Hsiao-Ching Chou - Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food: Deliciously Doable Ways to Cook Greens, Tofu, and Other Plant-Based Ingredients

Vegetables are essential in Chinese cooking. Whether a mound of stir-fried greens, a burbling clay pot of tofu and cabbage, or a side of spicy pickles, vegetable dishes are put together with as much thought as any meat or seafood dish. Balance of seasonality, flavors, textures, and sometimes curative properties guides the preparation. Even those who eat meat are biased toward having an abundance of vegetables. Many dishes include meat only as an accompaniment.

Being vegetarian in the Chinese culture is not perceived as a character flaw. Not only is vegetarianism accepted, but the industry for producing plant-based products and meat substitutes has a long history. That is due in large part to Chinese Buddhist monks and nuns who adhere to a vegan diet that also excludes pungent ingredients, such as alcohol, garlic, onions, leeks, and chives. Not all followers of Buddhism subscribe to a vegetarian diet, however. But temple vegetarian cuisine is well known and even revered. Culturally, meat has always been considered a luxury because its expensive. During Lunar New Year, serving a broad selection of meats and seafood represents wealth, abundance, and good fortune. Historically, the advent of meat and seafood substitutes made from plant-based ingredients has meant that those who couldnt afford meat or those who have chosen to be vegetarian for health or religious reasons could also share in the symbolism, especially when it comes to lucky foods served during the Lunar New Year reunion feast. Using bean curd and wheat gluten to create meat substitutes goes back to imperial China and has been around for over a thousand years.

A NOTE ON PORTION SIZE

There are so many factors that affect whether a portion size is right for any one person. A pint of ice cream, in my opinion, does not have four servings! When it comes to the portion sizes for the recipes in this book, theyre based on the assumption that youll be serving several dishes family-style. Some dishes, such as noodles and fried rice, are bulkier. Others, such as stir-fried pea shoots, start as a messy mound of greens and then cook down to a fraction of itself. Usually, if you have a group of four people, I suggest making three or four dishes and a soup. The flip side is that if you are cooking for one or two, many of these dishes are easy to scale down.

I have noticed recently at the Chinese market where I shop here in the Seattle area that there are more products marketed toward vegetarians. For example, the same hoisin sauce that Ive always used now has a bottle label listing it as vegetarian. Its the same naturally vegetarian sauce, just a different label. My mother and I scrutinized the label and finally surmised that the vegetarian designation potentially has to do with the fact that hoisin is hai xian in Mandarin, which means seafood, and adding the word vegetarian was a clear message that the hai xian sauce does not contain seafood. Likewise, a bottle of Chinese black vinegar had a sitting Buddha figure on its label that also proclaimed that the vinegar is vegetarian. Again, we suspect its a direct way to signal to vegetarians, especially Buddhist vegetarians, that this vinegar is not flavored with any forbidden pungent ingredients.

For me, a meal is never complete without at least one vegetable dish. My produce drawers are always stocked with Chinese cabbage, baby bok choy, gai lan (Chinese broccoli), Chinese mustard greens, yu choy, and a revolving cast of other familiar vegetablescarrots, celery, kale, lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, and suchthat cater to our cravings. At a moments noticeor in the time it takes to make a pot of riceI can have a sumptuous meal on the table with platters of greens, eggplant, mushrooms, and tofu. Delicate, hearty, savory, pungent, and crunchy all coexist in their individuality and intersections.

The diversity of vegetables and plant foods is dizzying. On occasion, I teach an Asian greens cooking class, where I display a dozen kinds of uncooked leafy greens paired with their respective stir-fried versions. Students then sample each vegetable, and the deliciousness is always a revelation. I will never not delight in the looks on peoples faces when they taste discovery.

In the Chinese language, the word for vegetables is cai (also spelled tsai, choy, or choi). Its a broad term that covers a world of greens as a category, as well as the specific members of this succulent family: bok choy, yu choy, gai choy, qincai, ong choy, and so on. Cai is also a general term for dishas in What dishes should we eat today? or What dishes should I cook today?