Buddha's delight, a vegetarian recipe from China

Name: Buddha's delight
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 8 dried shiitake mushrooms; 15 g dried wood ear mushrooms; 100 g glass noodles (mung bean vermicelli); 300 g firm tofu, cut into cubes; 150 g water chestnuts, sliced; 1 carrot, thinly sliced into rounds; 2 bok choy, quartered; 100 g bamboo shoots, in strips; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 20 g ginger, in fine slivers; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp toasted sesame oil; 2 tbsp neutral oil

Buddha's delight

Local name: 罗汉斋

This Buddha's delight is a monastery-style braise of tofu, shiitake, wood ear, water chestnuts and glass noodles in a fragrant, glossy brown sauce.

Published on 4 November 2025·Updated on 26 September 2026

Vegan#tofu#mushrooms#braise#new-year#stir-fry

Method

Soak the shiitake and wood ear in hot water for 30 minutes. Soak the glass noodles in warm water for 10 minutes, then drain.
Drain the mushrooms, keeping 250 ml of the shiitake soaking water. Trim off the stems, halve the caps and cut the wood ear into strips.
Heat the oil in a wok and brown the tofu on all sides for 5 minutes. Set it aside.
In the same wok, fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, then add the shiitake, wood ear, carrot and bamboo. Stir-fry for 3 minutes.
Pour in the reserved soaking water, soy sauce and sugar. Cover and braise for 8 minutes.
Add the tofu, water chestnuts and bok choy. Cook another 4 minutes until the leaves are tender.
Stir in the glass noodles and sesame oil, toss for 1 minute so they soak up the sauce, and serve hot with rice.

This vegetarian dish is traditionally eaten on the first day of Chinese New Year. Swap the mushrooms for whatever you can find; what matters is the mix of textures.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

Frequently asked questions

Why keep the shiitake soaking water?

It is the stock of the dish. Dried mushrooms release much of their flavour into it, and this liquid is what gives the brown sauce its depth without any added stock. Pour it off gently, leaving the last couple of centimetres in the bowl, where the grit settles.

How do I make this gluten free?

Only one ingredient is a problem, the soy sauce: use tamari labelled wheat free instead. Glass noodles, despite appearances, are made from mung bean starch and contain no wheat. Just check the labels on tinned bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, whose brine is sometimes seasoned.

What is wood ear fungus and what can replace it?

It is a dried black mushroom with almost no flavour of its own, valued for a texture that is gelatinous and crunchy at once. That is its only job here, in a dish built on contrasting textures. If you cannot find it, add more water chestnuts, which supply the same crunch.

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Buddha's delight

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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