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Vegetable Fried Rice


MontanaVegan
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At the end of our trip through Beartooth Pass and Yellowstone Park we stopped to eat at a Chinese restaurant in Cody WY.

I ordered Vegetable Fried Rice. It dissapointed me that the couldn't use brown rice, they only had white rice.

They put is a variety of veggies: broccoli, carrots, peas, onions, mini corn cobs, shrooms and water chestnuts.

They put on the hottest sauce that they had, it tasted good.

Near the bottom of the bowl I noticed something that looked like eggs.

I guess since I'm still a new Vegan I didn't know that you need to order your Vegetable Fried Rice without egg.

 

Can I still be Vegan when they sneak in ingredients like that?

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This happens to many vegans, some not so new too!

 

In fact, check this out:

 

I go to a Japanese restaurant with a friend a couple of weeks ago, and order the VEGETARIAN combo, which consisted of miso soup, avacodo rolls, etc etc.

 

I inquire about the stock in the miso soup. It should obviously be vegetarian since it is in a VEGETARIAN combo but nonetheless, my philosophy is people are generally morons so check, double check and double check some more.

 

So I ask "is there any animal anything in your soup? What is the base? Is it fish stock, chicken stock, any animal stock, or is it fully and completely NO ANIMAL soup."

 

Girl says "I think it is vegetarian."

 

I say, I need a confirmed guarantee, not speculation or an "almost positive."

 

SHe checks with the chef/owner and comes back and says it is vegetarian for sure.

 

That is still not good enough because you never know if you are being lied to, so I say (and advise that others do this as well), "Are you SURe, because I am allergic to all animals and CAN DIE if there is any animal in my soup."

 

She says no worries, it is definitely vegetarian base soup.

 

So I order, everything smells and tastes fine, we eat, pay and leave.

 

The other night, a friend and I go back to the same restaurant, order the same thing, and again, I inquire again (because remember my philosophy above). Low and behold, this time I am informed that the soup is mdae of FISH stock.

 

Need I explain the scene that I raised after that? They f**cking served my miso soup with FISH in it, even though I checked, double checked and triple checked AND on top of that explained that i could DIE if I ingest animals. WTF????

 

And, wtf is a fish base soup doing in a vegetarian combo?

 

idiots. I mean, short of standing in the freakin kitchen watching the chef make your food from scratch and reading all the labels of everything he uses, you just dont know 100%. The extent to which people are morons, or just plain dont give a damn about others, is bloody ridiculous.

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I'm still learning. The last thing that got me was a brand of soy cheese.

I thought soy would be dairy free. I didn't even look.

But there it is listed right in the ingredients: "Casein (Milk Protein)"

'

 

Dont even get me started on that one. I once inquired to one of these companies why they would even put casein in SOY cheese, and they said it is because they dont cater to vegans - they are catering to people with a lactose intolerance.

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I've always wondered WTF! the casein was in there for... Which company responded that way CG?

 

I cant recall - this was a while back when I was a new vegan, and annoyed as hell at the whole soy cheese with casein thing. Like MV, I never thought that soy cheese would STILL have dairy in it. WTF?

 

 

Speaking of vegan cheese, the only kind that is even remotely palatable to me is the Earth Island Monteray jack flavour. So, if anybody once to give it a try, it may be enough to curb those damn hankerings.

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I think all the follow your heart cheeses are good if they are melted first...never heard of the one your speaking of CG. Casein is a big bugger...there's this place in Philly called Gianni's that was a "vegetarian" pizza place that got bought out and started serving meat. Anyway they always had "vegan cheese" so they claimed. They probably confirmed that question with hundreds and hundreds of vegans over the years then they finally admitted they had casein in their cheese...I don't see why someone can't sue the hell out of these places and then donate all the money to farm sanctuary of something...by the way thats a future challenge CG.

 

 

As for fried rice I'd never ever get fried rice from an a non vegan restaraunt(and thanks to CG I'm never gonna get soup either unless I watch them make it). The same goes for spring rolls, unlike places that sell burgers and fried chicken(most of these places all have seperate oil for french fries) asian places deep fry everything together...its just the way they do things...they also save the oil for very long periods of time...I hate to say this but as an asian I can...I just do not trust asian chefs unless its a vegan place. I honestly wouldn't even trust the local vegan chinese place if I didn't have friends that worked there. Before I was vegan...or vegetarian for that matter there were eggs in almost everything I ate in Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines(anything with rice or noodles atleast). Hence my next trip to Philippines will be a fruitarian journey other than the one vegan restaurant and when I cook for my family to introduce them to vegan food. I just imagine people hand picking eggs out if I order eggless fried rice...kinda the way my first vegetarian eating out experience went at school in Philly...we had a small italian place and I asked for spaghetti without meatballs(I knew they added them later and it wasn't cooked in for lents sake since its a catholic college) and of course it had meatballs on it...I then said I don't eat meat and I asked for another...well of course the waiter comes back and I can see the F$ing meatball indentations in the sauce...so word to the wise...asian cooks are about as honest as non-dairy creamer(if you don't know...every non-dairy cream powder has dairy unless its a vegan company)

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And, wtf is a fish base soup doing in a vegetarian combo?

 

Just one more reason I hate when 'pseudo-veggies' who eat chicken or fish proclaim themselves to be vegetarian.

 

You think that's bad? At a local restaurant (there aren't that many here, and I usually DON"T eat at them), there was a 'vegetarian' section with salads, and one was some kind of Italian pasta salad. I asked what was in it, and one of the ingredients was....pepperoni!!! PEPPERONI! Not even pseudo-veg*ns claim THAT's vegetarian.

 

Years ago, I remember going to a Chinese restaurant that I had eaten at once in a while, and ordering something I had eaten before, but this time, there was pork in it (NOT in the list of ingredients), but it was about the same texture as the seitan that is in it, so I didn't notice until I'd gotten a bite of it (which I spit out ASAP).

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I've always wondered WTF! the casein was in there for... Which company responded that way CG?

 

I think the casein is added for meltability. Evidently, most manufacturers of soy cheeses don't feel they can get the right texture without casein (or maybe it's just cheaper than alternatives?).

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This is another peice of evidence of pure human stupididity...to most of the world fish still have no nervous system and can't feel anything(can't figure out how they move but it must be something else controlling that). As for vegetarian things in general I just rarely trust non veggie places because in all reality a vegetarian doesn't eat dairy, honey or eggs. When was the last time milk, honey or eggs grew on a tree...vegetarian means vegetables/vegetation of the earth and you are neither if you purposefully eat those things, and until the general populace understands this(most "vegetariains" don't yet) we will have these foods with things snuck into them all the time since dairy, eggs, and honey are "vegetable enough" for vegetarians. Surely becoming a "vegetarian" made me think more compassionately but I really wasn't one...I was a carnivore that ate more vegetables than I used to...I said this on another thread but I think its a good anologie...egg eating snakes only eat eggs, that is all...are they vegetarians...surely they get vegetation in their diet when it is stuck to eggs so you could call them vegetarian with modern societies definition...I don't think I would call any snake a vegetarian. Anyway modern vegetarians aren't vegetarian(yet)...vegans that don't eat honey(don't even know why I have to say that) are really the only vegetarians. We will not be catered to for a very long time by the general public especially since people in general respect religion more than animals and don't really care about religious diet dogmas and lie to customers about that.

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I once bought a can of (wheat gluten) mock duck, I noticed when I got home that it also contained quail eggs! That makes no sense...gluten duck, but real quail?!

Asain restaurants are notorious for using fish sauce...Mexican restaurants almost always have lard...manteca...if not in their beans, then in their tortillas. Occasionally they won't...

Here's a tip...I've done the "it will kill me if I eat animal products" bit and it has failed for me too...instead act like you really want it to have fish sauce or lard, they might say yes regardless, but then you know they either don't know squat or they will lie to get you to buy their food...either way you know the place isn't for you...I'm really surprised how well that works...alot of times they'll come back and say "sorry, no fish sauce/lard" then you smile and say "perfect!"

