14 August 2008 | 10 comments
Posted in Chinese, Vegetarian
It has become my parents’ tradition to prepare this vegetarian dish (Luo Han Zhai) on the first day of Chinese New Year. Since I got married, I have missed this dish for quite some time. This year is even worst as my whole family (hubby, son and myself) fell sick and didn’t have the chance to celebrate CNY in our hometown. When I started to do my own research on this dish, I was so confused looking at the variations among the recipes. Each recipe has it own long list of ingredients and complicated preparation and cooking methods. Thanks to the advices and tips from my mother and cousin sister. After several attempts, I finally managed to cook a more “presentable” Luo Han Zhai but it is still far from the perfection. Maybe I still need to consult my “si fu” again to master the skill. Below is a simple recipe I used lately. Ingredients (pls refer to the pics below): Other ingredients can be included: Seasonings: Methods: Note: For pure vegetarian, garlic will not be used. 1) Chinese cabbage 2) Clockwise: carrots, button mushrooms, fresh sh*take mushrooms, baby sweetcorns 3) Clockwise: golden needles, tao pok, cloud ear fungus, sweet tau kee, glass noodles 4) Fermented red beancurd You can also refer to this site for another variation of Luo Han Zhai.
450g 白菜 Chinese cabbage (washed, cut into halves)
7 medium sized fresh sh*take mushroom (discarded stems, blanch over boiling water)
1 small canned button mushroom (blanch over boiling water, cut into halves)
100g carrots (sliced)
5 baby sweetcorns (abt 40g) (cut into small chunk)
6g 金针 golden needles/ golden bulbs (washed, soaked, cut away both ends and tied a knot)
4g 云耳 cloud ear fungus/wan yee (washed, soaked, tear off the hard part)
5 tau pok (blanch over boiling water, cut into halves)
6 sweet tau kee (soaked for a while until you can cut it into small square pieces)
6g 粉丝 glass noodles (soaked, cut into 6-7 cm long)
3-4 garlic cloves (chopped)
– Cauliflower, broccolli, cabbage
– Straw mushrooms, dried mushrooms
– Tau kee (beancurd sticks)
– Hair fungus (fatt choi)
1 piece 南乳 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)
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 sweetcorna 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. Then pour the mixture into a cooking pot(because my non-stick pan takes a very longer time to cook this dish). 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. (I didn’t pre-fry the sweet tau kee for healthy reason so it can become mushy if it is cooked or soak in the Luo Han Zhai for too long .)
12.Adjust the seasonings if necessary and add in cornflour mixture for thickening.
13. Turn off heat. Wait for another 10-15 mins before serving so as to allow all the ingredients to absorb the gravy and make this dish more tasty.
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10 Comments
Bits of Life 'n' Taste says:19 August 2008 at 1:16 am
H1 Chef! Nice and systematic layout, you are getting more innovative now ya! Keep it up!
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- FOOD FOR TOTS says:
19 August 2008 at 4:37 pm
Tks for your comment. Hope the photos will give the readers a clearer pics in cooking this dish.
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Luo Han Zhai/ Loh Han Chai (罗汉斋）- 2 - www.food-4tots.com says:
3 May 2009 at 3:50 pm
[…] braising, the preparation is tedious and time-consuming. For the recipe, please refer to my earlier post. (* – pronunciation in Mandarin / ＾- pronunciation in Cantonese ) Although “lam yue” (南乳 […]
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- evelyn says:
12 May 2010 at 3:36 pm
I was searching for this receipe when my neighbourd so kind to offer the dish but with roast pork. It is a must for CNY in Kedah too. I cooked base on your seasonings except I omitted young corn but added roast pork. My hubby like it! I find it on the sweet side. Is this meant to be?
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See AlsoHearty Vegetable Chowder Recipe- food-4tots says:
12 May 2010 at 11:36 pm
Evelyn: Thanks for your kind feedback. The taste of this dish is very much depending on the brand of lam yue and oyster sauce you use. Subsituting baby corns with roasted pork may also increase the sweetness of this dish. Besides that, the sweet tau kee will also contribute some sweetness to this dish. Overall, this dish shall give you some sweetness but should not be overly sweet. Hope it helps! 😉
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- evelyn says:
13 May 2010 at 1:05 pm
Thanks. I think I got the right taste since my picky eater – hubby likes it so much. I enjoy reading your blog and always looking for your new dish.
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- food-4tots says:
13 May 2010 at 10:44 pm
Evelyn: It’s really not easy to find a dish that can please both bosses. I think you have done a great job! Thanks for your words of encouragement! Really appreciate your kind support. Love to hear more feedbacks from you in future (be it positive or negative) so that I can improve my cooking skills and knowledge. 😉
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- Cynthia Koh says:
16 September 2011 at 1:42 am
It tastes exactly like my mum’s cooking! Thank you so much!!!!
Cheers!
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- food-4tots says:
16 September 2011 at 11:13 pm
Cynthia: Thanks for your kind feedback!! Glad that it meets your expectation! 😉
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8 February 2013 at 2:50 pm
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Bits of Life 'n' Taste 
evelyn 
Cynthia Koh 