Basic Buddhist Vegetable Dish Food

BUDDHA'S DELIGHT (VEGETARIAN LO HAN JAI)

Steps:

• Heat your wok over medium-high heat, and add the oil and ginger. Let the ginger caramelize for about 30 seconds without letting it burn. Add the red fermented bean curd and break it up with your spatula. Add the garlic, the white portions of the leeks (reserve to green portion for later), mushrooms, wood ears, and lily flowers. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add the Shaoxing wine and stir fry for another minute.
• Next, add the napa cabbage, fried tofu, and bean threads, and crank up the heat as high as it will go. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the remaining green portion of the leeks, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar and water or vegetable stock. Stir everything together, cover the wok, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Uncover the wok and turn the heat back up to high. Add the mung bean noodles, which should soak up most of the liquid. Keep stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated. Transfer to a large bowl and serve with steamed rice!

BUDDHA'S DELIGHT

Steps:

• Soak mushrooms in 5 cups boiling-hot water in a bowl, keeping them submerged with a small plate and turning mushrooms over occasionally, until softened and cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes. Squeeze excess liquid from caps back into bowl and reserve liquid, then cut out and discard stems from mushrooms. Cut caps into 1-inch wedges.
• While mushrooms soak, carefully break bean curd skins in half crosswise, then halve each portion crosswise again. Transfer to a bowl, then add enough boiling-hot water to cover and soak, turning occasionally, until softened, about 30 minutes.
• If using fresh bamboo, trim bottoms of shoots, then halve shoots lengthwise with a sharp heavy knife. Pull off and discard leaves from shoots, then remove any blemishes with a sharp paring knife (don't worry about natural dotted pattern along base of shoots).
• Cover fresh or frozen bamboo with cold water by 1 inch in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, then drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. Repeat boiling and rinsing, then arrange bamboo halves, cut sides down, on a cutting board and cut bamboo lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Soak noodles in cold water to cover until softened, about 5 minutes, then drain in colander and transfer to a bowl.
• Drain bean curd skins in colander. When cool enough to handle, squeeze dry and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces.
• Halve tofu lengthwise, then cut each half crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
• Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart wide heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add mushrooms, bean curd skins, bamboo, and ginkgo nuts and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar and simmer 1 minute. Add reserved mushroom-soaking liquid and bring to a boil. Gently stir in tofu and soybean sprouts, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Gently stir in noodles and simmer, covered, 5 minutes. Add romaine hearts (pot will be full) and turn to coat, then simmer, covered, until romaine is tender, about 5 minutes.

BASIC BUDDHIST VEGETABLE DISH

Steps:

• 1. Select 9 to 12 of the ingredients listed below, choosing some from each category: dried, fresh and miscellaneous. (Although less typical, as few as 4 or 5 ingredients may be used.) Prepare each ingredient, as indicated below. 2. Combine water, soy sauce, sherry and salt. 3. Heat oil. Add selected ingredients, and stir-fry 3 to 5 minutes. (This will take a large pan. If one is not available, cook 3 or 4 ingredients at a time, then assemble them in step 5 and reheat before adding cornstarch paste.) 4. Add water-soy mixture and heat quickly then simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes). 5. Blend cornstarch and sugar to a paste with remaining cold water, soy sauce and salt then stir in to thicken. Sprinkle vegetable mixture with sesame oil stir in and serve. NOTE: This vegetarian dish is known as the Feast of Arahats or Food for the Saints the Chinese name is Lo (or Loo) Hon Ji, or Lohan Tsai. It will keep about a week and can be reheated several times without loss of flavor. VARIATION: * In step 4, stir 2 tablespoons Chinese red cheese, mashed, into the water-soy mixture then heat quickly. DRIED INGREDIENTS FOR BUDDHIST VEGETABLE DISH:1/8 pound rice or peastarch noodles (soaked), cut in 3-inch lengths 1/2 cup lily buds (soaked) 1/2 cup dried black mushrooms (soaked), cut in half 2 tablespoons cloud ear mushrooms (soaked) 1/2 cup hair seaweed (soaked) 1/2 cup dried bamboo shoots (soaked), cut in 2-inch lengths 1/4 cup dried chestnuts (Parboiled) 3 sticks dried bean curd, broken in 2-inch lengths and soaked or 1 or 2 sheets dried bean curd (soaked), cut in squares or rectangles 2 pieces dried lotus root (soaked) FRESH INGREDIENTS FOR BUDDHIST VEGETABLE DISH:1/2 cup celery, shredded 1/2 cup green pepper, shredded 1/2 cup mushrooms, shredded 1/2 cup mustard cabbage, shredded 1/2 cup onion, shredded 1/2 cup bean sprouts, blanched 1/2 cup cauliflower, broken in small flowerets 1/2 cup Chinese cabbage, cut in 2-inch sections 1/2 cup snow peas, stemmed 1 cup winter melon, diced 1 cup zucchini, cut in 2-inch slices MISCELLANEOUS INGREDIENTS FOR BUDDHIST VEGETABLE DISH:1 cup canned bamboo shoots, shredded 1/2 cup ginkgo nuts or lotus seeds, shelled and blanched 1/2 cup raw peanuts 5 cakes bean curd, deep-fried 1/2 cup vegetable steak The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

BUDDHIST VEGETABLE NOODLES

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil in a preheated wok and stir-fry onion until translucent. Toss in garlic, ginger, and mushrooms and stir-fry for another minute. Add oyster sauce and 2 tablespoons soy sauce and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove wok contents to a bowl and set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in the hot wok and stir-fry cabbage, bell peppers, bamboo shoots, and carrot for 3 minutes. Toss in bean sprouts, sugar, ¼ cup reserved mushroom water, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add onion and mushroom mixture, rice wine, and sesame oil and stir to combine well.
• Cook noodles in plenty of water at a rolling boil for about a minute. Drain thoroughly, rinse under cold running water, and drain again. Toss noodles with remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce and remaining 1 teaspoon peanut oil.
• To serve, place noodles on a large warmed serving platter, spoon vegetable mixture on top, and mix lightly. Garnish with green onions sprinkled over the top.

LO HAN JAI - BUDDHIST VEGETARIAN STEW

Steps:

• Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes; squeeze out the excess water; then remove stems and leave the mushrooms whole. Reserve the soaking water.
• Soak the cloud ears in warm water until soft (about 10 minutes), then cut into smaller pieces.
• Boil the bean thread in water to cover for 5 minutes, then drain.
• To prep the snow peas, remove the strings, then cut into thin slivers.
• Mix the water and cornstarch to form a slurry for thickening. The cornstarch will continue to settle out, so you'll need to stir this again just before you use it.
• Heat wok until smoky. Add vegetable oil. Stir-fry mushrooms, cloud ears, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, carrot, cabbage and cook for 3-4 minutes over high heat.
• Add bean thread and broth. Cover and cook for 5 minutes over low heat.
• Add tofu, bean sprouts, snow peas and soy sauce. Cover and simmer for two minutes.
• Stir the water and cornstarch mixture, then add to the pan to form a light gravy, adjusting if necessary.
• Drizzle with sesame oil.
• Note: Traditional Lo Han Jai ingredients include: ginkgo nuts, lotus root, dried oysters, lily stems, seaweed hair, fried tofu, and dried bean curd sticks. If you live near an oriental market, you may be able to get these; if not, this simplified recipe will give you a sense of the dish.