Luohan Delight — the Vegetarian Feast of the Saints
A large braised dish combining mushrooms, lotus root, bamboo shoots, wood-ear, and fu (wheat gluten), bound in a deep, glossy fermented soy sauce. Rich, savory, festive without any meat.
A large braised dish combining mushrooms, lotus root, bamboo shoots, wood-ear, and fu (wheat gluten), bound in a deep, glossy fermented soy sauce. Rich, savory, festive without any meat.
Today the temple is in celebration, and you will see that a table without blood can be richer than a prince's banquet. Gather the treasures that the earth offers without taking a life: the lacy lotus root, the tender bamboo shoots, the black mushrooms like clouds, the gluten that drinks the sauce. Bind it all with fermented soybean juice, dark and deep. See how it shines! Those who claim compassion deprives the mouth have never tasted my table.
- •Fresh lotus root — one section (crunchy, symbol)
- •Bamboo shoots — a handful (texture)
- •Fragrant mushrooms and wood-ear — generously (umami, contrast)
- •Wheat gluten (miànjīn / fu) — a few pieces (vegetable "meat")
- •Fermented soybean paste and black soybeans (douchi) — to taste (sauce, salty-umami base)
- •Ginger, sesame oil — a little (aroma, binding)
Luohan Delight — the Vegetarian Feast of the Saints
A large braised dish combining mushrooms, lotus root, bamboo shoots, wood-ear, and fu (wheat gluten), bound in a deep, glossy fermented soy sauce. Rich, savory, festive without any meat.
Why this dish? On major Buddhist festivals — Guan Yin's birthday on the nineteenth day of the second moon — temples prepare a sumptuous vegetarian banquet. Luóhàn zhāi ("arhat food") gathers the treasures of the earth without a shred of meat: it is the table of abundance offered to the goddess of compassion, proving that one can feast without killing.
Today the temple is in celebration, and you will see that a table without blood can be richer than a prince's banquet. Gather the treasures that the earth offers without taking a life: the lacy lotus root, the tender bamboo shoots, the black mushrooms like clouds, the gluten that drinks the sauce. Bind it all with fermented soybean juice, dark and deep. See how it shines! Those who claim compassion deprives the mouth have never tasted my table.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh lotus root — one section (crunchy, symbol)
- Bamboo shoots — a handful (texture)
- Fragrant mushrooms and wood-ear — generously (umami, contrast)
- Wheat gluten (miànjīn / fu) — a few pieces (vegetable "meat")
- Fermented soybean paste and black soybeans (douchi) — to taste (sauce, salty-umami base)
- Ginger, sesame oil — a little (aroma, binding)
Ingredients
- Lotus root — 200 g (crunchy)
- Bamboo shoots (canned) — 150 g (texture)
- Dried shiitake mushrooms — 6 pieces (umami)
- Dried wood-ear (cloud ear fungus) — a handful (crunchy)
- Plain wheat gluten / seitan — 200 g (plant protein)
- Soy sauce + soybean paste (mild doubanjiang WITHOUT chili, or tianmianjiang) — 2 tbsp (sauce)
- Ginger, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch — as needed (aroma and thickening)
Method
- Rehydrate shiitake and wood-ear; reserve the strained mushroom water.
- Peel and slice lotus root into thin openwork rounds; cut bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and gluten into pieces.
- Sauté ginger in sesame oil, add mushrooms then the rest of the vegetables; sear for a few minutes.
- Add mushroom water, soy sauce and soybean paste, a pinch of sugar; simmer covered for 20 minutes.
- Thicken with a little dissolved cornstarch for a glossy sauce; serve in a large communal dish at the center of the table.
How it was made : Luohan zhai (Buddha's Delight) descends from the vegetarian banquets of Song dynasty temples, where the art of mock meat (gluten and mushrooms worked to imitate flesh and fish) was already refined. The five pungent plants and all meat were carefully avoided; depth came from soybean ferments, a millennia-old Chinese heritage.
The contemporary twist : Arrange in a crown around a heart of lotus root, whose holes evoke the many arms of Guan Yin reaching out to the world.
Guan Yin · Charactorium
