LUOHAN VEGETARIAN/罗汉斋

Recipe by PAULINE D LOH

Ingredients:

20 dried shiitake mushrooms (香菇)

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

100g fresh lotus nuts (莲子) – or use canned or rehydrated dried nuts

100g snow peas (青豆/荷兰豆)

50g dried black moss (发菜)

100g dried lily buds (金针/黄花菜)

2 cubes white fermented bean curd (腐乳)

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (花雕/绍兴)

1 tsp sugar

Method:

1. Soak mushrooms and black moss until they are soft and fully hydrated. Rinse black moss well to get rid of any grit or sand. Trim mushroom stalks, but leave whole. Soak lily buds till soft, and trim off the hard tips.

2. String the snow peas and leave whole.

3. Mash fermented bean curd with sugar and wine. Heat up some oil in a large frying pan and add bean curd mixture, mushrooms, carrots and snow peas. Toss over high heat to coat with sauce.

4. Add lotus nuts, lily buds and enough water to just cover the vegetables. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the black moss and cook for another 10 minutes, adding water if necessary to create a very damp dish.

5. When you see a dark purple and orange oil rising above the mixture, it’s ready. Season to taste. The purple comes from the black moss and the orange comes from the carrot.