Dinghu Shang Su (Buddha's Delight)
A signature dish from Cai Gen Xiang Vegetarian Restaurant in Guangzhou, made with a selection of mushrooms and vegetables delicately prepared for a tender, silky texture and elegant presentation.
Ingredients
Shiitake mushrooms (rinsed in clear water; large ones sliced diagonally in half, small ones left whole)
to taste
Straw mushrooms (scored with a cross pattern on the rounded top)
to taste
Button mushrooms (washed and sliced)
to taste
Yellow ear fungus (washed and sliced)
to taste
Elm ear fungus (washed and sliced)
to taste
Winter bamboo shoots (carved into butterfly-flower shapes then sliced)
to taste
Carrots (carved into butterfly-flower shapes then sliced)
to taste
Bamboo fungus (split lengthwise and cut into 5 cm strips)
to taste
Bok choy (washed, outer tough leaves peeled off, each heart leaf cut into two pieces)
to taste
Lotus seeds (outer skin peeled off, bitter core removed)
to taste
White fungus (Tremella; choose plump, neatly shaped ones)
to taste
Peanut oil
to taste
Sesame oil
50 g
Cooking wine
150 g
Water-starch slurry
100 g
Vegetable stock
to taste
Seasonings (salt, sugar, MSG, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, stock)
to taste
Instructions
1
Knife-work preparation
Rinse the shiitake mushrooms; cut large ones into two pieces on the diagonal and leave small ones whole. Score the straw mushrooms with a cross pattern. Wash and slice the button mushrooms, yellow ear fungus, and elm ear fungus. Carve the winter bamboo shoots and carrots into butterfly-flower shapes, then slice. Split the bamboo fungus and cut it into 5 cm strips. Wash the bok choy, remove the tough stems, and trim the hearts. Peel the lotus seeds and remove the bitter core. Set all of the above aside for later use.
2
Blanching
Blanch the shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, button mushrooms, straw mushrooms, yellow ear fungus, elm ear fungus, carrots, and bamboo fungus separately in boiling water until cooked through, then lift them out and refresh in cold water; set aside. Blanch the white fungus separately in boiling water.
3
Cooking the main ingredients
Clean an iron wok and heat it, add the peanut oil, splash in the cooking wine, and add salt, sugar, MSG, oyster sauce, and stock. Add the shiitake mushrooms and other main ingredients and simmer until they absorb the flavor, then pour off the excess liquid and set aside.
4
Cooking the white fungus
In another clean wok, use the same technique to cook the white fungus until it absorbs the flavor, taking care not to add any deeply colored seasonings.
5
Bowl assembly and steaming
Take a soup bowl and arrange the flavored shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, button mushrooms, straw mushrooms, yellow ear fungus, elm ear fungus, carrots, and bamboo fungus inside it in order. Wash the wok and place over the heat, add 50 g of sesame oil, heat, splash in the cooking wine, add the vegetable stock, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and MSG, bring to a boil and adjust the flavor, thicken with slurry, pour over the ingredients in the soup bowl, then steam over brisk heat for 5 minutes.
6
Cooking the bok choy hearts
While the dish is steaming, reheat the reserved cooking liquid from the main ingredients, add the bok choy hearts and cook until they absorb the flavor, then lift them out and arrange them around the edge of the serving plate.
7
Plating
Invert the steamed dish into the center of the serving plate, arrange the white fungus on top, drizzle over the broth from cooking the white fungus, and serve.
