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Vegan Chinese Recipes: Forget Takeout! My 8 Favorite Easy Chinese Food Recipes to Make at Home
I don’t know about you, but I get a Chinese takeout craving about once a week. Unfortunately for me, there aren’t any vegan Chinese food takeout options in my area. And even if there were, I’d feel guilty about all the takeout containers one simple meal had me throwing away.
Takeout cravings aren’t easily deterred though, so I’ve had to get creative in my kitchen to get my vegan Chinese food fixes. As I’ve learned, homemade Chinese food is actually pretty easy to make and it’s often very adaptable to a vegan diet. It’s also a great way to load up with vegetables!
This Best of Vegan Chinese Recipes is a collection of those easy Chinese food recipes that I turn to most often. After all, throwing together Vegetable Lo Mein takes about as long as it would for takeout to arrive.
Now all you have to do is bookmark this post and the next time the mood (craving!) strikes, you’ll be well equipped!
And Now… My 8 Favorite Vegan Chinese Recipes!
Crispy Orange Cauliflower
The Vegan Chinese Food Answer to Orange Chicken
This Crispy Baked Orange Cauliflower vegan Chinese recipe knocks Orange Chicken right off the first-place podium spot. It’s sticky and sweet and a little bit spicy. The cauliflower florets are steamed first to create a soft interior. They’re then dipped in a simple flour, salt and water batter and baked to crispy perfection. The final step is a quick toss in homemade orange sauce and a turn under the broiler to caramelize the maple syrup I use as an unrefined sweetener.
Veggie-Loaded Curry Fried Rice
Vegan Fried Rice Elevated!
My Vegan-Loaded Curry Fried Rice is a cross between one of my favorite Chinese food recipes – Chinese Fried Rice – and my true takeout kryptonite – Saigon Noodles. Like many of my vegan Chinese recipes, this one will take on as many vegetables as you can give it, so be sure to sweep your fridge for any and all veggies you want to add into this dish!
Asian BBQ Tofu Bowls
General Tso Goes Vegan
This Asian BBQ Tofu Bowl is one of my very early vegan Chinese recipes and it’s still one of my favorites. The sweet, sticky and spicy sauce caramelizes for the perfect flavor. I like to pair this one with a clean, white rice and plenty of steamed veggies!
Asian Slaw Salad with Ginger Miso Dressing
Summer’s Favorite Salad as a Meal
My summer vegan Chinese recipe capitalizes on all of the summer produce that the farmer’s market has to offer. Like those watermelon radishes! They make the best veggie models, don’t they? I’ve loaded this up with plenty of red peppers, spiralized cucumbers, mandarin oranges and crispy ramen noodles. The best part though – that Ginger Miso Salad Dressing!
Chinese Lemon Cauliflower
Even Better Than Chinese Lemon Chicken
This Lemon Cauliflower vegan Chinese recipe is my answer to Chinese Lemon Chicken. Baked cauliflower skips the batter for a lighter dish. Instead, it’s dusted in cornstarch and roasted before being tossed in homemade honey lemon sauce (or in this case, maple lemon sauce). I like pairing this easy Chinese food recipe with a hearty brown rice and plenty of fresh steamed vegetables!
Moo Shu Jackfruit Pizza
Vegan Chinese Recipe Fusion
Moo Shu Pizza is a great way to introduce your family to jackfruit. A mild-tasting fruit that shreds just like pork, jackfruit is the perfect vegan ingredient for this Chinese fusion food! The jackfruit is crisped in a sweet hoisin BBQ sauce and then paired with shredded cabbage and plenty of pickled vegetables for a tangy vegan Chinese food treat!
Vegan Lettuce Wraps
PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps Get a Vegan Makeover
Who doesn’t pine for PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps? The sauce alone! This vegan version is loaded with healthy ingredients like shiitake mushrooms, carrots and low-fat, high-protein tofu. It’s paired with a delicious chili dipping sauce and plenty of colorful toppings!
Vegetable Lo Mein
An Easy Chinese Food Recipe for Weeknight Vegan Dinner
Vegetable Lo Mein is my go-to weeknight meal. It’s such an easy Chinese food recipe! I like to load this one up with vegetables like shiitake mushrooms, broccolini, asparagus and peppers. The lo mein sauce is a simple combination of tamari, maple syrup and sesame oil. The best part though? Those chewy al dente rice ramen noodles. Really, is there anything better than stir-fried noodles?
What’s in My Kitchen to Make These Vegan Chinese Recipes Easier?
Want to know what tools and resources I keep on hand to make my vegan cooking even easier? Here’s a short list of what helped me create this blog post and recipe. For the complete list, visit my Shop where you can find the kitchen gadgets I like as well as a list of books that I recommend.
Electric Wok
While I do try to limit the number of kitchen gadgets I have, my electric wok makes the cut. Why cook with a wok? Well, for starters, there is plenty of room to toss! They also heat up quickly and evenly, enabling a nice sear on ingredients.
Chopsticks
Here’s my theory: food tastes better if it’s eaten with the utensils it was designed for. This is why I use Ramen Soup Spoons for my ramen bowls (check out my Veggie Loaded Veggie Ramen) and why I use chopsticks for dishes like my Vegetable Lo Mein.
These fiberglass chopsticks are attractive, inexpensive and reusable and won’t give you splinters!
Tofu Press
Admittedly, I didn’t own a tofu press for a long time. I pressed my tofu by wrapping my tofu in a clean tower and topping it with a heavy cast iron skillet. I did this for a number of years without issue until my cast iron tipped off of the tofu on day and landed on my new hardwood floor, denting it. My husband gave me this tofu press for Christmas after that.
Now that I have a tofu press, I’m all about them. And this tofu press is pretty slick. It applies even pressure to a block of tofu. And pressure matters. Too little and you won’t drain enough of the liquid. Too much and you’ll crush your tofu, making it impossible to cube it for even cooking.
Garlic Press
I’ve read a dozen posts about why you shouldn’t use a garlic press. One of them actually suggested that they take up valuable kitchen space. I mean, I guess if you have a tiny kitchen you might have to make those choices. They’re smaller than a can opener. I love mine. I hate, hate, hate mincing garlic.
Garlic Peeler
This garlic peeler is a simple silicon tube. Despite its simple design, it skillfully removes even the toughest of garlic skins. I’m so much happier not peeling garlic cloves with my fingernails. I’m pretty sure I’ll collectively get at least a day of my life back because of this device.
A Really, Really Good Chef’s Knife
No, that’s not the brand. It’s just the idea! But, I own this set of Global™ knives and They’re some of my most prized possessions in the kitchen. This set is universally well-rated for the at-home chef and will get you a good, solid set of knives without totally breaking the bank.
About Herbivore’s Kitchen
Herbivore’s Kitchen is a blog run by me, a plant-based home chef and aspiring food photographer. I switched my and my family’s diet to a plant-based diet after learning about the health benefits of going vegan. Making this change has prompted a variety of food and holistic-lifestyle related questions that I explore through this blog. I talk about how to pick and prepare the most nutritious foods, to how to reduce waste at home, to how to live a more sustainable lifestyle while on the road.
