My Buddha's Feast, A Lotus Root Stir Fry

Traditionally, Buddha's Feast or Buddha's Delight is a vegetarian dish served on the very first day of Chinese New Year. The use of vegetables signify purity, therefore no meat or seafood is eaten on the first and fifteenth day of the New Year celebration and no animals are killed on those two days.

During Chinese New Year, using shitake mushroom symbolizes the welcoming of Spring and the calling of opportunities in life, whereas using water chestnuts signify unity. The one mushroom I enjoy the most is the Bunashumeiji mushrooms. It adds a really sweet, smoky, mushroomy flavor to the dish.

Since today isn't the first or the fifteenth day of the New Year, I have tweaked my Buddha's Delight recipe using Chinese waxed sausage and lotus root. In the Chinese New Year tradition, cooking with lotus roots also carries the meaning of bonding and strong family ties. You can also find lotus root candies in many boxed candied fruit trays sold at Asian markets. Lotus root may enhance the sweetness of soups but after all the boiling, it ends up a little soggy and tasteless. Stir frying, on the other hand, preserves the crunchy texture and the sweetness of the lotus root for a really satisfying end result.

Chinese sausages and other waxed meats like duck or bacon are also prevalent in many Chinese New Year festive foods. The rose wine flavor preserved in the chinese sausage is really brought out and adds a mildly intoxicating aroma to any stir fry or clay pot dish.

Lotus Root Stir Fry Recipe

Ingredients :
1 piece lotus root, sliced
2 links of chinese duck liver sausage, sliced ( OR regular chinese sausage )
1 bunch bunashimeiji mushroom
chinese shitake mushroom, shredded
3 water chestnuts, peeled and sliced
green onions, shredded
sesame oil
white pepper
shaoxing cooking wine
2 tbsp oyster sauce
sugar and salt to taste

Method :

1) Cook chinese sausage in microwave on high for 2 minutes, and then set aside.
2) Stir fry the the green onions and mushroom until fragrant. Toss in the sliced lotus root and water chesnuts. Continue stir frying for 2 minutes.
3) Dash in some sesame oil, white pepper, oyster sauce, and cooking wine. Stir fry for 1 minute and add the sliced chinese sausage, sugar and salt to taste. Mix well and continue stir frying for an additional 2 minutes OR until cooked.