Korean Job Discussion Forums

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

Here's an interesting article that gives the history of seitan (say-Tan) which apparently was developed in China centuries ago by Buddhist monks...

Vegetarianism in China dates back to before the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BC), often appearing in religious offerings to ancestors, ghosts and gods. The injunction of vegetarianism among Chinese Buddhists dates back to the reign of Emperor Wudi, of the Liang Dynasty (502-549)... Modeling much of his rule after Maurya Buddhist king Ashoka, Wudi established Buddhism as the state religion. He advocated little-followed Buddhist traditions, prohibiting monks from drinking wine and killing animals. Under threat of punishment, Buddhist temples banned both...

Temples in China have long been known as culinary institutions and with the mandatory increase in the number of vegetarians, the scope of vegetarian tastes also widened. Temple kitchens were among the first to cater to the strict vegetarian diet, inventing many delicious vegetarian dishes, including mock duck and mock chicken ... Even now, the Yufo (Jade Buddha) Temple in Shanghai, the Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, the Daming Temple in Yangzhou, the Wuzu Temple in Huangmei County, Hubei Province, the Baoguang Temple in Xindu, Sichuan Province, and the Southern Putuo Temple in Xiamen, Fujian Province, are all famous for their vegetarian meat dishes, where previously temple kitchens could only cook food made of vegetables, fungi, fruit and tofu, or bean curd(Zhou).

Weng Yun-hsia, formerly a senior researcher at the Foundation of Chinese Dietary Culture, points out that in ancient China special palace vegetarian food was provided for the emperor and his wives and concubines. In the Yuan dynasty there was even a vegetarian office responsible for cooking and seasoning it (Chiung-fang). Such food was known as Imperial Food. Imperial food is an ancient tradition among Chinese emperors who used their power to gather the best cooks to come and create special cuisine exclusively for royalty. Extensive culinary rules, cooking staff and exotic ingredients were employed for the Emperor's meals... A monk who cooked in the Jianye Temple in Nanjing won the praise of Wudi and won a place in his kitchen cooking his vegetarian specialties for him(Zhou)...

http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/11-06/features479.htm

Hater Depot · Joined: 29 Mar 2005

"Mandatory" increase in the number of vegetarians?

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

Just wait till I'm emperor! All the turkeys (and other animals...) will get pardens (except maybe Bush and Cheney... Confused

)

Slaughterhouses will be converted into textured vegetable protein (fake meat) factories ...

Those who crave the taste of animal blood will just have to wait for them to die naturally (or buy a pint of blood from the Red Cross that they can ladle over their French fries... Twisted Evil

)

flotsam · Joined: 28 Mar 2006

He's got no clothes!

Ryst Helmut · Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 7:44 pm Post subject:

Fake meat...MmmmmmmMmmm. Just like Ma usta make!

!Shoosh,

Ryst

Big_Bird · Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 7:48 pm Post subject: Re: Hail Seitan!

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

When I lived in Orlando (Florida) my favorite restaurant was a Chinese vegetarian place, "The Garden" that simulated practically every kind of meat dish - including ribs and veal. Their "satay lamb" was excellent. Actually, their "vegetarian" sign near the top of their entrance was so small and inconspicuous that I think many of their customers assumed that they were eating animal meat...

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

Or, it could be that their eyes haven't "evolved" sufficiently ...

brento1138 · Joined: 17 Nov 2004

flotsam · Joined: 28 Mar 2006

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

(I refuse to make a joke including the words Kosher, nuts, and meatgrinder...)

There's another vegetarian nutloaf recipe if you scroll down to the bottom of this link [I was giving some copies of Higher Taste to Seoul Veggie Club members (see "Hater Depot"...)] but they're coming out with an updated version, and all their old recipes are on line now...]
http://www.webcom.com/~ara/col/books/VEG/ht/#List%20of%20Recipes

Hater Depot · Joined: 29 Mar 2005

flotsam, you're back in New York right? I highly recommend you check out Zen Palate.

http://www.toprestaurants.com/ny/zenpalate-ny.htm

And yeah, I have (unintentionally) fooled people with some fake meat -- Boca sausages, and there is one dynamite Chinese place in DC Tenleytown. Most fake meat still doesn't do a good job, but there must be some factory in New Jersey with some real overtime-workin' vegetarian scientists.

Big_Bird · Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:46 pm Post subject:

Did anyone ever try stuff from the Linda McCartney range? Healthwise it wasn't that great (high fat content etc) but her sausages and fake meat pies were bloody nice! I rather miss the wide range of vegetarian products you can buy in the UK. Crying or Very sad

jinju · Joined: 22 Jan 2006

this sort of shows what a sham vegeterianism really is. The fact that you have to invent fake meat dishes only goes to show how little taste vegeterian food really has. Sorry, Ill stick to real meat.