Buddha's Delight
Traditional Chinese Buddhist vegetarian stir-fry with wood ear mushrooms, lily buds, bean curd, bean thread noodles, and fresh vegetables in dark soy and sesame oil. A Lunar New Year classic.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
30 minREADY
40 minThis is the dish that graces Chinese New Year tables and Buddhist temple kitchens alike, a celebration of vegetables in their most glorious form.
Dried lily buds, wood ear fungus, black mushrooms, and bean curd sticks rehydrate into silky, chewy textures that mingle with crisp fresh vegetables. Everything hits a screaming-hot wok with a sauce built on fermented bean curd, dark soy, sherry, and sesame oil.
The ingredient list looks long, but don’t let that scare you. The prep is mostly just soaking and slicing. Once the wok heats up, everything comes together fast.
Chef Tips
- Soak the bean curd sticks overnight. They need the extra time. The other dried ingredients only need about an hour.
- Cut everything into similar-sized pencil pieces so they cook at the same rate and look uniform in the finished dish.
- Deep-fry the pressed bean curd until just lightly tan, not crispy. It should still bend. This gives it a meaty chew without making it brittle.
- Keep the wok on high heat once you start stir-frying the fresh vegetables. You want seared edges, not steamed mush.
Variations
- Skip the MSG entirely. The fermented bean curd and dark soy already deliver plenty of umami.
- Add water chestnuts or snow peas for extra crunch.
- Serve over steamed jasmine rice for a complete vegetarian meal.
Ingredients
Directions
Preparation: Rinse, then soak dried ingredients in warm water: soak bean curd sticks overnight; soak rest about 1 hour.
Cut bean curd sticks and lily buds into 2” sections.
Remove hard stems from wood ears, and slice thinly.
Remove stems from black mushrooms (reserve for stock pot); halve the caps.
Cut thin strands of bamboo shoots into 2” lengths. Cut soaked bean thread noodles into 3” pieces. Wash and blanch bean sprouts, celery and pepper. Slice celery, pepper, carrots, turnip and cabbage into 2” long pencil-size pieces. Halve baby corn on the bias. Slice pressed bean curd same size as vegetables. Deep-fry in shallow oil until slightly tan but still pliable. Drain. Mash fermented bean curd, then blend with sugar, dark soy, sherry and water. Stir-frying: Heat wok until medium-hot. Add 4 tablespoons of deep-frying oil. Add all dry ingredients, except noodles; stir-fry 1 minute. Turn wok to high. Add fresh and canned ingredients, and stir-fry for 2 more minutes: sprinkle in salt after first minute. Add liquid mixture, mixing with juices in pan. Add noodles. Reduce heat to medium, cover wok, and steam for 5 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked but still firm. Uncover, sprinkle in MSG and sesame oil. Toss briefly. Serve in a warm bowl.
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