Braised Assorted Vegetables (Luo Han Zhai)

"Luo Han Zhai" (Luo Han means arhat in Buddhism) has
become a regular vegetable dish on every Guangzhou family's
dinner table since it served as the "food for monks" in Song
dynasty. Not only does it carry the delicate fragrance of
Buddhism, but also has the joy of the mortal world.

Guangzhou's Luo Han Zhai is known by the "Eighteen Disciples of
Buddha Zhai", or the "18 Luo Han Zhai". It wins the reputation
from people being fastidious about the rich ingredients, but
this dish is rarely seen today. It is too luxurious and does not
carry on any spirit of Buddhism, and it simply cannot stand well
with the intense competitions under the current Chinese market
economic principles.

The cooking methods of any ordinary Luo Han Zhai are
approximately the same among Guangzhou's several large vegetable
restaurants, and there are also not much differences comparing
the nation's main cuisines. But in the folk, people cook the
dish in their own ways and the procedures can be very different.
Rich families, of course, will always have "three mushrooms &
six ears (wood ears)" (the phrase implies "rich" in China), and
everything else needed. But it is also called "Luo Han Zhai" if
cooked with just three or five main ingredients in low income
families. Such spirit comes from the Buddhist for sure.

Ingredients:

 1/2 turnip

1 carrot

1 bunch broccoli

soup stock

salt

3 bamboo shoots

2 dried mushrooms (soaked)

5 champignons

20 gingko nuts

4 tablespoons oil

1/2 cup (100cc) soup stock

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon cooking wine

dash of monosodium glutamate

1 teaspoon cornstarch

 Method:

 1. Cut turnip and carrot into 2.5cm (1") pieces and scoop into
balls with baller. Boil in soup till tender. Drain.

2. Boil broccoli in soup with salt added till tender.

3. Drain and cut broccoli into pieces. Slice mushrooms and
bamboo shoots. Shell gingko nuts and boil in salted water.

4. Heat oil. Add and sauté in this order: mushrooms, bamboo
shoots, and champignons. Add soup, turnip, carrot and seasonings.

5. Sauté and mix well. Thicken with starch mixed with water.

6. Add broccoli. Server while hot.

 Cooking Time: 50 minutes

 Nutritional information:

Yield: 4 servings

Each serving provides:

Calories: 197

Protein: 7.3g

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