With World Vegan Day on the horizon on 1 November, we rounded up a panel of the city’s leading eco influencers to share their top insider tips on where to shop for vegan groceries in Hong Kong, the best ingredients to buy, and the tastiest vegan meals to cook at home – proving it’s never been easier to go green.

Eugenia Chow

Founder of regenerative living blog Eugreenia

What’s your go-to vegan meal to cook at home? 

I’m not sure if this counts as cooking, but my favourite thing to make, any time of the day, is my chocolate peanut butter oatmeal; you can find the recipe here. Whether it’s for breakfast, lunch or anything in-between, it makes for a super delicious and nutritious meal!

Where are your favourite places to shop for vegan groceries in Hong Kong – and what are your favourite ingredients to buy?

Most of my groceries come from my regular nearby supermarket Fusion, but as I’ve been trying to support more Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), I like sourcing fruits and vegetables from Eat Fresh too. I also love iHerb for cheaper vegan staples such as nutritional yeast or agave syrup, and Slowood if I’m looking for packaging-free cacao powder, granola or grains. 

Follow Eugenia on Instagram @eugreenia

David Yeung

Entrepreneur behind social venture Green Monday, plant-based eatery and grocery store Green Common, and developers of OmniPork

What’s your go-to vegan meal to cook at home? 

I would have to ask my family’s helper who helms the Yeung kitchen to do the cooking – and right now, I’m craving hearty homely dishes such as Okinawa Stir-fried Bitter Melon with OmniPork Luncheon and OmniPork Luncheon Kimchi Fried Rice.

Where are your favourite places to shop for vegan groceries in Hong Kong – and what are your favourite ingredients to buy?

One of the ingredients that I love most is fungi – and needless to say, truffle is the most highly prized mushroom of them all. My favourite local grocery shop would be J’s Garden, which offers a great selection of wild mushrooms, from morels to lion’s mane mushrooms. You can easily make some of the most flavourful plant-based dishes from their produce.

Follow David on Instagram @greenmonday.david

Richie Kul

Actor, model and animal rights activist

What’s your go-to vegan meal to cook at home? 

As a proud Thai vegan through and through, my favourite dish to make at home is larb tofu. Here’s my quick and easy recipe, which takes only 30 minutes from start to finish:

Ingredients

¼ cup of white rice

1 pack of firm tofu, cubed

8oz mushrooms, sliced

½ onion, thinly sliced (optional)

½ lemon, juiced

1 tsp ground chilli powder

Mushroom soy sauce or other light, mild soy sauce

Fresh mint leaves

1. Toast the rice over a low heat with a small amount of vegetable oil until brown; grind into a powder with a pestle and set aside.

2. Fry the tofu with vegetable oil over a high heat until brown, for around 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms (and onions if you’re using them) and cook for an additional 5 minutes.  

3. Mix in the rice powder, lemon juice, mint, mushroom soy sauce and chilli powder. Serve over quinoa or rice and enjoy!

Where are your favourite places to shop for vegan groceries in Hong Kong – and what are your favourite ingredients to buy?

I love walking down to Graham Street in Central and buying fresh produce from the local street vendors there – passionfruit, eggplant, bok choy, spinach, basil, guava, mangos and more. It’s so refreshing to see everything free from plastic packaging and so fresh, affordable and locally sourced to boot. 

Follow Richie on Instagram at @richiekul

Laura Williamson

Founder of sustainable lifestyle blog Days Like Laura and e-boutique Plantdays

What’s your go-to vegan meal to cook at home? 

My go-to weeknight meal would have to be my sweet potato and chickpea curry. It uses fewer than ten ingredients; you can toss everything into one pot and throw it in the oven, so it’s quick and easy. It’s also incredibly versatile; simply substitute the chickpeas for any beans you like or add whatever veggies you have in the fridge. It can be made so many different ways, plus it’s incredibly satisfying and comforting – I love serving it on brown rice.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I have the biggest sweet tooth. One of my blog’s first ever recipes, and still the most popular to date, is my no-bake Snickers bars. Made with only wholesome natural ingredients, they’re 100% vegan, dairy-free and refined sugar-free, and are great for whenever candy cravings strike! However, for an everyday healthy snack, I’d whip up a batch of energy balls made from a base of dates, oats and peanut butter, and throw those in the fridge. They’re a great snack to grab and go during busy days – you can find lots of recipes for different energy balls on my blog here.

Where are your favourite places to shop for vegan groceries in Hong Kong – and what are your favourite ingredients to buy?

A couple of my must-haves are vegan chocolate chips, coconut aminos, nutritional yeast, gluten-free rolled oats, gluten-free pasta, and dates. I normally go to my local wet market for most of my fresh fruits and veggies, since it’s easier to shop plastic-free, support local farmers, and find better prices. I always take a tote bag and produce bags with me on the weekend, to stock up for the coming week. 

If I’m wanting to bulk grocery shop, I’ll head to Live Zero in Sai Ying Pun, which has a great selection of vegan groceries. I also like shopping at Nature’s Village in Central, since they have lots of specialty ingredients and vegan snacks – such as my favourite Kite Hill vegan cream cheese, which I always get when I’m in the States. Occasionally I’ll shop at Green Common; I have a weak spot for Larabars and Vegan Rob’s Cheddar Puffs, which are both available there.

