--- title: "Eating Vegan or Vegetarian Abroad: How to Check a Foreign Menu" date: "2026-10-19" author: "Travel Eat Team" excerpt: "Fish sauce in the stir-fry, dashi in the miso soup, lard in the beans: where animal ingredients hide in different cuisines, how to ask about them, and how to filter a foreign menu for vegan, vegetarian or pescetarian dishes." category: "Dietary Restrictions" tags: ["vegan-travel", "vegetarian-travel", "pescetarian", "hidden-ingredients", "menu-translation", "eating-abroad", "dietary-restrictions"] featured: false --- A menu that lists a dish as "vegetable stir-fry" or "tomato soup" looks like an easy win for vegans and vegetarians. Then you taste the fish sauce, or learn the soup was made with chicken stock. Eating plant-based abroad is rarely about finding the one dish with no obvious meat in it. It is about knowing which ingredients each cuisine uses without thinking of them as "meat" at all. This guide walks through the most common hidden animal ingredients by region, how to word your questions so they get a useful answer, and how to filter a foreign-language menu faster. ## Why a translated menu is not enough Translating the words on the page tells you what the menu says. It does not always tell you what is in the pot. Three things get in the way: - **Stocks and sauces are invisible.** A menu rarely lists the broth or the base sauce. - **Definitions differ.** In many places, "vegetarian" means no red meat, and chicken stock, fish sauce or lard are not considered meat. - **Tradition beats labels.** A dish might be traditionally made with an animal fat or stock even if the name sounds meatless. So the goal is to learn what to look for and then ask specific questions. ## Hidden animal ingredients by cuisine ### Japan: dashi Dashi is the backbone of Japanese cooking. The most common version combines kelp (kombu) with dried, smoked bonito flakes (katsuobushi), which is fish. It goes into miso soup, simmered vegetables, many noodle broths, egg dishes like *dashimaki tamago*, and some dipping sauces. Even a bowl of vegetable udon is often in a fish-based broth. For vegetarians who eat fish (pescetarians), dashi is fine. For everyone else it is the thing to ask about. Shojin ryori, the vegan cuisine of Buddhist temples, is the notable exception and is often available near temples. ### Thailand, Vietnam and Southeast Asia: fish sauce and shrimp paste Fish sauce (*nam pla* in Thai, *nuoc mam* in Vietnamese) seasons nearly everything: stir-fries, dipping sauces, salads, soups and noodle dishes. Shrimp paste is the base of many Thai curry pastes, including green and red curry. Pad Thai commonly contains fish sauce, dried shrimp and egg. Oyster sauce is common in stir-fried greens. Useful signals: in Thailand, yellow flags with red lettering around a stall usually mark the *jay* (vegan) food tradition, which excludes meat, fish products and often strong-smelling vegetables like garlic. In Vietnam, *chay* means vegetarian, and dedicated *com chay* restaurants are common. Even then, it is worth confirming that sauces are vegetarian. ### Korea: kimchi and anchovy broth Traditional kimchi is made with fish sauce or salted fermented shrimp (*jeotgal*). Many stews and soups are made with an anchovy-and-kelp stock. Bibimbap often comes topped with a fried egg and sometimes beef. Temple food, as in Japan, is a vegan exception. ### China: lard, oyster sauce and meat stock Stir-fried vegetables may be cooked in lard or finished with oyster sauce. Soups and braised vegetables are often made with pork or chicken stock. Some tofu dishes, such as mapo tofu, include minced pork by default. Buddhist vegetarian restaurants (*sucai*) are a dependable alternative in many cities. ### India: ghee, and the green and red dots Most Indian vegetarian food is genuinely vegetarian, and many packaged foods carry a green dot (vegetarian) or red dot (non-vegetarian). The catch for vegans is ghee (clarified butter), which is used in dal tadka, parathas and many sweets, along with paneer, yogurt and cream in curries. Vegan travelers should ask for dishes cooked in oil, not ghee. Jain food also excludes root vegetables like onion and garlic, which can surprise people expecting those flavors. ### Italy