Ah, mutual annoyance, a great way to
maintain a relationship!

They indeed had what I call a bicker relationship... certainly not the
sort of relationship I'd want for myself.... but they stayed together
for many years of marriage, only ended by Grampa's death at (I think) 91
or so...

I've seen some such and don't understand how
the relationship survives. If someone treated
me the way some of these couples treat each other,
it would soon be an I'm outta here situation.

And could be accomplished with not that much
difficulty. One might even make a layer cake
with tomato sauce "raspberry" filling or an
extra layer of mashed taters between. If I did
it, it wouldn't be elaborate or artistic - just
your meatloaf in a loaf tin with potato frosting
and maybe some carrot decoration.

Sounds intriging.... ;)

The secret would be ample onions and thyme in
the cake, thyme in the filling, and perhaps
garlic in the frosting.

+

Especially as we ourselves become the older
members ... but where is the new generation
to follow in our footsteps and clean up?

I've wondered that on many an occasion myself....

In several contexts. How about Classical music?
Seems only the Asians take it seriously any more.

According to Medscape, the incidence of
celiac disease is 0.5 to 1.26 percent, way
lower than the 2-5% reported for peanut
allergy and way, way, way below the worldwide
65% estimated (by the NIH) for lactose
intolerance. I generally don't allow for
gluten intolerants unless they (or more
usually their parents) remind me first.

Interestingly, I'm aware of more people with gluten issues than I am of
those with peanut allergy... but that's probably mostly the population

If I compare celiac people I know with those
with nut allergies (unspecified), the numbers are
comparable.

around me.... that seems a bit high on the lactose, even for worldwide,
but I do know quite a few people with that, even in my small circles...

That's a worldwide figure. Considering that almost
all Africans and most Southeast Asians have this
condition, I'd have expected the number to be
higher if anything.

fake meat's not so great a thing either, AFAIC.... in the Buddha's Delight, I'd just as soon have the tofu cubes as the gluten balls... ;)

To me, ordinary tofu wouldn't go in this dish,
but fried tofu could substitute for the gluten,

I'd be happy enough with the fried tofu... ;)

Of the versions I've had, some kind of chewy
protein seems to be very important to the balance
of the dish. Also MSG, but people don't talk about
that. Sometimes this latter comes in through the
guise of seaweed, oyster sauce, fu ru, or similar.

Luo Han Zhai/ Loh Han Chai - 2
Categories: Chinese, vegetarian, main
yield: 1 batch

Chinese cabbage (Shanghai or baby bok choy)
dried Chinese mushrooms
dried cloud ear fungus/wan yu
glass noodles
black moss/fatt choi
dried gluten balls
gingko nuts
snow peas
carrots (optional)
bean curd puffs (optional)
salt
oyster sauce
sesame oil

Note - The [first] 8 ingredients signify prosperity,
but you can add or replace with other ingredients.

luo han zhai, loh han chai, lohanzai, Buddha's delight

Preparation of ingredients.

Wash Chinese cabbage and cut into halves.

Wash Chinese mushrooms, soak, discard stems, and slice.
For fresh Chinese mushrooms, rinse under running water.

Soak cloud ears and tear out the hard part.

Soak noodles and cut into smaller lengths.

Soak black moss until soft.

Blanch gluten balls over boiling water, rinse, halve.

Gingko nuts - crack the shells, peel the skin and wash.

Blanch snow peas in hot water, then plunge in ice water.

Preparation of dish.

Fill water in a large wok/ pot and bring to a boil, add
dash of salt. Add the harder parts of the cabbage to cook
first first and then followed by leaves. Cook until 70%
done as you still need to braise them later on.

Leave some water on the wok and add the rest of the
ingredients, except for snow peas which will be added
just before serving. Season with oyster sauce and
sesame oil. Start to braise the vegetables. Stir
constantly until dry. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Let cool and refrigerate overnight to meld the flavors.

To serve the next day, reheat and add snow peas.

Cooking tips
1) Do not use light or dark soy sauce as it causes the
dish to turn sour [M disputes this].

2) Use more sesame oil if necessary so that the dish
will look moist [M questions this].

3) For better taste and flavour, use only premium grade
oyster sauce and sesame oil [M endorses this for just
about all cooking].

lightly adapted from food-4tots.com
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