Buddha's Delight smothered over Crispy Noodles (罗汉斋伊面)

A saucy vegetarian classic from Cantonese cuisine with an interesting history, one of the "Buddhist-turned-secular" dishes.

For the quick stock:

• Dried Shiitakes (冬菇), 15g

• Dried Kelp (海带), ~8g

• Water, 1L; plus the shiitake soaking liquid

Process:

In two seperate bowls, soak 15g shiitake mushrooms and 8g kelp in cool water in the fridge overnight.

Thoroughly rinse the kelp, and give the mushrooms a quick rinse to get rid of sand/dust as well. Add the mushrooms, kelp, the mushroom soaking liquid, and 1L water to a pot.

Get up to a boil then down to a simmer, quickly skim, and cook at a heavy simmer - covered - for 30 minutes. Then strain, reserve.

Buddha's Delight:

• Snow fungus (雪耳), 5g

• Wood ear (木耳), 5g

• Dried shiitake mushroom (冬菇/香菇), 20g

• Button mushrooms (白蘑菇), 60g

• Carrot, 60g

• Baby corn (玉米笋), 60g

• Baby bok choy (上海青/小棠菜), 60g

• To start cooking:

  Ginger, ~1 inch, minced

  Liaojiu, a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1 tbsp

  Quick stock from above, ~2 cups

  Oyster sauce (蚝油) or vegetarian oyster sauce (素食蚝油), 2 tbsp

  Sugar, 1/2 tsp

• Seasoning

  Salt, 1/4 tsp;

  MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp;

  White pepper powder (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp

• Slurry of 1 tbsp cornstarch (生粉) - or preferably potato or tapioca starch - mixed with 2 tbsp of the shiitake soaking liquid

• Toasted sesame oil (麻油), 1 tsp

Process:

Soak the 5g snow fungus, 5g wood ear, and 20g shiitake in the fridge overnight. (Do it at the same time with the kelp and mushroom for the stock).

Squeeze and rinse the shiitake, reserving the soaking liquid, and cut into 1/2 cm sheets. Slice off the hard 'root' of the snow fungus, and cut into ~8 pieces. Slice off the hard 'root' of the wood ear, and cut each ear into 2-3 pieces.

Slice 60g button mushrooms into 1/2 cm sheets. Slice 60g carrot into 3mm sheets. Slice 60g baby corn into ~1cm sections along a biased wedge. Chop 60g bok choy into ~1.5 inch sections.

Blanch the ingredients: 30 seconds for bok choy, 1 minute for the carrot and corn, 1 minute for button mushrooms, 2 minutes for snow fungus and wood ear.

Add about 2 tbsp of peanut oil to a wok, and fry 1 inch worth of minced ginger over a medium low flame. Once fragrant, ~30 seconds, add in the shiitake mushrooms and the button mushrooms. Up the flame to high. Stir fry for ~1 minute, the swirl in the wine.

Add in the snow fungus and the wood ear, and ~30 second fry. Add in 2 cups stock, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, and 1/2 tsp sugar. Get up to a boil and down to a simmer, and let that simmer - covered - for 15 minutes.

Add in the carrot and the corn. Simmer for ~5 minutes, covered.

Add in the bok choy and the season with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp MSG and 1/8 tsp white pepper powder.

Over a medium low flame, add in the slurry of 1 tbsp starch + 2 tbsp mushroom soaking liquid bit by bit, until it's reached a thickness that's just before a spoon coating consistency. Drizzle in 1 tsp sesame oil, out.

Crispy noodles:

• Thin dried noodles, 60g

• Oil for frying, ~1.5 cups (for a round bottomed wok, you will likely need a good bit more if using a pot)

Process:

Boil 60g dry noodles according to the package until they're done. To cool them down, transfer to a strainer and pull/jostle the noodles until they're no longer hot to the touch. Arrange the noodles in a 'cake' on a plate.

Heat up your oil until it hits ~180C. Slide in the noodles, try to maintain the “cake“ shape. Fry each side for ~2 minutes, or until good and golden brown.

Strain, optionally rest over a piece of paper towel for a minute. Place on plate, pour the buddha’s delight over to serve.

And why did we use oyster sauce in this Buddhist vegetarian dish? Here’s our discussion: