P.F. Chang’s Vegetarian-Labeled Dishes: Oyster Sauce is All-Vegetable; No Honey, Egg or Dairy Present
By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director
A staff member at the VRG spotted a July 2012 post at http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com written by a vegan who asserted that at P.F. Chang’s, “…all the dishes are cooked in oyster sauce [and so are not vegetarian or vegan.]” Since this information was contradictory to what we reported in 2008 about the P.F. Chang’s vegetarian-labeled menu items, (http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2008issue4/2008_issue4_whos_veggie_friendly.php), we contacted the chain to see if there had been an ingredient change.
The Marketing Coordinator at P.F. Chang’s told us in August 2012 that he would contact Chang’s Culinary Department to determine if the oyster sauce was animal-based. The Culinary Department relayed to him that: “…all of our vegetarian-marked items on our menu do not contain any seafood or animal products. Our ‘Vegetarian Oyster Sauce’ is actually made with mushrooms and no actual oyster or shellfish.”
The VRG also asked the Marketing Coordinator at P.F. Chang’s if any of the menu items noted as “vegetarian” contained honey, egg, or dairy ingredients. He assured us: “No, they do not, and as long as cane sugar is not an issue all of the items marked ‘vegetarian’ on our menu can also be considered ‘vegan.’”
More information about the vegetarian menu options at P.F. Chang’s may be found on their website: http://www.pfchangs.com/menu/
Another VRG article about P.F. Chang’s vegetarian dishes may be found here: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2011issue1/2011_issue1_pf_changs.php
For information on food ingredients, fast food, and for other information of interest to vegetarians and vegans, please subscribe to our enewsletter at http://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/
The contents of this article, our website, and our other publications, including the Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company employees or company statements.Information does change and mistakes are always possible. Please use your own best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. Further research or confirmation may be warranted.
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When I asked the chef at our local PF Chang’s I was told they do use GHEE in their vegetarian dishes therefore it is not vegan. The only dish that is vegan is the steamed veggies and rice. I even sent an email to PF Chang’s directly and was told the same thing. this was in the last year.
Why would PF Chang’s use ghee? Ghee (clarified butter) is used in Indian food, not Chinese food. That seems very unlikely, and it is not shown on the allergen and nutrition charts (available on their website). The manager of the Columbus OH PF Chang’s repeatedly turns away vegan customers by warning them that nothing on the menu is vegan because they use bone-char-filtered sugar. When my dining companions and I told her that we’re not that strict, she had a derisive attitude. The Columbus manager’s behavior plus Kelly’s experience makes me wonder if some PF Chang’s employees are making an effort to turn away vegan customers.
Oyster sauce is based on non veg but why vegtable in oyster sauce dish veg? Bcoz oyster sauce use with vegtable and oyster sauce is non veg..
This article is correct. They use oyster mushrooms to make their vegetarian sauce. It has nothing to do with seafood oysters. Also, some vegans are super stict with not consuming the sugar they use. So to be on the safe side they usually only recommend the steamed veggies to vegans. Other than they sugar issue the vegetarian dishes can be considered vegan too.