Buddha’s Delight is THE vegetarian dish that makes it to every Lunar New Year banquet! The vegetable medley is slow cooked until perfectly moist then drizzled with a smooth tangy sauce, making it the most anticipated labour of love.
No New Year is the same without it!
Buddha's Delight - Vegetarian Stew (Jai)
Grandma’s recipe for Buddha’s Delight means EVERYTHING to me.
I can’t remember ever waking up on a first day of the Lunar New Year without a huge pot of ‘jai‘ waiting for the family downstairs. Taking the lid off the pot is honestly like uncovering a trove of hidden jewels!
While every Chinese household sings waves of pride and joy about their take on this traditional vegetarian stew (and has every reason to), here’s why our version is the one you don’t want to miss:
- Every ingredient is infused with fermented red bean curd, giving it a robust multi-layered flavour profile
- We have a housemade secret: a vibrant creamy citrus sauce that adds another dimension to the dish
- Bar a few staple ingredients, you can choose any other favourite vegetables you like
- This recipe is the one that other grandmas ask for!
What is Chinese Jai?
In our Cantonese household, we use jai interchangeably with ‘vegetarian food’. Ever since Mum became a full-time vegetarian, everything she eats is considered jai to us.
However, the term actually has roots in Buddhism and represents modest vegetarian cuisine.
Chinese jai is almost always eaten on the first day of the Chinese New Year to welcome luck and prosperity. It originally has over 30 ingredients, but many families have adapated it to suit their preferences and circumstances.
Ingredients You Need To Know Beforehand
Buddha’s Delight is known for its myriad of Chinese ingredients. Here are the staples we use in our version of this Lunar New Year classic:
- Daikon
- Bean curd sheets
- Black moss (fat choy)
- Black fungus
- Bamboo pith
- Red fermented bean curd
- White fermented bean curd
What you'll need for Buddha's Delight
Fresh Ingredients
- 1 kg shredded daikon
- 400 g shredded carrots
- 500 g sliced nappa cabbage
- 400 g king oyster mushrooms
- 300 g oyster mushrooms
- 200 g fried tofu
- 1/2 lime
Dehydrated Ingredients
These ingredients will need to be soaked in cold water and rinsed the night before cooking or at least 20 minutes prior (except for the bean curd sheet). Before preparing them, use your hands to squeeze the liquid out.
- 1 bean curd sheet (affiliate link)
- 10 shiitake mushrooms (affiliate link)
- 20 g bamboo pith (affiliate link)
- 20 g black moss (affiliate link)
- 25 g black fungus/woodear mushroom (affiliate link)
- 50 g green bean thread
The Seasoning
- 250 g red fermented bean curd (affiliate link)
- 3 tbsp vegetarian soup base (affliate link)
- 3 tbsp salt, or to taste
- 3 tbsp sugar, or to taste
- 4 tbsp cooking oil, plus oil for frying
- 3 L water
The Sauce
- 5 tbsp fermented bean curd in sesame oil and chilli (affiliate link)
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 lime’s juice
How to make Buddha's Delight
The Vegetarian Stew
To begin, bring the water to a boil in a large pot.
Meanwhile, take 3 cubes of red fermented bean curd and mash it with your chopsticks. You will be doing this step before cooking each fresh ingredient.
Heat up a wok and add 1 tbsp oil. Add the mashed red fermented bean curd, stir for 10 seconds then toss in the shiitake mushrooms along with 2 tsp vegetarian soup base. Keep stirring until combined.
Pour the cooked mushrooms into the pot of water.
Repeat these steps for each of the other fresh ingredients.
Pour 2 cups oil into a wok and fry the bean curd sheets for no longer than 3 seconds on each side. Quickly flip using chopsticks or tongs. With the searing heat, they will immediately puff up.
Repeat with the green bean threads.
Add all of the fried and rehydrated ingredients one layer at a time.
Mash up the remaining cubes of red fermented bean paste in the jar and pour all the contents into the pot.
Stir gently and season with salt, vegetarian soup base and sugar.
Buddha's Delight Sauce
Mash the white fermented bean curd until it forms a paste.
Mix in the sugar and lime juice.
Drizzle on top of the Lo Han Jai and enjoy Lunar New Year’s Day with your family!
More Lunar New Year Recipes
Buddha’s Delight (Lo Han Jai 罗汉斋)
Ingredients
Fresh Ingredients
- 1 kg shredded daikon
- 400 g shredded carrots
- 500 g sliced nappa cabbage
- 400 g king oyster mushrooms
- 300 g oyster mushrooms
- 200 g fried tofu
- 1/2 lime
Dehydrated Ingredients
- 1 bean curd sheet (affiliate link)
- 10 shiitake mushrooms (affiliate link)
- 20 g bamboo pith (affiliate link)
- 20 g black moss (affiliate link)
- 25 g black fungus/woodear mushroom (affiliate link)
- 50 g green bean thread
Seasoning
- 250 g red fermented bean curd (affiliate link)
- 3 tbsp vegetarian soup base (affiliate link)
- 3 tbsp salt, or to taste
- 3 tbsp sugar, or to taste
- 4 tbsp cooking oil, plus oil for frying
- 3 L water
Sauce
- 5 tbsp fermented bean curd in sesame oil and chilli (affiliate link)
- 5 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 lime's juice
Instructions
Buddha's Delight
- Soak the dehydrated ingredients in cold water the night before cooking (or at least 20 minutes prior) and rinse with clean water. Before preparing them, use your hands to squeeze the liquid out.
- Bring the water to a boil in a large pot.
- Meanwhile, take 3 cubes of red fermented bean curd and mash it with your chopsticks. You will be doing this step before cooking each fresh ingredient.
- Heat up a wok and add 1 tbsp oil.
- Add the mashed red fermented bean curd, stir for 10 seconds then toss in the shiitake mushrooms along with 2 tsp vegetarian soup base. Keep stirring until combined.
- Pour the cooked mushrooms into the pot of water.
- Repeat steps 3-5 for each of the other fresh ingredients.
- Pour 2 cups oil into a wok and fry the bean curd sheets for no longer than 3 seconds on each side. Quickly flip using chopsticks or tongs. With the searing heat, they will immediately puff up.
- Repeat step 8 with the green bean threads.
- Add all of the fried and rehydrated ingredients one layer at a time.
- Mash up the remaining cubes of red fermented bean paste in the jar and pour all the contents into the pot.
- Stir gently and season with salt, vegetarian soup base and sugar.
Buddha's Delight Sauce
- Mash the white fermented bean curd until it forms a paste.
- Mix in the sugar and lime juice.
- Drizzle on top of the Lo Han Jai and enjoy Lunar New Year’s Day with your family!
SHARE YOUR CREATION!
If you recreated this authentic recipe, I’d love to see it! Tag @wokandkin on Instagram with the hashtag #wokandkin! See you there!
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This Vegetarian Stew dish looks amazing! I love how much flavor is packed in one bowl! YUM!
Thanks, Shanika! There certainly is TONNES of flavour in one bowl!
Yay! I have finally found the recipe that is really close to what my Mom used to make for us. This is such a treasure. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear that, Anita! My goal is to share recipes for food people grew up with! <3
It sounds amazing! With my friends, we like to cook something new for New Years. We will give this one a try.
That sounds wonderful, Lizet! I hope you and your friends enjoy this family recipe!
I love the buddha’s delight when we order out but this looks so much better! Homemade takeout is so much fun…I have to try making my own next time. Perfect meatless meal for the family.
I didn’t know you could order it out! We’ve always made it for the Lunar New Year and I didn’t think it would even be something restaurants would make. I hope you like out version too!
Amazing. I hadn’t heard many of the ingredients used in this recipe, so I really appreciate instructions on how to find and use them! Great recipe!
I’m glad you found this post useful! Thanks, Michelle!
I love to experiment with new-to-me ingredients, and this was a great dish to do that with! This was really delicious and I can see why it is a holiday meal!
The dried bamboo pith had a somewhat smoky (pleasant) smell to me. I really liked it and I look forward to figuring out what to do with the half package that I have left. My husband is a big fan of mushrooms so of course this was a hit. 🙂 5-stars, no question about it!
That’s amazing to hear, Summer! Thanks for trying it out! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it because this recipe is definitely something I love as well! You can always make the recipe again for the remaining bamboo pith or make it into a soup 😀