, Rice Dream, etc products I've ever seen. They've even got Whole Foods beat.

It just surprised me, because I wasn't expecting it. But this one supermarket that caters to the orthodox Jewish community is probably among the most vegan-friendly supermarkets in America.

--Fromper

 

[ledboots]

Yes, the small grocery store near me has a large older, Jewish clientele, so I find interesting vegan things there often.