Buddhas Delight Jai Recipes

BUDDHA'S DELIGHT (JAI)

Steps:

• Soak Chinese mushrooms in about 1 1/2 cups hot water for at least 3 hours, overnight is best.
• Soak dried bean curd sticks, wood ears, and lily buds in warm water for at least 3 hours.
• Soak bean thread noodles and black moss for 10-15 minutes in warm water, making sure the noodles are completely submerged.
• Remove rehydrated Chinese mushrooms from water, reserving the mushroom liquid for cooking.
• Trim tough stems off mushrooms and cut caps in half or thick slices.
• Drain wood ears and cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Drain bean curd and cut into 1 1/2" lengths (roughly).
• Drain lily buds. Snip off tough tips with scissors or cut off with a knife and tie each lily bud into a knot.
• Cut napa cabbage into 1 1/2" pieces (roughly).
• Cut 2 stalks green onions into 2" lengths.
• Combine Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and reserved mushroom soaking liquid in a bowl or measuring cup.
• Heat a large pan, wok, or pot over medium-high heat.
• Add neutral-flavored oil to the pan.
• Add sliced ginger and green onions and quickly saute for about 30 seconds.
• Add Chinese mushrooms, bean curd, and wood ears. Mix.
• Add tofu puffs and lily buds. Mix.
• Add the sauce to the pan. Mix.
• Add napa cabbage and mix. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 4-5 minutes.
• Uncover and add drained bean thread noodles and black moss. Use two utensils to help mix the noodles thoroughly into the ingredients.
• Continue tossing and mixing until noodles are well coated in sauce and the sauce has mostly been absorbed.

BUDDHA'S DELIGHT (JAI, CHINESE VEGETARIAN STEW)

Steps:

• Prepare the dried lily flowers, shiitake mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms: Place each ingredient in a separate medium-sized bowl and pour boiling water on top to cover by at least 1" (2.5 cm). Press the ingredients down to submerge into the water. Rehydrate for 20 minutes, until they turn soft throughout.
• After the lily flowers turn soft, remove the tough ends if needed (*Footnote 1). If the lily flowers are very long, cut them in half lengthwise. Drain and set aside. Measure out 3/4 cup of the soaking water for later use.
• For the shiitake mushrooms, gently squeeze the water from the mushrooms, then slice into halves. Measure out 1/4 cup of the soaking water and pour into the same bowl with the lily flower rehydrating water.
• For the wood ear, mushrooms, once rehydrated, cut into small bite-sized pieces.
• Place the vermicelli noodles in a medium-sized bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let sit for 3 to 5 minutes (or according to the package instructions), until the noodles turn al-dente. Drain and set aside.
• Combine the sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, stir to mix well and set aside.
• Mix the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet (at least 13 inches) or a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. When oil turns hot but not smoking hot, add ginger and green onion. Stir a few times until fragrant.
• Add the carrot, lily flowers, and dried shiitake mushrooms. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
• Add bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
• Add fried tofu and pour in the sauce. Add the napa cabbage and bok choy. Cover and cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked through. Uncover and stir in between, to mix the vegetables with the sauce.
• Add bean thread noodles and let them soak in the liquid. Stir and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir the cornstarch slurry again to dissolve completely and pour into the pan. Stir until the sauce thickens. Transfer everything to a large platter. Serve hot as a main dish.

BUDDHA'S DELIGHT

Steps:

• 1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms and lily buds in a bowl of warm water for 15 to 20 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water. Discard the stems from the mushrooms and thinly slice the mushroom caps. (For extra mushroom flavor, reserve the soaking liquid and add it to the dish.) Slice the rough black ends off the lily buds and discard, cut the lily buds in half, and pull apart the strands.
• 2. Rinse the bamboo shoots and thinly slice them. Trim and discard the hard ends from the snow peas and cut the snow peas lengthwise. Drain and finely chop the water chestnuts.
• 3. In a large bowl, soak the bean thread noodles in enough warm water to cover for 10 minutes to soften them. Drain, shake off the excess water, and set aside.
• 4. Drain and rinse the tofu, then pat dry with paper towels. Slice the tofu into 1-inch cubes.
• 5. Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, stir together the vegetable broth, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and brown sugar. Set aside.
• 6. Heat a wok, Dutch oven, or deep 14-inch skillet over medium heat until a bead of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add the peanut oil and swirl to coat the bottom. Add the ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, lily buds, bamboo shoots, snow peas, water chestnuts, cabbage, and tofu. Add the sauce and the mushroom soaking liquid (if using) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the lid, add the drained bean thread noodles, re-cover the wok, and simmer for about another 5 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked. (Don't worry if the dish looks a little soupy; the noodles will absorb the remaining broth.) Ladle everything into a deep serving dish and serve hot.