Vegetarian Chinese Menu for a Housewarming

Overview

A vegetarian chinese housewarming is a specific brief with specific answers. Vegetarian entertaining means building centrepiece dishes that feel as substantial as a meat main — not assembling a plate of sides and calling it dinner. Combined with a chinese approach, you get a menu that: family-style scales perfectly; dim sum format for cocktail parties.

What to Avoid

• meat
• fish
• seafood

Menu Ideas

The following dishes from chinese cooking work well for this combination:

• har gow — Note: avoid meat and fish in preparation.
• char siu — Naturally compatible with vegetarian requirements.
• mapo tofu — Naturally compatible with vegetarian requirements.

Drinks Pairing

Wine, beer, soft drinks. For vegetarian guests, verify all drinks are compatible — particularly wines (some contain dairy-based fining agents) and cocktails with cream liqueurs.

Quantity Guide

For a housewarming of 15–40 people: plan $14–$40 per head for food, which should comfortably cover a two-course meal or a substantial buffet. For exact piece counts, use the Portion Calculator.

Make-Ahead Notes

Chinese food for a housewarming responds well to advance preparation. I would schedule two cooking sessions: one 2–3 days before the event for any braises, sauces, or baked elements; one the morning of the event for final seasoning, garnishes, and anything that needs a fresh component.