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I think fish and chicken is in everything in the Philippines(probably even ice cream since they actually make a cheddar cheese ice cream I kid you not)...every broth is made with fish, or chicken bones so I just give up...unless they let me do the cooking myself I just won't bother I remember my grandmother making tofu soup when I was little and it always had some type of bone in it when she cooked...lard isn't really a problem there but I think it is in China.

 

**Thanks CG I think its the same stuff I was talking about then...its just sold with a different label here:)

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I think all the follow your heart cheeses are good if they are melted first...never heard of the one your speaking of CG. Casein is a big bugger...there's this place in Philly called Gianni's that was a "vegetarian" pizza place that got bought out and started serving meat. Anyway they always had "vegan cheese" so they claimed. They probably confirmed that question with hundreds and hundreds of vegans over the years then they finally admitted they had casein in their cheese...I don't see why someone can't sue the hell out of these places and then donate all the money to farm sanctuary of something...by the way thats a future challenge CG.

 

Oh, you don't want to even get me started on Gianna's... those people are so horrible. They lied for years and were total jerks about the cover-up and now PETA is promoting them as one of the best veggie places in the country... yeah, NO. If you're in Philly and you want a vegan cheesesteak... try Govinda's... tasty tasty.

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It makes you want to just eat at home...

 

 

We rarely go out to eat. Remember Fight Club?

 

I try to eat as vegan as possible when I go out, but frequently settle for the most vegetarian item on the menu. Call me a vegan slackard, but I'd rather end up eating a bit of whey or milk product in a vegetarian dish than pissing off my waitstaff to the point where they add some kind of totally icky non-vegan "ingredient" to my dinner. Sounds paranoid, I know, but many, many years ago I dated a cook & the stories he told about what they did to the food of people that pissed them off, well . . .

 

I also assume the great sounding veggie soup is animal based. Funny how so many people do not see broth as a meat item.

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Sorry but milk and eggs are just as non-vegan as meat is...and in all reality more suffering is probably caused by it.

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I knew someone from the vegan police would comment.

 

Nat, once the girl said there was no meat in the dish I would not have challenged her. If I had any doubt that she had checked or was being truthful I would have ordered something else. The responsibility of eating totally vegan is ours, not the waitstaffs, not even if we ask them with a 'pretty please.' Eating out is one of the trickest events for vegans. Your best defense for eating out is familiarity with the place you are eating at & the people who work there. If you have time, a call ahead works wonders, too.

 

Fortunately, I hardly ever eat out & I am a great cook.

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Yes, calling ahead is a great idea. You can usually get a good vibe as to whether or not you want to eat there/trust them by how they speak to you on the phone. If they are pleasant and helpful on the phone, they are probably safe. If they act put out by having to check ingredients or act like your concern is stupid and pointless, then I wouldn't bother stopping in that restaurant.

 

Also, alot of the big chain restaurants all get their food from the same suppliers and you can check online or send an email asking about ingredients ahead of time and they are obligated to tell you the truth. That's how I found out that Little Ceaser's pizza crust is vegan and if I call in advance, I can get crazy bread prepared vegan too.

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:roll: I knew someone from the vegan police would comment.

 

Nat, once the girl said there was no meat in the dish I would not have challenged her. If I had any doubt that she had checked or was being truthful I would have ordered something else. The responsibility of eating totally vegan is ours, not the waitstaffs, not even if we ask them with a 'pretty please.' Eating out is one of the trickest events for vegans. Your best defense for eating out is familiarity with the place you are eating at & the people who work there. If you have time, a call ahead works wonders, too.

 

Its our responsabilty and theirs...what if you were deathly alergic to honey and the waitstaff said their wasn't any...well tough luck right! No...they need to learn how to cater to people of all diets. Its their job to do that. As a vegan you've gotta assume alot of people are gonna be lying to you because most of the time they are(or they lie and never ask).

If it was a rare instance that may be different but its not so it is their responsability. Its pretty crazy to think otherwise when people can die from the waitstaff being lazy and stupid.

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