chinese vegan food ingredients 素食 - part 2

I made more of this braised dish with seafood with Chinese vegan food ingredients. I use a variety of seafood as well as home made char siu.


this is just a simple stir fry of Chinese broccoli with fish sauce unrelated to the title of this post

fish maw (left) and soy milk skin (right)

vegan mock chicken

two kinds of fried glutinous puffs

this has mussels, clams, vegan chicken, bits of Chinese sausage, glutinous puffs, shiitake mushrooms

here are two kinds of glutinous flour puffs; the large one needs to be stewed a while to hydrate and soften them

as it is next to impossible to find acceptable Chinese cooking wine I substitute with sake with excellent result

I sliced up some canned abalone 鮑魚; the juice goes into the cooking of this dish

This dish that I prepared is very much like a Fujianese dish called buddha jumps over the wall 佛跳牆. This dish is named that because it is so fragrant and delicious even Buddha jumps over the wall to taste it. Just that I use no shark fin and sea cucumber, it is no less delicious. I did not take any shortcuts and preserve the natural umami of the ingredients. One important purpose of the vegan ingredients, as well as the fish maw is to soak up the delicious thick juice which make them succulent.

Instead of relying on corn starch to thicken the broth, I use flour instead. The reason is corn starch breaks down upon reheating, but a gravy made of flour is much more resilient to heat. Additionally, I drizzle in olive oil instead of traditional cooking oil. Peanut oil can be used in this dish and so is a dash or two of sesame oil. The problem with peanut oil is high quality real peanut oil if very difficult to find as there are just too much chance of adulterated ones nowadays.

there are fish maw, clams, soy milk skin, vegan chicken, glutinous puffs, shiitake mushrooms, and abalone

the shells of the clams removed

another slight variation - this has fish maw, clams, soy milk skin, vegan chicken, glutinous puffs, shiitake mushrooms, and abalone, shrimps, and home made char siu

it is so delicious that I have another serving

One vegan ingredient that I have searched in vain so far is a dense glutinous dough 麵筋 (translated as wheat tendons). It is very dense and made of high gluten wheat flour and because it is unleavened. I found a similar one from Vietnam. Unfortunately it is too mushy and is not glutinous enough - it does not have enough gluten. I have meant to try making some myself from my intuition.

the dense glutinous dough that I would like to find has this appearance, but is unleavened