What's up everyone?
Today we're making Buddha's Delight,
I grew up eating this every year on
the first day of the Chinese New Year,
but I never really understood why it was so important to our family
and Chinese culture until my parents explained why in this video.
Maybe you grew up with this too,
but if you're not familiar,
this Buddha's Delight is a guaranteed crowd pleaser,
packed with over a dozen vegetables,
crunchy textures, and creamy flavors.
My dad’s been making this for over 50 years now,
and he'll be sharing a special stir-frying process for home cooks
and 3 essential ingredients most people have never heard of,
starting with bamboo fungus.
Let's soak the bamboo fungus first.
We'll soak them for 10 minutes, and then wash them again.
Cool the hot water down with some cold water.
My dad mixes cold and hot water to get warm water here.
40-50°C (104-122°F) or so.
Somewhat warm.
Let it soak.
They'll finish soaking very quickly.
We'll also soak the vermicelli, cloud ear fungus
and the dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water.
Make sure to reserve the water
you're soaking the shiitake mushrooms in
for an important step later.
After those are all soaking, it's time to cut some ingredients.
When I cut seafood mushrooms,
I cut the ends off and toss them.
We don't want these roots.
Of course, if you want to use more, or less, that's up to you!
After cutting the seafood mushrooms, soak them in some water.
Get them clean.
This is king oyster mushroom.
Cut it open, then slice it.
This is celery.
Cut into strips.
With the napa cabbage,
you can cut it as is,
I'm cutting it like this.
Take this part out.
These parts take longer to cook.
These parts cook quickly.
I just tear these.
No need to cut them.
The resulting texture is a little different from when they're cut.
Tear them like this.
This is about 10 oz of napa cabbage.
You can have more if you like, or less.
The stems take longer to cook.
The leaves cook more quickly.
Now my dad's gonna teach us a simple way
to make your carrots fancier.
With carrots, you can cut it as is,
or make a nice flower pattern.
Cut it like this.
Slice it.
Right?
It looks like flower petals, right?
Growing up, I ate this all the time without really questioning why.
But finally, I learned more about this tradition
that's been passed down through many generations.
Did you eat this growing up?
At New Year's.
It's one of my favorite New Year dishes.
When I was little, I remember,
we get red envelopes, we get new clothes,
In our hometown, you have to eat this first.
You're only allowed to eat meat after you've eaten this.
Some places won't eat meat at all.
Different areas have different customs.
I remember my parents treated us, we didn't eat meat that day.
Why is it forbidden to include meat in this dish?
Well, in Cantonese this dish is often called ho nin zaai coi,
or lo hon zaai, which literally means arhat vegetarian food.
To which you might say, what's an “arhat”?
In Buddhism, arhat refers one that has reached nirvana,
but in the context of this dish,
it refers to the original followers of Buddha.
In the Buddhist religion, they think that not eating meat on that day,
it means that you're not killing any animals.
So for the first day of New Year's,
it's very clean,
setting up the whole new year to be safe,
and well, and good luck.
You might also be asking,
why are there so many ingredients in this dish?
Well, going back to Chinese Buddhism,
there were originally 18 arhats,
and traditional versions of Buddha's Delight
feature 18 ingredients to represent the 18 arhats,
with many of the ingredients
containing their own auspicious symbolism.
Of course, like us, you don't have to have 18 ingredients,
nor do you have to eat it for New Year's.
This dish is a delight for vegetarians and meat-lovers all year round.
Next up, we’ll learn how to prepare an ingredient
you absolutely cannot skip.
These are shiitake mushrooms.
With the mushrooms, cut off the stem.
You can save the stems
to add to soups.
These are too big.
Let's cut them.
Angle the knife and cut.
See?
After cutting all those ingredients,
we'll move on to our aromatics.
We'll smash, peel, and mince three cloves of garlic.
We also need to add ginger.
Next, we'll chop up an equivalent amount of ginger
into slightly larger pieces.
Now, we'll return the bamboo fungus that's been soaking.
The bamboo fungus is done soaking, and we're going to wash it.
Squeeze it a bit at the top.
We don't want this part.
We're just using the top.
We'll squeeze out the water from the top down,
then cut off the ends,
leaving only the heads of the fungus.
At this point, you might wondering,
“What is bamboo fungus?”
Bamboo fungus is a great vegetarian alternative to meat,
since it gives an amazing earthy flavor
and meat-like texture to any dish.
Also known as zuk saang in Cantonese,
they’re basically mushrooms that often grow in bamboo forests.
In the old days in China, bamboo fungus was considered
an expensive delicacy reserved for special occasions
since it could only be harvested in the wild.
Nowadays, many species of fungi, including this one, are cultivated
and they can be commonly found in most Asian grocery stores.
It works especially well in Buddha’s Delight
as it soaks in the delicious sauces
and rich flavors of other ingredients.
Soak it in cold water a little more,
so the water runs clearer.
The final dish will taste better when these are cleaner.
After they're clean,
cut the head.
There's no need to be too exact here,
but we'll cut them into around 1-2 inch segments.
All right.
The bamboo fungus is ready.
This next ingredient is critical for the texture.
These are beancurd sheets.
When I fry the beancurd sheets,
I like to cut them down a bit first.
Then they're easier to deep-fry.
If you don't want to deep-fry them, you can soak them.
Soak them in warm water for 10 minutes.
Tear them apart, and they'll be ready to cook.
Six people asked,
including Richard, Mary, JT, and Winnie from Patreon,
"Are there specific ingredients you can/cannot include?"
As long as there's no meat in it,
then it's vegetarian.
The ingredients don't have to be the same as mine.
Just use whatever you like to eat.
As long as there's no meat, then it's vegetarian.
What's your personal must-have ingredient?
Shiitake mushrooms!
It doesn't taste good without shiitake mushrooms.
I use dried shiitake mushrooms, not the fresh ones.
Dried shiitake mushrooms are much more aromatic.
That's right, Hong Doy!
Dried mushrooms today, right?
Vermicelli noodles, beancurd sheets.
Vermicelli noodles are a must-have?
Basically everyone adds vermicelli noodles.
Vermicelli noodles are long, so it symbolizes long life.
For this dish, you can't skip cloud ear fungus.
You can't skip sugar snap peas and vermicelli noodles,
beancurd sheets,
because some of these ingredients make the dish taste good.
So you can't skip them.
Otherwise, you can put the things that you like.
With so many ingredients involved,
when it's just for yourself, you don't have to include everything.
It's all up to you!
Next we'll be preparing our flavors,
starting with a secret, umami-packed ingredient
my dad uses in a bunch of other dishes.
This is fermented red bean curd,
we'll cook it later.
First smash the pieces down.
Press down on the pieces.
This is about 1 1/2 oz of red fermented bead curd.
We'll cook it later.
Someone said they had it and it didn't have any taste,
she was asking, "Do I need to add MSG?"
In addition to the oyster sauce, you have to have red fermented beancurd.
If you don't have red fermented beancurd,
then use more oyster sauce and light soy sauce.
If you cook this dish without it, then add a little sugar.
Now, we'll make the sauce.
For the sauce, we'll mix together
1 tbsp of vegetarian oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of light soy sauce,
1 tsp of dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp of cooking wine,
2 tsp of sugar, a 1/2 tsp of salt--
we can always add more later if needed--
and a 1/4 tsp of white pepper.
Then we'll give it a quick mix.
We have all of these ingredients listed on our blog at madewithlau.com
along with step-by-step instructions and video clips
to guide you as you make the recipe at home.
This next step is really important
and extremely easy to get wrong,
so pay attention to what my dad does here.
Now, let's fry the beancurd sheets.
Turn the stove on.
We'll heat the wok on high until it's hot,
about 30-40 seconds,
then we'll add oil.
About 4-5 oz of oil.
We’ll swirl the oil around
to make sure it's heating evenly.
Once the oil is at 160°C (320°F),
or after about a minute of heating,
we're ready to fry the dried beancurd sheets.
As you fry them, they'll float up, see?
That's it.
Once a sheet starts to bubble and float,
or about 8-10 seconds,
it's ready to come out.
We'll fry these in batches to not crowd the wok.
These fry up very quickly.
All set!
Stove off.
Pour the oil over here.
My dad always reserves oil to use in cooking other ingredients or dishes.
After the deep frying,
we'll move on to blanching our ingredients,
so we'll heat up a pot of water.
First, cloud ear fungus.
Once the water is boiling,
we'll add in the cloud ear fungus and baby corn.
After 20-30 seconds,
we'll follow with the bamboo fungus.
After another 30-40 seconds,
we'll take them all out.
Just let the water drip off.
Now, we'll blanch the next batch of veggies.
The carrot is raw, so let's cook it.
Celery.
We'll blanch the carrot and celery
for about a minute and a half,
then they're ready to come out.
All right, it's boiling, so they're cooked.
I also wanted to make a special shoutout to thank all of our
wonderful Patreon supporters for helping bring this video to life.
If you enjoy our videos and are interested in supporting us directly,
head on over to patreon.com/madewithlau to learn more!
Now that we're done blanching,
we'll switch back to the wok for some stir-frying.
There are a lot of subtle nuances here
and a simple sequence that my dad uses
to avoid over or undercooking certain ingredients,
so pay close attention.
First, we'll heat the wok on high for about 1 minute.
After the wok is hot, I'll add the oil.
Then we'll add about 2 tbsp of the oil we saved from earlier.
Turn the heat down a bit.
Garlic.
Ginger.
Red fermented bean curd, fry it to release its aroma.
Did you turn the heat off?
Yes, it was getting too hot.
It's at medium heat now.
Medium heat is enough.
After stir-frying the aromatics for 20-30 seconds,
we'll add the shiitake mushrooms.
Add the shiitake mushrooms, stir-fry for a bit.
Add the napa cabbage stems.
Because the stems take longer to cook, remember?
We'll add the king oyster mushrooms here too.
A general cooking tip here:
My dad usually stir-fries thicker vegetables and mushrooms first,
since they take longer to cook.
We'll stir-fry for 30-40 seconds,
then add some cooking wine.
Add the cooking wine, let it simmer.
It's about 1 tsp.
All right, and our amazing mushroom soaking liquid.
Now, we'll add about 8 oz of water,
including the water we used to soak the shiitake mushrooms.
Alright, now,
we'll add in these vegetables.
We'll put in all the ingredients we blanched earlier.
Add these too.
Don't forget the napa cabbage leaves
and, of course, our deep fried friend from before.
Add the beancurd sheets.
Wow!
Now we’ll cover with a lid, and cook for 4-5 minutes.
If you see it steaming,
then you know the beancurd sheets are soft.
I'm taking the lid off.
The beancurd sheets are soft, right?
Winnie from Patreon asked,
Does your dad use fat choy (black moss)?
Yes, there's black moss.
Usually, if I'm making it for New Year's Day, I'll use black moss.
Not today.
Because I know a lot of people don't like black moss,
or can't find it.
What if you can find it?
Then go ahead and add it in.
How do you make it?
The same way, just soak it in water.
Every year, we use black moss.
Fat choy for good fortune.
Let's add the seafood mushrooms too.
Once we've mixed in the seafood mushrooms,
we'll add the all-important sauce we created earlier.
Let's add in the rest of the sauce.
Put it all in.
Pro tip: my dad uses some of the liquid from the wok
to get the remaining fermented beancurd from the dish
because every bit counts!
Get all of the red fermented beancurd.
Taste it to see if it's salty enough.
If it's not salty enough,
add a little more salt.
Let's add some more salt.
Another 1/2 tsp of salt.
Because we have a huge pot of food.
When we add salt, the vegetables will release their water.
Now, let's add the vermicelli noodles.
They go right in the middle.
Why's that?
The sauce is pooled in the middle.
So if we put the vermicelli noodles in, they'll soak up all of the sauce.
Someone asked,
"Are there any shortcuts to making this?
Maybe using an Instant Pot or pressure cooker?"
No need.
Cooking this doesn't take that long.
It cooks up so quickly.
A quick cover, then stir-fry, it takes maybe 15 minutes.
What would you need the pressure cooker for?
Maybe a question for that is,
someone only has 20 minutes to make this,
is there a shortcut?
You could reduce the number of ingredients.
I think the shortcut is less ingredients.
If you don't use dried mushrooms, then you won't have to soak them.
No noodles, no need to soak.
But you said mushrooms are a must-have.
You could use fresh mushrooms, lots of people do.
You can have 5-6 ingredients, as long as they're not meat.
With some vegetarian oyster sauce.
Put the lid on, let it soak up all the sauce.
Nearly done.
One of the big challenges with Buddha’s Delight
is preventing it from turning into a big soup,
since we have so many vegetables potentially releasing water content.
My dad will be showing us a few easy techniques to prevent this,
starting with cornstarch.
I also want to thicken it with a tiny bit of slurry.
We'll mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch and
1 tbsp of water to make a slurry for later.
This is our cornstarch slurry.
Mix it up, it'll go in at the very end.
Let's see if the vermicelli noodles have soaked everything up.
Remove the lid after about a minute and a half.
The vermicelli noodles.
Add in the sugar snap peas.
Cooking the sugar snap peas like this won't let them overcook and go yellow.
Add the slurry.
We don't necessarily need to add all the slurry.
Add some and give it a stir
to see if it’s enough to thicken the sauce to your preference.
How do you not have water at the bottom?
You need to use vermicelli noodles.
When the noodles sink to the bottom and cook through,
they'll soak all the liquid up.
If you feel like it's still too wet,
make a slurry with cornstarch and a tiny bit of water,
I did that too,
the vegetables get silkier too.
All right, we're adding sesame oil.
1 tbsp of sesame oil. We need a lot.
All right, we can turn the heat off.
Now, we'll see if the next generation
will approve of this classic New Year's dish.
Hong Doy, time to eat!
Hong Doy, have some vegetarian food.
Good?
Yeah!
Yeah, that's good!
You don't really have to do this dish for New Year's.
You could have it all year long.
I feel like, around the world, people want to start off the year
eating clean and healthy.
This is that kind of a dish.
Buddha's Delight is complete!
Happy New Year, everyone!
Have a healthy year!
Cheers!
Cheers! Happy New Year!