Buddha's Delight (Vegetarian Lo Han Jai)
Buddha's delight, or lo han jai, is a vegetarian dish well-known in Chinese and Buddhist cuisine. Use our family recipe for an authentic take on this dish.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 slices fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons red fermented bean curd (hong fu ru)
- 3 cloves garlic (sliced)
- 1 medium leek (cut into 2 inch pieces)
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked in warm water and sliced)
- ¼ cup dried wood ears (soaked in warm water; yields about 1 cup)
- ¼ cup dried lily flowers (soaked in warm water with the tips cut off)
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 3 cups Napa cabbage (cut into 2-inch pieces)
- 1 cup fried tofu puffs
- 2 sticks dried bean threads (soaked in warm water and cut into 2-inch pieces)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup water or vegetable stock
- 1 small bundle mung bean noodles (soaked in warm water, drained and cut into shorter pieces with kitchen shears)
Instructions
- 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!