At the Baoguang temple, an hour away from Chengdu, if you walk through the grand courtyard just within the entrance gates, past the racks of burning incense and candles and slip off to the right, past the tea house garden with its shady trees and bamboo chairs, you’ll find another, smaller courtyard.
At the far side of this are a few tables and chairs and a hatch, hung around with wooden slats bearing the names of classic Sichuanese dishes. There is twice-cooked pork, dry-fried eels, crispy-skin fish and even shark’s fin but, because this is a Buddhist monastery, none of them contain any meat or fish at all. The restaurant at the Baoguang Temple is one of the best exponents I know of the Buddhist vegetarian style of cooking, where vegetable ingredients are cunningly engineered to mimic the appearance, aromas and tastes of meat. The “eel” is made from dried shiitakes; the “fish” from mashed potato in tofu skin.
This recipe, in which meaty portobello mushrooms take the place of chicken, is in the same style, although it does include the garlic and onion that are frowned on in monasteries, so it’s not strictly Buddhist. It takes a little time to make, but it’s worth it because, frankly, everyone should have the chance to taste gong bao chicken, even vegetarians.
Level of difficulty: easy
At the far side of this are a few tables and chairs and a hatch, hung around with wooden slats bearing the names of classic Sichuanese dishes. There is twice-cooked pork, dry-fried eels, crispy-skin fish and even shark’s fin but, because this is a Buddhist monastery, none of them contain any meat or fish at all. The restaurant at the Baoguang Temple is one of the best exponents I know of the Buddhist vegetarian style of cooking, where vegetable ingredients are cunningly engineered to mimic the appearance, aromas and tastes of meat. The “eel” is made from dried shiitakes; the “fish” from mashed potato in tofu skin.
This recipe, in which meaty portobello mushrooms take the place of chicken, is in the same style, although it does include the garlic and onion that are frowned on in monasteries, so it’s not strictly Buddhist. It takes a little time to make, but it’s worth it because, frankly, everyone should have the chance to taste gong bao chicken, even vegetarians.
Level of difficulty: easy