Buddhist vegetarian cuisines

Charlie

I have heard that several countries (Vietnam, Korea, China, etc) have distinctive Buddhist vegetarian cuisines that have evolved over centuries. Wikipedia has a brief article about it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_cuisine), but I am "hungry" for more detailed information. Can anyone provide more information on Buddhist culinary traditions? What is typically served in monasteries? Are there any cookbooks on the subject?

I have tried out several vegetarian cookbooks in my quest to minimize my meat intake but still eat delicious food. FWIW, my favorite is probably "Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone" by Deborah Madision.

aura

My friend the Buddhist chef does a lot of seitan and tofu, always uses the 5 element theory for food combination in cooking, along with the traditional do-not-mix-this-with-that foods chart in Chinese, no cookbooks, and says that the most important thing is that all food must be prepared in meditative peaceful right attitude so as to be a proper blessing for those who consume it.
Other than that, foods typically served anywhere depend on what is local, fresh, and in season, and so it depends very much on where you live.
I am amazed at the fuss some people make over the Dalai Lama eating meat when he comes from a mountain culture largely above 10,000 ft. in elevation. How many edible plants do people think flourish in the mountains above 10,000 ft containing sufficient protein and fat to prevent hypothermia and altitude sickness?

zombiegirl

i've never heard of this 'buddhist veg' cuisine, but i'm curious to hear more as well if anyone knows.

on a random note, if you're looking for an interesting cook book, check this one out:

http://georgevutetakis.com/blog/chef-georges-new-book/

i met this guy at a "live green" festival the other day. turns out he's the head chef at my favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurant. i always found his cuisine very hard to place, but he told me that he is of greek heritage, but spent time studying in india... and i think that pretty much explains the fusion.
while i did not pick up the book (i am a terrible cook, and let's just say the recipes are a little more than i think i can handle), i can attest to the fact that his menu has a wonderful (and exceptionally surprising) use of spices that would please anyone. he also has some recipes you could try out on his website.

genkaku

Anybody got any simple recipes without the commentary?

AMH

Hmm, sesame tofu. Drain extra firm tofu until it is pretty dry. Cut into domino size peices. marinate in soy sauce or teriyaki sauce (homemade or bottled). Then dip into a mixture of whole wheat flour and sesame seeds until coated. Fry in a good vegetable oil when the oil is really hot. Tasty with rice or soba noodles and vegies. Also good with some green onion chopped and sprinkled on top.

Now with sooo many good alternative meats available it is so much easier. I am no longer vegetarian but I was for 16 years. I had a personal idealistic issue with not just cooking meat style meals with substitutes however so I developed quite a good menu. Also I had smaller children so the food I came up with was filling and not too spicy or unusual. My issue often with vegetarian cuisine is that I simply get too hungry. I brun calories very fast so it has to stick with me.

zlzl

http://ss.zgfj.cn/SSSP/
More than 900 recipes, you may read it with Google translator and your conjectures.

Charlie

Thanks everyone for the information.

@zlzl Wow, this looks like quite a resource!

@genkaku Here is a simple recipe from the book I mentioned above that we eat all the time over rice. It is by no means Buddhist, but it is delicious!

Southern Style Black-Eyed Peas

2 tablespoons safflower or olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (can substitute vegan margarine)
1 onion - diced
1 small green bell pepper - finely diced
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile or red pepper flakes
2 cups fresh or 1 cup dried black-eyed peas
1 quart water or Basic Vegetable Stock (page 196)
salt

Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the
onion, pepper, celery, bay leaves, thyme, and garlic. Cook for 15 minutes,
stirring occasionally, then add the allspice and chile and cook for a few
minutes more. Add the peas and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and
simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and cook for
20 minutes more or until the peas are tender. Serve with or without the broth.

genkaku

@charlie -- Thank you.

NOTaGangsta

Avoid onion, Garlic, Chives, spring onion, I can't remember what else...

federica

I never avoid them.
With them, without them, I've never noticed anything different, either way. Monastics, maybe. Laypeople can eat what they like. Mindfully.....

federica

http://ss.zgfj.cn/SSSP/
More than 900 recipes, you may read it with Google translator and your conjectures.

cannot for the life of me get google to translate.....

Tenzint

A retreat centre here in South Africa have launched another cook book entitled, "The Cake the Buddha Ate", which features recipes from starters to main meals to breads etc that they serve on retreats. I have been given a copy recently and am loving it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cake-Buddha-Ate-More-Quiet/dp/1770097724

MellowViper

That tofu soup with the flower petals that the Zen monks make looks fantastic. I wanna try that some time. I've been eating mostly vegetarian (lentil soup, veggie chili, etc) with a minimal amount of roasted, non-fried meat lately. I was vegan for a while, but I wasn't getting all my omega-3's and was getting sick as a result, so I switched to fish, chicken, organic eggs, and organic milk. If I could afford organic meat I would, but I can't. To my surprise, though. I saw Walmart started selling omega 3 DHA algae pills recently, so I might get back into strict vegetarianism. I'm not sure though. Its really hard. I might want to establish an organic garden before I do that again, since a lot of industrial raised vegetables lack in micro-nutrients which stunt the plants in amino acids and proteins. I don't feel I do justice to the cause by looking sickly. If I'm gonna be vegan, I want to be in tip top shape.

Charlie

@federica try this link...

federica

Charlie, that's wonderful, thanks!

All I have to do now is locate some of the more obscure ingredients!

(Odd: I can open the link on this page, but if I try to open it in a new tab, it tells me the server is unreachable..... :scratch: )

Oh, wait - it works, but apparently the site has to reload itself...? nevermind...... :crazy: )

NOTaGangsta

Garlic, Onion, Scallion, leeks and chives are herbs recommended by the Buddha for the practitioners to avoid. Practitioners can believe what they like, but it's probably better to take Buddha's word over "people's opinions".

In the end, it's about fixing your attachments to your own egotistical ideas first

Amelia

My friend the Buddhist chef does a lot of seitan and tofu, always uses the 5 element theory for food combination in cooking, along with the traditional do-not-mix-this-with-that foods chart in Chinese, no cookbooks, and says that the most important thing is that all food must be prepared in meditative peaceful right attitude so as to be a proper blessing for those who consume it.

I'm interested...

---

Thank you for the recipe, Charlie!

Charlie

@NOTaGangsta I had heard of this with some denominations of Hinduism, but I didn't realize it was practiced by some Buddhists as well. What is the logic behind it?

NOTaGangsta

They tend to be strong smelling, e.g. onion breath annoys other people. Back when I used to eat alot of onion my farts are pretty bad as well lol! Those herbs also tends to increase our temperment and sexual desire.

The more supramundane reasons I am not qualified to mention here.

There are plenty of very tasty East Asian vegetarian dishes that don't require those herbs, so your not missing out on having a tasty meal.