Buddhas Delightful Vegetables Recipes

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 (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 DELIGHTFUL VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Combine sauce ingredients in medium bowl and blend well. Set aside.
• Heat wok or very large skillet. Add 2 tablespoons sesame oil and heat until very hot. Add chili peppers and stir-fry until darkened. Add green onions and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Add carrots; stir-fry 4 minutes. Add broccoli and bell pepper; stir-fry 1 minute. Add cabbage and stir-fry 1 minute. Add baby corn and water chestnuts; stir-fry 30 seconds.
• Stir sauce; add to vegetables and mix well. Cover wok or very large skillet and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove chili peppers. Serve over rice, if desired.

BUDDHA'S FEAST (VEGETABLE STIR-FRY)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together stock, soy sauce, cornstarch, mirin, and chile paste. Place 1/2 cup mixture in a small bowl. Add tofu, and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Reserve remaining sauce. Fill a large bowl with ice water, and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. If using baby bok choy, cut into quarters lengthwise; for regular bok choy cut into 1-inch dice. Cook for 2 minutes in boiling water. With a slotted spoon, transfer to ice water to cool. Remove from ice water, and set aside. In same pot, cook broccoli florets for 1 minute. Transfer to ice water to cool. Remove to bowl with bok choy. Set aside.
• Drain tofu, reserving sauce. Spray a wok or large skillet with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Add carrots and mushrooms. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tofu, bok choy, broccoli, water chestnuts, baby corn, and garlic. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add reserved sauce, and cook, stirring until it thickens. Serve immediately.