Mark the Lunar New Year by going vegan — for at least one day
The Lunar New Year brims with vegetarian dishes, so there’s no better time to spring into a greener diet, Stephanie Yuen writes.
High-fibre pulses (beans, lentils and the like) are listed among 2017’s top 10 food trends, and now they’re being joined by the Buddha’s bowl.
This bowl is no stranger to conscious foodies and modern-day vegans, but what exactly is it? A fancy name given to a vegan dish, the Buddha’s bowl is a nutritious provision in which a medley of wholesomely prepared pulses and vegetables are arranged and served.
Apparently, the Buddha’s bowl is a must-have dish on the Lunar New Year celebration table. Regardless of the container in which it is served — be it a bowl, platter, clay pot or a simple plate — traditional Lunar New Year rendition has only one essential rule: it must contain no meat, nil seafood, zero eggs and nada diary products (though the latter two are acceptable to many nowadays).
Asian culinary history shows we have been cooking vegetarian for a long time for religious reasons or personal preferences. True vegans eat that way everyday, and others enjoy it now and then. But to welcome a new year, we are urged to dedicate the first day of the year to the animals by going vegan for one day and to have at least one vegetarian dish on the dinner table throughout this time. Many take it even further by going vegetarian on the first and 15th of every lunar month and become part-time vegans to continue the tribute and remind themselves of their spiritual beliefs — a good reason why vegetarian restaurants and Buddhist temples are packed on these two lunar calendar dates.
The first day of the lunar calendar also kicks off the most important holiday in China: the Spring Festival. This is the time for sojourners to return home to celebrate with families and friends, to relax and rejoice, to praise the gods for their blessings and to thank ancestors for their guidance. This tradition has been observed by other Asian countries and Chinese immigrants everywhere. It is the one day when everyone is urged to refrain from consuming meat as a tribute to the animals who sacrifice their bodies to feed us all year round. In other words, we should all be eating nothing but vegetarian food on Jan. 28 as we welcome the year of the rooster.
The good news? Vegan cuisine in Asian culture involves a broad spectrum of vegetarian ingredients. Consider the Buddha’s bowl, for example. The trendy version focuses on pulses. The traditional one known as Lo-Hon-Jai (Lo Hon refers to the Buddha and Jai means vegan food) contains ingredients far beyond pulses and vegetables but piles high with tofu, sliced melons, lotus seeds, mushrooms and bamboo shoots, cooked in fermented red bean sauce.
And there’s more.
In Lo-Hon-Jai, the tofu we use is deep-fried and can be in the shape of sticks, puffs or sheets. The choice of melon includes winter or hairy melons. Packaged lotus seeds can be found in the dried goods aisle, but those that come in vacuum packs are in the fresh produce section. Choose straw, shiitake, oyster or king mushrooms or, if desired, choose all. Fresh bamboo shoots are not in season but canned shoots are always available. This shows the range of choices of vegetarian ingredients we have, even in the Lower Mainland.
The ever-popular tofu has played a vital role in vegan cuisines, yet it is just one of the many soy products that can be dried or wet, hard or soft, plain or five-spiced. There are soy milks, soy puddings and, of course, fresh and frozen soy beans. Seasonal vegetables, Asian greens, pods and legumes come in different shades, shapes and sizes. It may be confusing, but selecting smartly according to what the recipe requires helps ease the task and better the appeal, flavour and texture.
Instead of eating them raw, we like to cook our pea shoots, cabbages and even lettuces. Edible parts of the plant and the tree start from the roots and go all the way up to tips and petals. Potatoes and yams are delicious tubers, as are taros, jicama, burdocks and arrowroots. Besides wheats and grains, we consume sorghums, sago and long and short rice. Funny-looking fungus, mosses and seaweeds do not require much cooking and often make their way into the vegan woks and pots. These are the few examples of ingredients we apply to vegetarian cuisine. Getting to know the arrays of ingredients makes cooking vegan as simple and fun as any other daily recipe, and the same goes for the seasonings.
Besides adding with herbs and spices, there are myriad variations of sauces and condiments. Most Asian sauces are meat-free; even oyster sauce comes in a vegetarian version these days. Preservation and fermentation play a key role in Asian cooking, and their intense flavours can easily fire up the taste. Fermented beans and olives, pickled vegetables and melons, and preserved roots and gourds are all readily available in Asian markets. No matter what you are acquiring, make sure to read the label and the list of ingredients before buying.
By the way, almost all the munchables we enjoy at this time of the year carry auspicious meanings. Tofu is white jade and is also regarded as a blessing of safe and sound thanks to its never fidgety texture. Vegetables are choy, as in fortune. Green ones are even better because green is the colour of money. Seeds are referred to as fertility and growth. Mushrooms resemble coins and ingots. Kabocha is dubbed golden squash.
Another key component to escalating the palate pleasure during Spring Festival? Candies, snacks and pastries! Strips of winter melon, slices of lotus roots and whole lotus seeds are blanched, dried and sugared. Anything sweet symbolizes smoothness and harmony. Since oil helps to lubricate any friction in the new year, deep-frying is another must, resulting in the production of an assortment of golden, crunchy deepfried pastries. There are sweet and savoury new year cakes that represent growth and achievement.
To unveil the year of the rooster vegetarian-style, there really is no shortage of ingredients for vegan food-lovers and home chefs to cook one or multiple vegan meals. A walk down the non-meat driedgoods aisle and the vegetable sections in Asian markets such as T&T will not only widen your vegan-cooking horizon, but will be an eye-opening exploration of culture and cuisine. For those who are too busy to cook, check out T&T’s hot food counter. The kitchen team has come up with vegetarian chows ready to be reheated at home, and ready-to-indulge hot grubs in takeaway boxes, pots and tiffins, all given apropos new year names for anyone who wants to join in the spring celebration.
The best way to experience and taste how well these vegetarian ingredients are incorporated into daily vegan cooking is to pay a visit to the Buddhist temples. Most of them serve complimentary vegan meals during weekends and special festivals. If you do go, please follow their rules and pay your respects first before sitting down to eat.