Dietary and Allergy Guide
Alcohol-Free Chinese Food
Alcohol-free Chinese ordering requires attention to Shaoxing wine, rice wine, cooking wine, marinades, braises, soups, and some sauces.
Overview
Alcohol-free Chinese ordering requires attention to Shaoxing wine, rice wine, cooking wine, marinades, braises, soups, and some sauces. This page is a practical restaurant-ordering guide. It helps identify common risk points, lower-risk starting points, and useful questions to ask before ordering.
Better starting points
- Plain rice
- Steamed vegetables
- Simple dishes cooked without wine-based marinades
- Sauce on the side if ingredients can be checked
- Home-cooked substitutions using stock, ginger, and vinegar instead of wine
What to watch for
- Shaoxing wine
- Rice wine
- Cooking wine
- Drunken chicken
- Wine-marinated meats
- Red-braised dishes
- Some dumpling fillings and stir-fry marinades
Questions to ask
- Does this contain Shaoxing wine, rice wine, or cooking wine?
- Is the meat pre-marinated with wine?
- Can this be cooked without alcohol?
- Does the sauce contain wine?
Useful phrase
我不喝酒，也不能吃含酒的食物。请不要放绍兴酒、料酒或米酒。
A phrase can help communication, but it cannot verify ingredients, labels, shared equipment, or kitchen practice by itself.
Ordering strategy
Keep the order simple. Prefer dishes with fewer sauces and fewer mixed ingredients. Mention the restriction before asking for dish recommendations. When the restriction is medically important, ask about preparation, not only ingredients.