Serves: 8
Total Calories: 79

9 to 12 vegetables, nuts, etc.
1 to 2 cup water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons oils
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
few drops sesame oil

1. Select 9 to 12 of the ingredients listed below, choosing some from each category: dried, fresh and miscellaneous. (Although less typical, as few as 4 or 5 ingredients may be used.) Prepare each ingredient, as indicated below.

2. Combine water, soy sauce, sherry and salt.

3. Heat oil. Add selected ingredients, and stir-fry 3 to 5 minutes. (This will take a large pan. If one is not available, cook 3 or 4 ingredients at a time, then assemble them in step 5 and reheat before adding cornstarch paste.)

4. Add water-soy mixture and heat quickly then simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes).

5. Blend cornstarch and sugar to a paste with remaining cold water, soy sauce and salt then stir in to thicken. Sprinkle vegetable mixture with sesame oil stir in and serve.

NOTE: This vegetarian dish is known as the Feast of Arahats or Food for the Saints the Chinese name is Lo (or Loo) Hon Ji, or Lohan Tsai. It will keep about a week and can be reheated several times without loss of flavor.

VARIATION:
* In step 4, stir 2 tablespoons Chinese red cheese, mashed, into the water-soy mixture then heat quickly.

DRIED INGREDIENTS FOR BUDDHIST VEGETABLE DISH:
1/8 pound rice or peastarch noodles (soaked), cut in 3-inch lengths
1/2 cup lily buds (soaked)
1/2 cup dried black mushrooms (soaked), cut in half
2 tablespoons cloud ear mushrooms (soaked)
1/2 cup hair seaweed (soaked)
1/2 cup dried bamboo shoots (soaked), cut in 2-inch lengths
1/4 cup dried chestnuts (Parboiled)
3 sticks dried bean curd, broken in 2-inch lengths and soaked or 1 or 2 sheets dried bean curd (soaked), cut in squares or rectangles
2 pieces dried lotus root (soaked)

FRESH INGREDIENTS FOR BUDDHIST VEGETABLE DISH:
1/2 cup celery, shredded
1/2 cup green pepper, shredded
1/2 cup mushrooms, shredded
1/2 cup mustard cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup onion, shredded
1/2 cup bean sprouts, blanched
1/2 cup cauliflower, broken in small flowerets
1/2 cup Chinese cabbage, cut in 2-inch sections
1/2 cup snow peas, stemmed
1 cup winter melon, diced
1 cup zucchini, cut in 2-inch slices

MISCELLANEOUS INGREDIENTS FOR BUDDHIST VEGETABLE DISH:
1 cup canned bamboo shoots, shredded
1/2 cup ginkgo nuts or lotus seeds, shelled and blanched
1/2 cup raw peanuts
5 cakes bean curd, deep-fried
1/2 cup vegetable steak

The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 8
Total Calories: 79
Calories from Fat: 68

More Recipes from the Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook Cookbook:
*Vegetable Dishes
Basic Buddhist Vegetable Dish
Basic Deep-Fried Bean Curd
Basic Stir-Fried Bean Curd
Basic Stir-Fried Vegetables
Basic Stir-Fried Vegetables: Combinations
Basic Stir-Fried Vegetables: Specific Vegetable Cooking Instructions
Basic Sweet-and-Pungent Vegetables
Braised Chinese Lettuce And Chestnuts
Braised Chinese Lettuce And Dried Shrimp
Braised Eggplant
Braised Eggplant With Bacon And Tomatoes
Braised Squash With Fish
Braised Squash: Fish Mixture
Braised Stuffed Bitter Melon
Braised Turnips With Meat Sauce
Creamed Chinese Cabbage
Deep-Fried Bamboo Shoots
Deep-Fried Bamboo Shoots And Salted Cabbage
Deep-Fried Bean Curd With Dried Shrimp Sauce
Deep-Fried Carrot Balls
Deep-Fried Potatoes And Carrots
Deep-Fried Simmered Winter Melon
Deep-Fried Stuffed Lotus Root
Food of the Forest
Hard Immortal Food
Miscellaneous Bean Curd
Mixed Vegetables I
Mixed Vegetables II
Mixed Vegetables III
Mixed Vegetables IV
Mixed Vegetables V
Mustard Cabbage And Meat Sauce
Simmered Cucumbers And Shrimp
Simmered Stuffed Green Peppers
Soft Immortal Food
Spinach And Peanuts
Steamed Bamboo Shoots With Chicken And Ham
Steamed Chinese Lettuce I
Steamed Chinese Lettuce II
Steamed Dried Mushrooms
Steamed Eggplant
Steamed Stuffed Bean Curd
Steamed Stuffed Bitter Melon
Steamed Stuffed Eggplant
Stir-Fried Asparagus With Egg Sauce
Stir-Fried Bamboo Shoots And Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Chinese Sausages
Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Dried Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Fresh Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Roast Pork
Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Shrimp
Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts And Celery
Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts And Pork
Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts with Two Kinds of Peppers
Stir-Fried Cauliflower With Mushrooms And Water Chestnuts
Stir-Fried Celery And Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Chinese Cabbage And Dried Shrimp
Stir-Fried Chinese Cabbage And White Cheese
Stir-Fried Dried Mushrooms With Snow Peas And Bamboo Shoots
Stir-Fried Fragrant Eggplant
Stir-Fried Preserved Cabbage And Peas
Stir-Fried Sesame Cucumbers
Stir-Fried Snow Peas With Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Snow Peas With Pork, Mushrooms And Bamboo Shoots
Stir-Fried Spinach And Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Spinach And White Cheese
Stir-Fried String Beans And White Cheese
Stir-Fried Sweet-and Pungent Preserved Cabbage
Stuffed Cucumbers I
Stuffed Cucumbers II
Stuffed Cucumbers: Filling I
Stuffed Cucumbers: Filling II
Stuffed Eggplant: Filling I
Stuffed Eggplant: Filling II
Stuffed Green Pepper: Fish Stuffing
Stuffed Green Pepper: Pork Stuffing
Stuffed Green Pepper: Vegetable Stuffing
Stuffed Lotus Root: Filling
Sweet-and-Pungent Mustard Cabbage
Three Winters