Follow Laura on Instagram @dayslikelaura

Christian Mongendre

Founder of plant-based restaurant Treehouse

What’s your go-to vegan meal to cook at home? 

My favourite meal is actually super simple and usually contains hummus, avocado, some type of fermented vegetable, and some rice cakes, sourdough bread or anything that can carry those ingredients to my mouth! 

For homemade hummus, you’ll need some cooked chickpeas, fresh lemon juice, garlic (roasting it in oil beforehand makes this extra tasty), and a good amount of tahini to make it smooth and delicious. 

Toast some cumin seeds in a pan, then grind them with salt and pepper; smoked paprika is always a welcome addition too. Put everything into a food processer and blend together with some cold water and extra virgin olive oil to your desired consistency. Serve the hummus in a bowl and top with freshly-cut parsley, roasted garlic if you have it, and a healthy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil – it truly is the base of so many things I eat!

Where are your favourite places to shop for vegan groceries in Hong Kong – and what are your favourite ingredients to buy?

I love lotus root, Chinese greens, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potatoes and fruits such as red dragon fruit, mangos and papaya. I mostly use fresh ingredients, so I usually buy my produce from small farmers, organic growers or the wet market in Central.

Follow Christian on Instagram at @christian_g_mongendre

Sonalie Figueiras

Founder and editor-in-chief of award-winning eco media platform Green Queen

What’s your go-to vegan meal to cook at home? 

I love OmniPork spring rolls. Simply stir-fry chopped cabbage, long green beans, carrots and defrosted OmniPork in avocado oil and season with soy sauce, garlic and white pepper. Wrap the mixture into spring roll pastry sheets and shallow fry in sunflower oil.

Homemade vegan pesto with pasta is another favourite. I use Samin Nosrat’s recipe (from the Netflix show Salt Fat Acid Heat) and omit the parmesan; sometimes I’ll add nutritional yeast for that cheesy feeling. 

Sticky jackfruit bao are always a winner too; you can find the recipe in our Green Queen Zero Waste Vegan Meal Plan & Recipe eBook.

Where are your favourite places to shop for vegan groceries in Hong Kong – and what are your favourite ingredients to buy?

Items you’ll always find in my freezer include frozen vegan baos, OmniPork and OmniPork Luncheon (my new favourite product for cooking) from Green Common, and Wanchai Ferry frozen vegan dumplings, which are available at all Hong Kong supermarkets.

In my fridge, you’ll find Miyoko’s Oat Milk Salted Butter from Neighbor.Green; artisanal locally-made vegan cheeses by chef Tina Barrat; and organic fruit and veg boxes with zero plastic packaging from a range of local and Australian farmers, supplemented with produce from Sai Ying Pun wet market. I also love Live Zero for locally-made Harmony vegan ice-cream (which comes in glass jars), packaging-free Beyond Meat burgers, and bulk organic pantry staples like giant couscous and red lentils.

Follow Green Queen on Instagram at @greenqueenhk

Peggy Chan

Founder of Grassroots Initiatives consultancy, which helps businesses implement sustainable plant-based operations, and former chef-owner of Grassroots Pantry

What’s your go-to vegan meal to cook at home? 

My quickest go-to has to be a brown rice bowl with tahini miso dressing, tofu, veggies and an assorted of pickles and ferments. Here’s my recipe, which serves four people:

Ingredients

2 cups of organic short-grain brown rice

4-4½ cups of water

2 tbsp tahini paste

1 tbsp miso

30-45ml lemon juice

350-400ml filtered water

Pink salt

Black pepper

Various toppings i.e. firm tofu, seasonal vegetables, pickles

1. Rinse the rice three times, then place in a pot with the cups of water. Close the lid and bring the rice to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 35-45 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing by blending or whisking together the tahini paste, miso, lemon juice, filtered water, salt and pepper; adjust the amount of water depending on your preferred texture.

3. Top your cooked rice with ingredients of your choice such as kimchi, purple beetroot kraut, seared organic firm tofu, seasonal greens and sesame seeds, then add the tahini miso dressing.

Where are your favourite places to shop for vegan groceries in Hong Kong – and what are your favourite ingredients to buy?

Here’s my usual shopping list:

• iHerb and The Store – for Four Sigmatic powders, coffees and superfood ingredients taken with our morning shakes
• Eat The Kiwi home delivery – for bottled krauts and Raglan yogurts
• Garden Hill – for plant-based butter, cheeses and truffle mayo (you can order through their Instagram)
• Farmer’s Pride HK home delivery – for local organic fruit and vegetables (all the leafy greens we eat now are always grown locally)
• Green Common – for kimchi, avocado oil chips and Taiwanese noodles, plus Gardein crab cakes and Alpha nuggets for cheat days
• J’s Garden – for all my mushroom fixes
• Slowood – for their bulk selection of dried grains, fruits, nuts and seeds
• La Cabane – for natural wines, especially the Beaujolais-Villages from Jean-Claude Lapalu (Is wine a grocery? Ah well… )

Follow Peggy on Instagram @chefpeggychan

See also: Coffee for cats: A purrfect collaboration between PETA and Green Monday