It starts with the sound of dried ingredients coming back to life
Sink dried shiitake in warm water and the caps, hard as wood at first, slowly regain their roundness. Wood ear goes from small black shards to wavy, ear-shaped ruffles, and dried tofu skin turns from a stack of paper into supple layers. Buddha's Delight begins in these hours before anything touches the heat.
Buddha's Delight (羅漢齋 / Luóhàn zhāi / Lo Han Jai) is a braise of vegetables and dried goods that sits between Chinese Buddhist vegetarian cooking and the festive home table. It is well known in English-speaking countries under the name Buddha's Delight and appears as a vegetarian dish in Chinese restaurants. In Hong Kong and Cantonese households it is often described as the vegetarian dish eaten on the first day of Lunar New Year, and some home versions pull the dried goods and vegetables together with the aroma of red fermented tofu (nam yu).
The "luohan" in the name connects to the arhat, a person who has reached enlightenment in Buddhism. That does not make the home version a temple dish as such. In the home version from The Woks of Life, it is eaten on the morning of Chinese New Year at a grandmother's house, alongside small bowls of rice. It is a day when relatives gather, a day to rest the stomach by avoiding meat and fish, a day to bring back the contents of the dried-goods shelf a little at a time and pile them on one big platter. Buddha's Delight is a dish where religious vegetarianism and a household calendar meet in the kitchen.
There are regional differences too. In Cantonese Lo Han Jai, the versions that use red fermented tofu or nam yu for a red, fermented fragrance stand out. As in The Hong Kong Cookery's nam yu braised vegetarian dish, warming the fermented tofu in oil before adding the dried goods gives depth even without meat. On the other hand, the plate served as Buddha's Delight in Chinese restaurants abroad can lean toward a stir-fry with broccoli, snap peas and tofu. Neither is the "correct" one; where you land depends on whether you are making a Lunar New Year family dish or an everyday vegetarian side.
When you cook this at home, the vegetables are not the hard part. Napa cabbage, carrots and bamboo shoots are easy to find. The crux is how far to go with dried tofu skin, wood ear, dried shiitake and red fermented tofu. If you try to assemble everything perfectly, you stall at the shopping stage, so this article separates "ingredients to keep" from "ingredients you can swap". Even among East Asian home dishes, it is the opposite of mapo tofu (in Japanese), which pushes with aromatic oil: Buddha's Delight builds umami quietly by layering soaking liquid, fermented tofu and the sweetness of napa cabbage.
Among Chinese dishes that wrap in aroma, beggar's chicken, a whole chicken sealed in lotus leaf and a salt dough, makes a contrast too. If Buddha's Delight is a quiet plate in which dried goods are simmered through, beggar's chicken is a wrapped roast whose aroma bursts out the moment it is opened.
Why a meatless platter appears on Lunar New Year morning
If you see Buddha's Delight as just a vegetable braise, only the long ingredient list stands out. Think of it as the plate served on Lunar New Year morning in a Cantonese household and the meaning shifts a little. Dried shiitake, wood ear and tofu skin soaked the day before are gathered in a big pot, and when the heat goes on, the kitchen fills not with the smell of roasting meat but slowly with the sweet scent of dried goods and the fermented aroma of fermented tofu. It is a big platter that lets the rich feasting rest a little and eases the start of the year.
Because the name comes from the Buddhist "luohan," you may feel you must cook it as strictly as temple food. But the home version of Lo Han Jai is a softer dish. Some households avoid the five pungent vegetables, while others use a little ginger or scallion. How many kinds of dried goods go in also differs by household: some accounts include black hair moss, while other recipes center on napa cabbage and tofu skin. What matters is that, instead of "putting up with mild flavor" for the meat you left out, you add places to chew with soy products, mushrooms, glass noodles and fermented tofu.
The plate served as Buddha's Delight in restaurants abroad can lean toward a stir-fry with broccoli and snap peas. That is natural as a vegetarian dish, but it eats differently from Lunar New Year Lo Han Jai. At home, you get closer by not throwing away the soaking liquid, letting the tofu skin drink it up, and not overdoing the glass noodles, rather than adding more green vegetables. This is a dish judged less on a grand look than on whether, when you pick up a bite with chopsticks, the crunch of wood ear, the layers of tofu skin and the aroma of shiitake come through in turn.
In a home kitchen, you succeed more by deciding where and for how long to soak the dried goods than by hunting for perfectly auspicious ingredients. Red fermented tofu differs in saltiness from jar to jar, and thin dried tofu skin and thick fuzhu (dried tofu sticks) soften differently. Rather than gathering "every authentic ingredient" the first time, handle four things properly (shiitake, wood ear, tofu skin and red fermented tofu) and let napa cabbage and fried tofu carry the volume. That is a comfortable place to land for a home table.
The dish is written many ways in English and other languages (Lo Han Jai, Luohan zhai, Buddha's Delight and more). The Chinese "luohan" comes from the Buddhist arhat, and "zhai" is used in the sense of a vegetarian meal. This article uses "Buddha's Delight" for readability and also gives Lo Han Jai and the Chinese characters in the text.
Ingredients (serves 4)
This quantity serves 4 as a main dish with white rice. Because the glass noodles drink up liquid, stop while the dish still has a little liquid left when freshly made. If you are saving it for the next day, use half the glass noodles and add 100 g more napa cabbage, and it is less likely to turn heavy when reheated.
This recipe contains soy (tofu skin, fried tofu, red fermented tofu, soy sauce), seasonings that may contain wheat, and, depending on the product, sesame. If you follow a strict vegetarian diet or religious restrictions, check the ingredients of the red fermented tofu, soy sauce and Shaoxing wine. The home version uses ginger, but if you want to match temple-style vegetarian cooking, leave out the ginger too and make the shiitake soaking liquid a little stronger.
Ingredients you can swap, and ones that are hard to replace
Buddha's Delight is sometimes explained as holding many kinds of ingredients in reference to the "eighteen luohan." As a home dish, though, what matters is layering the textures of the dried goods more than matching the number of items. In a home kitchen, it helps to think of it like this.
| Role | Ingredients to keep | Possible substitutes | What changes with the substitute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Umami | Dried shiitake and the soaking liquid | Add 100 ml of kombu stock | Less Chinese in character, leaning Japanese |
| Texture | Wood ear, bamboo shoots | Lotus root, king oyster mushroom | The bouncy, jelly-like texture of wood ear is lost |
| Soy layer | Dried tofu skin, fried tofu | Thick fried tofu, fresh tofu skin | Less of the springiness of fuzhu, but easier to make |
| Fermented aroma | Red fermented tofu | White fermented tofu, a little barley miso | The red aroma and saltiness of red fermented tofu weaken |
| Liquid absorber | Mung bean glass noodles | None, or a little kudzu noodle | Without glass noodles it becomes a lighter simmered dish |
The ingredients most worth tracking down at an Asian grocery or online the first time are red fermented tofu, dried tofu skin and dried wood ear. Dried shiitake is easy to find in most supermarkets, and napa cabbage, carrots, bamboo shoots and fried tofu are fine from a regular grocery store. Black hair moss (fat choy) turns up in Lunar New Year cooking, but because of availability and environmental concerns this home version does not use it; the texture is built with wood ear and glass noodles instead.
Red fermented tofu and fuzhu vary a great deal by maker, so the first time it is safest to read the labels on jars and bags in person at an Asian grocery before choosing. Dried shiitake, napa cabbage, carrots, bamboo shoots and fried tofu are enough from an ordinary supermarket.
Soaking the day before, and where to keep things the day of
Buddha's Delight is a dish where preparation order decides the flavor more than heat control. If you put all the dried goods in one bowl, the fast-soaking glass noodles take up too much water and the shiitake soaking liquid turns cloudy. If you lack small bowls, separate only the shiitake, wood ear and tofu skin, and keep the golden needles in a separate strainer next to the tofu skin for easier management.
| When | What to do | Where to keep it | Guide to avoid failure |
|---|---|---|---|
| The night before | Soak only the dried shiitake in water | Refrigerator | Enough water to submerge the mushrooms completely. Don't leave them at room temperature |
| Morning of | Soak the wood ear, golden needles and tofu skin | Refrigerator on a hot day | Wood ear is open, tofu skin is soft enough that it doesn't crack when folded |
| Before cooking | Soak the glass noodles last | Strainer in the kitchen | Don't soak long; stop while still slightly firm |
| Just before it goes in the pot | Dissolve the fermented tofu sauce | Small bowl | No lumps left, thick enough to drop into the pot with a wooden spatula |
On days you want to soak everything the day before, still keep the wood ear in the refrigerator, and don't use anything whose soaking water has turned cloudy or smells sour. Dried goods keep well while dry, but once they take up water they spoil easily. If you move steps earlier for a busy day, leave a bit more margin than strictly needed for the sake of food safety.
