Vegetables & Vegetarian Dishes

Colorful fresh vegetables, cooked lightly and simply with respect to the innate flavor and texture of the plant, have come to be synonymous with Chinese cooking in the West. Contrary to our own habits of cooking vegetables to a uniform softness, choosing one part of the plant in preference to another seemingly less sweet or tender part, or variously paring or puréeing a vegetable down to an anonymous bit of color, the Chinese have a passion for preserving and presenting the original character of the whole plant. Leaves, stems, and roots are all eaten with relish. Flavors are left naturally acrid, bitter, or sweet. Crunchy, gelatinous, smooth, and brittle textures are each prized, while cutting seeks to emphasize the natural lines and hollows of the plant. Artifice and cooking time are kept to a minimum, leaving the vegetable looking and tasting bright and fresh—lively and almost “purified” as opposed to just “cooked.”