A large blue-and-white plate holds sliced mock goose, yuba rolled around a brown filling under shredded carrot, a bowl of noodles is laid with bok choy, another plate holds bamboo shoots and shiitake, and one more holds glossy bok choy.
Meatless cooking
Introduction
Meatless cooking, from monastery vegetarian meals to dishes made to imitate meat and fish.
Vegetarian cuisine is cooking without meat or fish, including the vegetarian meals of Buddhist monasteries, vegetarian dishes in restaurants, and imitation meat and fish dishes made from soy products, wheat gluten and similar materials. Han Buddhist vegetarianism avoids animal foods and the five pungent vegetables, and the tradition is often traced to the advocacy of Emperor Wu of Liang. Imitation meat dishes are called tuo hun, and vegetarian goose is one example. The soy ingredients it uses have classes of their own, and the format of a banquet belongs to Banquet Traditions.