Zero-Skill Vegan Recipe! Quick Braised Vegetables w/ Red Fermented Tofu ( Chinese Vegetarian)

This true vegetarian dish - Quick Braised Vegetables with Red Fermented Tofu is also called Buddha's Delight (罗汉斋), and is made with reddish-brown fermented bean curd or tofu (南乳). You can add any vegetables that you like, but the most common are cabbage, fried bean curd skin, black fungus, and mushrooms are used. You can also add glass noodles and black moss to bulk up the dish.

When it comes to eating during the Lunar New Year period, Chinese commonly believe that more and more luxurious food is better. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, however, many households choose a vegetarian diet in honour of Buddha. Devout Buddhists go vegetarian on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month to honour Buddha and accumulate good karma. Some people believe that doing so on the first day of the first lunar month will bring them even more good karma. Though it’s less common these days, on the night before the first day of Chinese New Year, families traditionally make a vegetarian dish called 守岁斋 (literally means guard year vegetarian dish) on the night before the first day of CNY. Chinese traditionally stay up late on the eve of the Lunar New Year as a practise known as 守岁 (guarding the year) to help prolong their parents' lives. We hope you'll enjoy this dish as much as we did. Happy cooking!
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Serves 4 pax
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8 small Chinese dried mushrooms (rehydrated)
1 fermented red tofu & 1 tablespoon of the accompanying sauce
160ml (5.41 fl oz) water
50g carrots (thinly sliced)
8g dried black fungus (rehydrated)
300g round cabbage (cut into smaller pieces)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
40g fried beancurd skin
40g glass noodles (rehydrated)
30g snow peas
10g black moss (rehydrated)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil