LO-HAN CAI AKA MIXED VEGETABLES

This is my favorite during my second pregnancy. Almost every day I ordered this with steam white rice. Tasty and delicious. I am very fussy when come to Loh-Han Chai, I will definitely selected the best one. Now that I knew to cook it, I prefer to have a home made one, it's fresh and you can choose the vegetables of your choice. This dish had its history and here what I gathered from the Wikipedia.

Buddha's delight, often  transliterated as Luóhàn zhāi, lo han jai, or lo hon jai, is a vegetarian dish well known in Chinese and Buddist . cuisineIt is sometimes also called Luóhàn cài (simplified Chinese:traditional Chinese.The dish is traditionally enjoyed by Buddist Monk who are vegetarians, but it has also grown in popularity throughout the world as a common dish available as a vegetarian option in Chinese restaurants. The dish consists of various vegetables and other vegetarian ingredients (sometimes with the addition of seafood or eggs), which are cooked in soy sauce-based liquid with other seasonings until tender. The specific ingredients used vary greatly both inside and outside Asia.

For home made Loh-Han Chai here's what you need :- Recipe adapted from Food4Tots. For this recipe I added some fish balls, you can omit this since this dish was meant for vegetarian. So Happy Cooking and ENJOY!!


INGREDIENTS
1/4 Chinese cabbage) * – wash and cut into halves
7 dried Chinese mushrooms) * – wash, soak, discard stems and sliced at 45°. or fresh Chinese mushrooms, rinse over running water
6 g golden needles/ golden bulbs (washed, soaked, cut away both ends and tied a knot)
10 dried cloud ear fungus/ wan yu)* – wash, soak and tear out the hard part
1 small packet glass noodle – soak and cut into smaller length
10 black moss/ fatt choi) – soak
10 snow peas) * – use “shocking method” – wash and blanch over hot water followed by immersion in cold water (filled with ice cubes) to retain the green colour
1 carrot cut into rings
5 baby corn - cut diagonal
2 dried tou pok -  cut 1/2" length (blanch over boiling water)
3-5 chopped garlics
3 tbsp begetables oil

Seasonings:

1 piece  lam yue / fermented red beancurd (mashed)

1½ tbsp oyster sauce

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp cornflour (mixed with 3 tbsp water)

Methods:

1. Heat 2 tbsp oils in a cooking pan and brown the garlic.
2. Add in red fermented bean curd and fry over low fire until fragrant.
3. Add in baby sweetcorn and carrots. Stir fry for a while.
4. Add in 2 types of mushrooms. Stir fry for a while.
5. Add in cloud ear fungus and tau pok. Continue to stir fry.
6. Add in the hard part of the Chinese cabbage. Cover with lid and simmer until the veggie is softened.
7. Add in the remaining leaves of the Chinese cabbage. Cover with lid and simmer until all the leaves shrink. If the ingredient is dry, add bit of water to keep it moisture. Add in golden needles and stir well.
8. Add in water (about ½ rice bowl) and simmer for another 10 minutes.
9. Add in seasonings and continue to simmer for another 10 mins.
10. Toss occasionally to prevent the bottom being burnt or overcooked.
11. Add in sweet tau kee and glass noodles. Simmer for another 2 mins. 

* If you don't like the taste of lam yue you can omit it and straight away saute the garlic.

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Semasa saya hamil anak kedua saya, inilah sajian kegemaran saya, makan dengan nasi panas atau kadang-kadang tu saya makan begitu aje. Memang saya suka sekali sajian ini, cukup segar dan menyelerakan. Kerana terlalu minat saya pelajari cara menyediakan. Menarik tentang Loh-Han Chai ini ia banyak menggunakan bahan-bahan kering seperti sayur pucuk, kim chai, dan cendawan kering. Pilihan sayur bergantung kepada kegemaran masing-masing. Oleh kerana sayuran ini adalah sajian vegetarian maka tidak perlu diletakkan udang atau ayam, tetapi untuk resipi ini dan untuk mengalakan anak-anak makan saya masukkan sedikit bebola ikan.

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Next Post - Breakfast Menu

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