Method: use up even the soaking liquid
Before you start cooking, finish soaking the dried goods, cutting the vegetables and mixing the fermented tofu sauce. If you light the heat under the wok or deep skillet and then go searching for things, the red fermented tofu scorches and the bottom of the pan turns salty before the napa cabbage has released its water.
Common problems and how to fix them
Buddha's Delight looks difficult because of the number of ingredients, but where it goes wrong can be separated out. Are the dried goods not softened, is the fermented tofu sauce scorched, or have the glass noodles absorbed too much liquid? Instead of trying to fix everything in the pan at once, find the closest state in the table below.
| Problem | Cause | How to fix |
|---|---|---|
| Flavor is weak | The napa cabbage went in before the dried goods were coated with sauce | Mix 1 tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp red fermented tofu brine and add it down the side of the pan |
| Too salty | Too much fermented tofu, or the liquid was cooked off | Add 50 ml water or shiitake soaking liquid, add 100 g napa cabbage and simmer 3 minutes |
| Glass noodles clump | They absorbed all the liquid | Add 50 ml hot water and 1 tsp sesame oil and loosen over low heat for 2 minutes |
| Wood ear is tough | Not soaked enough, or the base was left on | Remove the hard parts and simmer 5 more minutes in soaking liquid |
| Sour smell | Dried goods were soaked at room temperature for a long time | Throw them out and don't use them. On long-soak days, put them in the refrigerator |
Red fermented tofu is strongly salty, so if you add it like soy sauce it quickly turns salty. Its role is a fermented aroma like a little miso, cheese and sake lees combined. Stop at 35 g the first time, and if you want it stronger, it is safer to add just 5 g next time.
How it is eaten in China and as a menu at home
Cantonese Lo Han Jai is sometimes piled generously on a big platter on Lunar New Year morning or at a table where relatives gather. It satisfies even with no meat or fish because the tofu skin, tofu puffs, shiitake and glass noodles each have a different texture. As a side dish, white rice, stir-fried greens with salt and an egg-free Chinese soup are enough.
At the table it is less a dish to finish piping hot than one to dig into at a slightly settled temperature. It is easiest to eat when the glass noodles have taken up the liquid, the edges of the tofu skin are stained reddish-brown and the shiitake soaking liquid has mixed with the sweetness of the cabbage. Mounded in the middle of a large platter, with everyone taking a little at a time, you won't worry about uneven portions of the ingredients.
Restaurant Buddha's Delight sometimes adds green vegetables at the end for color. In a home Lo Han Jai, the cohesion of the braise comes before greenness. If you really want green, stir-fry bok choy separately with salt and set it alongside, which brightens the table without diluting the pot.
For a home menu, mild plates next to Buddha's Delight bring out its fermented aroma better than spicy ones. For example, make Buddha's Delight the main and serve a small portion of mapo tofu (in Japanese) as the strongly scented plate, or compare it on a day you enjoy noodle texture with Korean japchae (in Japanese). On weekdays when you have no time to soak dried goods, buy bok choy and shiitake and turn them into lo mein, a quick dinner that still uses Chinese vegetable cooking. For the idea of eating vegetables over rice, as with Korean bibimbap (in Japanese), the more you keep the textures of the toppings separate, the more each bite changes.
Black hair moss is sometimes mentioned as an auspicious Lunar New Year ingredient, but there is no need to force yourself to look for it in a home kitchen now. Wood ear and glass noodles are enough to create its textural role. To bring out the character of Buddha's Delight, handling red fermented tofu, dried shiitake and tofu skin with care works better than adding rare ingredients.
Storage and make-ahead, without making it heavy the next day
Buddha's Delight keeps 2 days in the refrigerator. Once it has cooled slightly, transfer it with its liquid to a clean container. The glass noodles keep absorbing liquid, so for the next day either use fewer glass noodles from the start or set aside a portion and add the noodles later, which holds the texture better.
Reheat in a small pot rather than a microwave. Add 2 tbsp water or shiitake soaking liquid and warm over low heat for 4 minutes. If the glass noodles have stiffened, don't pull them apart with chopsticks; wait until the liquid is warm and then loosen them slowly with a wooden spatula. Freezing is not recommended, because the texture of the glass noodles and napa cabbage suffers. If you must freeze, portion out only the braised ingredients before the glass noodles go in.
