Vegetarian Feast

Vegetarian Feast

　　Located 3.5 kilometers southwest of Yuan’an County in Mingfeng Mountain, this site is a sacred mountain that blends religion and tourism, standing shoulder to shoulder with Mount Wudang. Not long ago, at the invitation of Taoist Master Tian, the head of the Mingfeng Mountain Taoist Temple, I had the pleasure of tasting a vegetarian feast on this celestial mountain—an absolute delight.

　　It was a refreshing autumn day with red leaves blanketing the hills, making the experience of hiking and climbing truly joyful. Upon reaching the mountain, Taoist Master Tian personally accompanied us and we took our seats at an antique-style Eight Immortals table. The first dish served was a plate of shiny chicken drumsticks. Puzzled, I pointed at them and asked bluntly, “Monks don’t eat meat, do they? So why are there chicken legs? We can’t break the mountain’s rules just because we’re laypeople!” Smiling, Master Tian stroked his long white beard and said, “How dare I break the rules? Just try one and you’ll see.” I picked up a drumstick and examined it closely, only to realize it was made of tofu skin. My naivety made everyone burst out laughing. Master Tian explained, “This is a Taoist dish for entertaining guests, called ‘vegetarian chicken.’” This vegetarian chicken was deep-fried in fragrant oil and tasted even better than real chicken drumsticks.

　　When the second vegetarian dish was served, I didn’t recognize it either. It was thin as threads, white as jade, garnished with scallions and green peppers—it looked delicious. I picked up a bite with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth. It tasted like meat but wasn’t meat, like vegetables but wasn’t vegetables, and had a great chewy texture. This time I didn’t dare guess it was meat, but I couldn’t help asking Master Tian, “What is this?” Instead, Master Tian asked us to guess. None of the four of us could figure out what it was made of. He laughed again and said, “This is nothing special—just dried eggplant.” We were all amazed: “How can eggplant be made to taste this good?” As we chewed slowly, we gradually detected hints of eggplant flavor. So we asked Master Tian how it was made. He told us, “Take freshly harvested young eggplants, peel them, cut them into fine threads, blanch them, dry them, then soak them in fragrant oil.”

　　The third dish was a traditional delicacy of Yuan’an—Chong (or Cage) Vegetable. Made from pickled green preserved mustard greens, it featured a mix of yellow and green hues, with a well-balanced sour and salty taste, crisp and refreshing, hiding a sharp kick that tickled the nose and brought on sneezes, adding to the cheerful atmosphere. It was a great dish to go with wine or rice. The fourth dish was fried coriander, made by coating coriander leaves in batter and deep-frying them until crispy and delicious.

　　The fifth dish was called “Buddha’s Hand.” A plate was piled high with chubby little “Buddha’s hands,” made from flour and baked.

　　The sixth dish was a large platter of pickles: green peppers, garlic, baby ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, radishes, and lotus roots. Especially the lotus roots—they were fresh and crisp, looking just like unopened lotus flowers, bright red and very pretty, and even the pickle brine was a vivid red. I’ve always loved pickles, and these temple-made ones had an otherworldly taste, so I ate especially heartily.

　　The following dishes included five-spice tofu, stir-fried bean sprouts, and stir-fried shredded potatoes—all exquisitely prepared. Finally came a big bowl of “Immortal Soup,” made with vibrant green spinach, bright red goji berries, and tender yellow enoki mushrooms, incredibly flavorful. The drink served during the meal was chrysanthemum wine infused by Master Tian using Yuan’an’s yellow wine—fragrant, sweet, and I drank three big cups. Master Tian said, “Taoists regard alcohol as medicine, so we only abstain from meat, not wine.”

　　The staple food was a bowl of longevity noodles for each person, topped with seven or eight kinds of garnishes such as shiitake mushrooms, wood ear fungus, daylily buds, mung bean sprouts, and bean gluten.

　　On the way down the mountain, everyone couldn’t stop praising Mingfeng Mountain. This famous mountain in the Chu region is not only picturesque and ethereal, but its vegetarian meals are also exquisitely prepared—truly living up to its reputation. So we each contributed a line and composed a poem together: “Mingfeng’s celestial mountain charms the eye, / The Taoist host’s feast warms the heart nigh. / A table of vegetarian fare brings long life, / Three cups of chrysanthemum wine cleanse the strife.”