What Is Cơm Chay? An Introduction to Vietnamese Vegetarian Food

In Vietnamese, cơm means rice or a meal and chay means vegetarian. Together, cơm chay is a meal made without meat or fish.

Sign of a vegetarian restaurant in Huế reading "Nhà hàng cơm chay" — The sign of the Bồ Đề vegetarian restaurant in Huế, which advertises "cơm chay". Photo: David McKelvey from Brisbane, Australia / CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

What is on the plate?

Rice with tofu, vegetables, mushrooms and beans. Many small eateries let you pick dishes from a counter.

Cover image: A vegetarian version of the Vietnamese noodle soup bún riêu, photographed at a Vietnamese vegetarian restaurant in Vientiane, Laos. Photo: Mx. Granger / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons

The Buddhist connection

Some people eat vegetarian as a Buddhist practice, for example on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month, so eateries can be busier then.

Golden relief of the bodhisattva Manjushri riding a lion — A relief of the bodhisattva Văn Thù Sư Lợi (Manjushri) at Chùa Phước Thạnh in Tân Phú, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Phương Huy / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons