{"id":15959,"date":"2020-08-18T10:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T14:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=15959"},"modified":"2020-08-18T10:24:38","modified_gmt":"2020-08-18T14:24:38","slug":"ordering-vegan-dishes-in-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2020\/08\/18\/ordering-vegan-dishes-in-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Ordering Vegan Dishes in Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Tabbouleh: a salad<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Tamir\nStahler<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though overseas travel generally has been put on hold\nin recent times, our aspirations to one day get back to seeing the world after\nCovid-19 have not. If your future travel plans include Israel, you must be sure\nto fully indulge in the food. Mediterranean cuisine is not only among the healthiest,\nbut also most delicious in the world. If you are a vegan, then you are in luck.\nThere is a plethora of Israeli and Palestinian local dishes which are friendly\nto a vegan diet. Below I\u2019ll be discussing exactly what you should look forward\nto ordering and some tips on how to make that order happen in a bustling\nenvironment where American standards of patience in the service industry are\nnon-existent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s cover some\nbasics which likely you know already.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hummus \u2013\na dip made from chickpeas,\nolive oil, garlic, sesame oil<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Falafel\n\u2013 a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Babaganoush\n\u2013 a dip made from mashed cooked eggplant, olive oil, sesame oil, spices<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foods for more seasoned surveyors of\nMiddle Eastern Cuisine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shakshouka\n\u2013 a dish of eggs* poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion,\nand garlic, and commonly spiced with cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg\n(*while this dish traditionally includes poached eggs on top of the dish, have\nno worries as you can order it without eggs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tabbouleh \u2013 a\nsalad made from bulgur,\nchopped onions, mint, garlic, parsley, lemon juice<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fatoush\n\u2013 salad made from toasted or fried pieces of khubz (like\npita chips) combined with mixed greens and other vegetables, such as radishes\nand tomatoes <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuul \u2013 a\nstew of cooked fava beans served with vegetable oil, cumin, and optionally with\nchopped parsley, garlic, onion, lemon juice, chili pepper, and other vegetable,\nherb, and spice ingredients<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Za\u2019atar\n\u2013 a spice mixture that includes the herb Za\u2019atar itself along with toasted\nsesame seeds, dried sumac, often salt, as well as other spices<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more advanced food options<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sabich \u2013 an Iraqi Jewish dish of pita or laffa stuffed with fried eggplant, hard boiled eggs*, salad, parsley, amba (Tangy Iraqi Jewish sauce), and tahini sauce (*this can be ordered without egg as well)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aaleye\n\u2013 a Palestinian dish in a sauce form consisting of cooked tomatoes, onions, hot\npeppers, and spices<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kibbeh\n\u2013 stuffed balls of bread; the vegetarian kind being stuffed with vegetables and\nnuts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mulkhiya\n\u2013 a soup made from the Mulkhiya plant also called Jew\u2019s Mallow (*be sure to\ninquire if chicken stock is in their recipe)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malawach\n\u2013 A Yemenite Jewish dish of fluffy filo dough with various spices and toppings\nadded and wrapped<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of these foods you will be able to order on the street. Many establishments where you see shawarma will also be a place to find falafel. Sabich and malawach are less common but also sold on the street. In some instances, malawach may be referred to as jahnun (it can be confusing).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For kibbeh, mulkhiya, shakshuka, fuul, tabbouleh, and fatoush you will likely have to find a traditional restaurant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the food industry in Israel is dominated by kosher\ncustomers, almost every restaurant is certified kosher in order to stay in\nbusiness. What does this mean for you? There is a law in Judaism that no dish\ncan mix dairy and meat products. This serves as a very easy to remember\nguideline for vegetarians as you can be confident that if you see dairy on the\nmenu, there will never be meat at that restaurant; however, there can be fish. Vice\nversa, there won\u2019t be dairy in sauces at a kosher meat restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When ordering, especially from a street vendor, remember\nthat lines do not really exist in Israel. While there may be something\nresembling a line forming, the reality is that in no way does that line\nfunction properly. It is common for friends of the vendor or strangers to hang\nout in front of street shops and often they appear to be customers because they\nare eating the food. Simply ignore them and say excuse me while you step in\nfront of the vendor and assert that you want to order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, you can also hang out and eat food there too!\nIt is not seen as rude or unclean to take samples of the toppings being offered\nby vendors and you should always accept the offer to try a free ball of\nfalafel. They love to show off their culinary skills and it is rude to refuse.\nMost foods will be made very quickly, but in the event that your food is being\nprepared and you notice yourself drowning in the sea of people filing into the\nstore, be sure not to move. If you are standing in front of the register or\ndirectly blocking someone from ordering, move over a bit. Under no circumstances\nshould you do the American standard of walking back to the front of the\nrestaurant and finding a table to wait at. You will never get your food. Stand\nexactly where you are and let the natural process of overcrowding encourage the\ncooks to move fast and the server to find you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These small tips will give some legs to any traveler new to the\nfood scene in Israel. The delicious vegan-friendly cuisine in Israel is\nsomething to chase down and enjoy. Don\u2019t forget to have a strong glass of\ncoffee with your meal and grab a seat while you eat. Take in the atmosphere and\nenjoy the country!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamir is fluent in Arabic,\nHebrew, and Spanish. He has traveled to Israel on numerous occasions.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tamir Stahler Even though overseas travel generally has been put on hold in recent times, our aspirations to one day get back to seeing the world after Covid-19 have not. If your future travel plans include Israel, you must be sure to fully indulge in the food. Mediterranean cuisine is not only among the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15959"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16033,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15959\/revisions\/16033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}