chinese vegan food ingredients 素食 - part 1

China cuisines have many vegan ingredients. Some are used to prepare true vegan dishes. I am not a vegan but I use some from time to time for cooking. With the recent newly open 99 Range Market I discover many ingredients that previously were hard to find in town. Some I have never cooked with but know them my sight and have pretty good idea how to use them.


I bought a bag of these tiny fried glutenous puffs; they are extremely airy and light

I used them in the braised fish dishes. While they are airy and light once they been stewed in the savory juice awhile they are re-hydrated. It is the chewy mouth feel that make them interesting.

they have a big section of these vegan food ingredients that are either soy or wheat based

this wheat gluten which appears to be steamed and have consistency like Western bread

they expands considerably when you stew them in juice

I tried fried some and they use them for stew

here is the snack that resulted

here is a dish that I use some of these with abalone, mushroom, tofu skin, fish maw, and mushroom

this is made of soy; it is a very dense tofu

they expand somewhat once stewed in a juicy sauce

here is a dish made with razor clams

I tried this made of fresh pizza dough

again with razor clam

in another trip to 99 Ranch Market I came home with three different kinds

the two round cubes are made of tofu skin that is rolled up and then cut; it is from China and very good quality

it is made of Northeast Chinese soybeans that is non-GMO

this one made with dungeness crab meat

this is made of wheat flour - intended to be mock chicken meat

this one made with clams and mussels