Buddhas Delight Jai Chinese Vegetarian Stew Recipes

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 (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.

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.