and the Mediterranean: broth, lard and cheese - Risotto is commonly cooked in meat or chicken broth (*brodo*). - Some focaccia, pastries and flatbreads include lard (*strutto*). - Traditional Parmigiano Reggiano is made with animal rennet, so strict vegetarians may want to ask. Pesto traditionally contains cheese. - Caesar dressing and some pizza sauces contain anchovies. ### Spain: jamon in the vegetables Spain's classic vegetable dishes often include ham. *Judias verdes con jamon* (green beans with ham) and *habas con jamon* (broad beans with ham) are typical. Lentil and bean stews are often built on chorizo or ham bones. "Vegetarian" may be interpreted as "no steak," so be explicit: *sin carne, sin jamon, sin pescado* (no meat, no ham, no fish). ### France: lardons, duck fat and stock Salads arrive scattered with lardons (bacon). Roast potatoes may be cooked in duck fat, as in *pommes sarladaises*. French onion soup is typically made with beef stock. Classic sauces build on veal or chicken stock. Mousses and some desserts use gelatin. ### Mexico and Latin America: lard and chicken stock Refried beans are traditionally made with lard (*manteca*). Flour tortillas often contain it too, while corn tortillas typically do not. Rice may be cooked in chicken stock, and tamales often use lard. Asking *sin manteca* (without lard) helps, but ask about the stock too. ### Germany and Central Europe: schmalz Lard spread (*Schmalz*) is a standard table item, and bacon or smoked sausage flavors lentil soups, sauerkraut and potato dishes. Check anything listed as a "vegetable" soup. ## How to ask the right questions Generic statements like "I am vegetarian" travel poorly. Specific questions work better: 1. **Name the ingredient.** "No fish sauce, no lard, no meat stock" is clearer than a label. 2. **Ask about the base.** "Is the broth made with meat or fish?" 3. **State what you do eat.** If you eat eggs and dairy but not fish, say so. If you are vegan, add "no eggs, no milk, no butter, no honey." 4. **Write it down.** A translated note you can hand over avoids misunderstandings in a noisy kitchen. ## Where a menu scanner helps Scanning a menu with [Travel Eat](#app-store) translates every dish and lets you filter for vegan, vegetarian or pescetarian in one tap. Because the filter is applied to the whole menu at once, you can see at a glance which dishes are candidates rather than decoding line by line. The part we think matters most is the explanation. The AI tells you why it classified a dish the way it did. If it marks a soup as likely fish-based because the dish is typically made with a dashi broth, you have a specific thing to ask the server about. Each dish also shows its likely ingredients, so you can see where an animal product might be hiding. A practical limit: the classifications reflect how a dish is typically prepared, and kitchens differ. A menu cannot tell the app what is in a particular restaurant's broth. Use the filter to narrow your options, then confirm the base with staff. ## FAQ ### Is fish sauce vegetarian? No. It is made from fermented fish, usually anchovies. Vegetarians who eat fish may be fine with it; vegans and most vegetarians will want to avoid it. ### Is dashi vegan? Usually not. Standard dashi contains bonito flakes. Kombu-only or shiitake dashi is plant-based, and some restaurants use it, but you have to ask. ### Is cheese vegetarian? It depends on the rennet. Many traditional cheeses are made with animal rennet. Most vegetarians do not check, but if you are strict about it, ask or look for cheeses labelled as made with vegetarian rennet. ### Can an app guarantee a dish is vegan? No. An app can narrow your choices and flag likely animal ingredients, but only the kitchen knows what went into the dish. Treat the results as a guide and confirm with staff. ### Does Travel Eat cost anything? It is free to download on iOS. Pro is an optional upgrade that unlocks larger AI models. ## The short version Learn the usual suspects in each cuisine, ask about stock and sauce specifically, and use a tool to sort the menu before you start asking questions. If you are heading somewhere new, [try Travel Eat on the App Store](#app-store) and scan a menu with the vegan or vegetarian filter on.