The biggest caution for make-ahead is the soaking time of the dried goods. If you soak them the night before, always put them in the refrigerator. Wood ear in particular spoils easily when left at room temperature for a long time; if it turns slimy or smells sour, do not use it. Dried-goods dishes look like preserved food, but it is safer to think of them as close to fresh food from the moment they take up water.
More dishes to cook alongside
- Mapo tofu (in Japanese) - A spicy counterpoint for comparing fermented seasonings and the aroma of oil.
- Chow mein - The same wok, but a dish that builds aroma over high heat instead of braising.
- Beggar's chicken - A Chinese dish that seals in aroma, read as a contrast to Buddha's Delight.
- Danbing - A Taiwanese breakfast for when you want a light flour dish alongside the next morning.
- Japchae (in Japanese) - Another East Asian dish that makes the texture of glass noodles the star.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can I make it without red fermented tofu?
You can, but the fermented aroma that makes it Buddha's Delight weakens. Substituting 30 g white fermented tofu is the closest; if you don't have that, make a home version by mixing 2 tsp barley miso, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine and 1 tsp sugar. In that case, enjoy it as a "vegetarian vegetable braise" and try red fermented tofu next time, which is the realistic order.
Q. What can I use if I can't find dried tofu skin?
200 g of thick fried tofu works well. Pour boiling water over it to remove surface oil, cut it 1 cm wide and add it in step 5. Fresh tofu skin breaks down easily in simmering, so add it for the last 3 minutes of step 6. You won't get the springiness of dried tofu skin, but the soy aroma is made up for.
Q. Can I add garlic or scallion?
For a home version, you can. Stir-frying 40 g of the white part of a leek with the ginger brings up the aroma. But if you are making it as temple-style vegetarian cooking or as Lunar New Year vegetarian food, it is more consistent to follow the idea of avoiding the five pungent vegetables and leave out scallion and garlic. This article takes the middle road and uses only ginger.
Q. Can I make it without glass noodles?
Yes. Without them it becomes a braise with liquid and is easier to keep refrigerated. In that case reduce the shiitake soaking liquid to 230 ml and add only 1 tsp worth of starch slurry at the end to bring it together lightly. With glass noodles is better over white rice; without is easier for make-ahead.
Q. Can I soak all the dried goods the day before?
You can, on the condition that you don't leave them out at room temperature. Soaking the dried shiitake in the refrigerator from the night before brings out more umami. If wood ear, golden needles and tofu skin will sit for a long time, put them in the refrigerator too, and don't use them if the soaking water turns cloudy or smells sour. Glass noodles soaked the day before take up too much water, so the last 10 minutes of the day is enough.
Q. Is it not authentic without black hair moss?
It holds together well enough as a home Buddha's Delight without it. Black hair moss is talked about as an auspicious Lunar New Year ingredient, but it is hard to obtain in many places and a material where quality and origin are hard to choose. The fine texture is made up by the glass noodles and the dark crunch by wood ear. The first time, handling red fermented tofu and tofu skin carefully affects the flavor more than looking for black hair moss.
Q. Is it easy to eat for children and older family members?
There is almost no heat, but there is the saltiness and fermented aroma of red fermented tofu. For the first time with family, reduce the red fermented tofu to 25 g and the soy sauce to 1 1/2 tbsp. Large wood ear and tofu skin are hard to chew, so cutting wood ear into 2 cm squares and tofu skin into 4 cm lengths makes them easier to eat.
Sources
- Wikipedia contributors, "Buddha's delight", accessed 2026-05-20, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha%27s_delight
- The Woks of Life, "Buddha's Delight (Vegetarian Lo Han Jai)", accessed 2026-05-20, https://thewoksoflife.com/buddhas-delight-lo-han-jai/
- Wok and Kin, "Lo Han Jai (Buddha's Delight 罗汉斋)", accessed 2026-05-20, https://www.wokandkin.com/buddhas-delight-lo-han-jai/
- The Hong Kong Cookery, "Red Fermented Bean Curd Buddha's Delight Luohan Zhai 南乳炆齋", accessed 2026-05-20, https://www.thehongkongcookery.com/2020/01/red-fermented-bean-curd-buddhas-delight.html
- Hetty McKinnon, "Lo han Jai (Buddha's delight)", accessed 2026-05-20, https://hettymckinnon.com/recipes/lo-han-jai-buddhas-delight
