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Vegetables For A Long Life
THE
FIRST SECRET TRANSMISSION: THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF GOOD KARMA COOKING—a
vegetarian recipe by Sramanerika Kuo Man
By
Bhiksuni Heng Yin
As
we become increasingly aware of the workings of the law of cause and effect,
more and more we are tuning in to vegetarianism and turning off to carnivorism,
and the ancient saying, "This life a short-order cook, next life a
hamburger," is hitting home across the nation. "But," you may
ask, "Does being a vegetarian mean that, for the rest of your life, you
must sit down to a meal of boiled potatoes and bare peas?"
No!
Vegetarian food can be delicious! In China, for example, it is a fine art. But
its secrets have not yet been transmitted to the Western world.
The
esoteric dharmas of vegetarian cooking lie, I am convinced, in the l) cutting,
2) seasoning, and the 3) timing. Without knowledge of these dharmas, although
you may start out in the causal ground with the same identical substance (the
same vegetables) your result will bear great differences. For example, you may
start out with a delectable dish in mind and end up with what could only
generously be called a greasy "over-fried tossed salad."
Luckily
for us, Sramanerika Kuo Man has recently arrived from Hong Kong. She has come to
Cold Mountain to cultivate the Way, and being greatly compassionate, she has
patiently taught us the basic elements of cooking food that is at once
karmically wholesome, nutritious, good-tasting, and digestible. We are most
grateful for her instruction. Below is the basic fried vegetable recipe, which
she has recently transmitted:
Fried
Vegetables: Basic Recipe
A
leafy green vegetable
fresh
ginger
Dried
mushrooms1
standard
ingredients2
1.
Preparing the ingredients.
Wash
green vegetable in cold water (leafy green mustard, spinach or "bok choy"
will do). Twist it and snap off pieces about 2 1/2 inches long. Slice fresh ginger into strips about the size of paper matches. Drain
mushrooms and slice them into long strips about 1/4" wide.
2.
The Cooking.
Pour
1/3-cup peanut oil into frying pan at medium-high heat (9 on a 10 scale). When
oil is quite hot, toss in 8 or so ginger sticks (they should sizzle). Stir a
bit. Stir in sliced mushrooms and green vegetables. Stir continuously for a
minute.
Add
1/2-teaspoon salt and a tablespoon of mushroom juice. Keep stirring the dish,
and sprinkle in a level teaspoon of white sugar. Mixture should be steaming and
hot. Add black soy to taste 1/2 tbsp. or so), black vinegar (optional), and
sesame oil. While stirring, add another dash of mushroom juice. Turn the heat
down to medium-simmer. Cover and let sit a minute.
The vegetables should not be over-cooked. When
they are warmed through and quite hot, lower the heat to prevent them from
getting soggy. Serve them right away, with plenty of fluffy, white rice.
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1Dried
mushrooms come in various sizes in cellophane bags in Chinese groceries, and
many of the ingredients may be found in the Chinese cooking section of your
local supermarket. Before using the mushrooms, pour boiling water over them,
cover, and let them sit until they are soft. Save the water for use in cooking
them and also for making soup.
2Standard
ingredients for the kitchen are:
peanut oil
sesame oil (used sparingly according to taste)
thick Chinese soy sauce
Chinese black vinegar
salt/white sugar
NAMES OF THOSE WHO
HAVE GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED THE TRIPLE JEWEL
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