A spiritual experience
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-04-02 08:41

Fresh seafood is the first choice when dining in the coastal city of Xiamen in East China's Fujian Province. However, the vegetarian food found at Nanputuo Temple is also a must for most.

Vegetarian food has always been popular in Xiamen because of the many Buddhist followers in Fujian's south. And the temple is the place to go to taste authentic, local vegetarian food.

Situated at the foot of Wulaofeng (the Mountain of Five Old Men), Nanputuo Temple dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The vegetarian food there originated from the food offered to Buddha. At first, there were only a few dishes for pilgrims to allay their hunger.

But as tourism has flourished in Xiamen since the 1980s, the fare on offer at the temple has also developed greatly.

Now, the dishes are served in the temple's Haihui and Puzhao buildings. The latter was established in 1985 to satisfy the growing demand from customers.

Entering the Puzhao Building reveals a classical Chinese garden: Inside the building there is a small pool in which golden fish swim leisurely; a series of rooms, such as the Hall of Prolonging Life, the Hall of the Reflecting Moon, the Garret of Heavenly Cookery, the Room of Wish Fulfillment, and the Cool and Refreshing Garden, all linked by bridges, cloisters and stairways.

These days, Nanputuo Temple serves over 100 vegetarian dishes. However, they don't dish up food that is cooked to imitate meat and fish, like "Red-cooked Vegetarian Chicken" (Hongshao Suji), "Sweet and Sour Vegetarian Ribs" (Tangcu Suliji) and "Steamed Vegetarian Fish" (Suzengyu), which are common in vegetarian restaurants outside the temple.

On the contrary, the temple's dishes have always been "cooked in vegetarian ways and given vegetarian names."

Actually, one might wonder what the dishes actually are when reading the menu: "Crescent Moon in the River" (Banyue Chenjiang), "Golden Lotus from the South Sea" (Nanhai Jinlian), "Bright Pearl of Egret Island" (Ludao Mingzhu)...

These are some of the most famous Nanputuo Temple dishes, and their poetic Chinese names are one of the features. In fact, some of the names are connected to a poem which conforms to the rules of rhyme and tone in Chinese poetry.

"Crescent Moon in the River," a soup of gluten and fragrant mushroom, was named by famous writer and historian Guo Moruo (1892-1978).

In 1962, Guo and his wife visited Nanputuo Temple for dinner. When the "Soup of Gluten and Chinese Angelica" was served, the white gluten and black fragrant mushrooms reminded Guo of a "crescent moon in the river." He composed a poem on the spot:

From Zhoushan I came,

leaving Putuo for another Putuo.

So beautiful the green woods and valleys.

A pity too many inscription here and there,

down into the river the crescent moon,

deep into the eyes, thousands of mountains.

Three cups send me to wonderland.

Five Old Men, are you pleased with my coming?

"Nanputuo" means "South Putuo," because it is situated to the south of Putuo Mountain - a sacred Buddhist mountain in Zhejiang Province's Zhoushan Archipelago. That's why Guo says "leaving Putuo for another Putuo."

Now, Guo's poem is printed in each menu, which is given as a souvenir to customers.

Zhao Puchu (1907-2000), formerly the president of the China Buddhism Association, named his favourite dish at Nanputuo Temple "Silk Rain and Mushroom Clouds" (Siyu Guyun). It is made of vermicelli and fragrant mush-rooms.

In Chinese, the pronunciation of "mushroom" is the same as that of "lonely," so the name also suggests the reading, "Silk Rain and Lonely Clouds."

Also using vermicelli and mushroom, "Vermicelli of Putuo" (Putuo Fensi) has a different flavour. As the dishes' names indicate, "Silk Rain and Mushroom Clouds" is delicate, while "Rice Noodles of Putuo" is earthy.

Besides the two main ingredients, the latter also contains celery, gluten, carrot and cabbage, making it delicious, and due to its serving size, it's a meal in itself.

Fragrant mushrooms are widely used in Nanputuo Temple's dishes. You can also find them in "Fried Gluten" (Qinglu Zhihua), "Excellent and Tasty Bean Curd" (Jiaxiang Doufu) and "Arhat's Diet" (Luohan Zhai).

In "Fragrant Soil Containing Treasure" (Xiangni Cangzhen), fragrant mushrooms are the "treasure," placed at the centre of the taro, which is the "fragrant soil." Around the fragrant soil is a circle of fried mustard leaves. The crisp mustard leaves contrast greatly with the soft and sweet taro. This dish may serve as a dessert.

"Deep-fried Skewered Jade Slices" (Zha Chuanyupian) tastes more like a folk snack than an offering to Buddha. However, the "jade slices," which are made from soybean, is fried without the oiliness of many common fried snacks. In this way, it is in line with the characteristics of Nanputuo Temple's edibles.

The "Bamboo Fungus as One Wishes" (Zhusheng Ruyi) is cooked with bamboo fungus, known as "zhusheng," cabbage and agaric. The fungus grows on moldy bamboo. It is said to be rich in protein and able to reduce blood pressure and cholesterin.

The corn juice served at the temple is a unique beverage, which is made from ground corn. It is similar to the cornmeal gruel of northern China, but is much more refined. The corn juice is simple yet full of flavour.

All of the ingredients in Nanputuo Temple's vegetarian dishes are strictly selected. The taro is areca taro from suburban Xiamen; the bean curd is from the famous Lin Bian Bean Curd Store of Xiamen; and the rice-flour noodles are from Anxi County's Hutou Township, which is regarded as the home of rice-flour noodles.

Though ingredients are a priority, the method of cooking is also key. It is said that some dishes have to go through more than 10 stages of cooking.

Beside meals, the vegetarian cakes and mung bean flour pastries produced and sold by the temple are also delectable.

"Colour, smell, taste, form and aura" are the five things that the vegetarian food of Nanputuo Temple stresses. This attention to all aspects of the eating experience makes the cuisine distinctive from other vegetarian offerings.

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