The Chinese Vegan Kitchen (3 page)

BEAN CURD SHEET
Made by skimming and drying the skin that forms on top of heated soy milk and left in sheet form; also known as tofu skin, bean curd skin, dried bean curd, yuba, or bean skin.

BEAN CURD STICK
Made by skimming and drying the skin that forms on top of heated soy milk in stick form; also known as dried tofu stick, dried bean stick, or tofu bamboo.

BEAN SPROUT
A young sprout of a germinating mung bean having a crisp texture; also known as mung bean sprout, green bean sprout, or Chinese bean sprout.

BITTER MELON
A gourd resembling a cucumber with rough, pockmarked skin and bitter flesh; also known as balsam pear.

BLACK BEAN SAUCE
An Asian sauce or condiment typically made of fermented black soybeans, sugar, flour, garlic, and soy sauce; also known as black bean sauce with garlic. Black bean sauce with chili also contains hot chilies.

BLACK FUNGUS
A brownish, crinkly mushroom with a crunchy, grisly, jellylike texture that is sold mainly in dried form; also known as cloud ear, tree ear, wood fungus, mouse ear, or jelly mushroom.

BLACK MUSHROOM (SHIITAKE)
Commonly known as shiitake, a black mushroom is a large and meaty cultivated mushroom that can be light or dark brown or
sometimes gray. Dried black mushrooms are often preferred due to their more intense flavor. Also known as black forest mushroom, black winter mushroom, brown oak mushroom, Chinese black mushroom, Oriental black mushroom, forest mushroom, golden oak mushroom, or donko.

BLACK RICE
A rice grain that is black when raw and dark purple when cooked, available in long-grain and glutinous, or sticky, form; also known as Chinese black rice, forbidden black rice, forbidden rice, black tribute rice, or emperor’s rice.

BOK CHOY
A member of the cabbage family with a white stem and dark green leaves; also known as bok choi, pak choi, Peking cabbage, or white cabbage. Shanghai bok choy is a type of baby bok choy.

CELLOPHANE NOODLES
A thin, transparent Asian noodle typically made from mung bean starch; also known as mung bean noodles, bean threads, or glass noodles.

CELTUCE
A cultivar of lettuce grown primarily for its thick, asparagus-like stem, celtuce has a mild taste and crunchy texture; also known as stem lettuce, celery lettuce, asparagus lettuce, or Chinese lettuce.

CHINESE CABBAGE
A large-headed cabbage with firmly packed, pale green leaves; also called Napa cabbage, Chinese leaf, Peking cabbage, or celery cabbage.

CHINESE CELERY
Originating from wild Asian celery, Chinese celery has very thin, hollow stalks ranging from white to dark green in color with a stronger flavor than regular celery; also known as Chinese small celery or Oriental celery.

CHINESE CHILI PASTE
A fiery blend of hot chili peppers, garlic, oil, and salt; also known as Chinese chili sauce, or chili paste with garlic.

CHINESE CHIVES
Like regular Western chives, standard Chinese chives are members of the onion family and have white flowers, long green shoots, and lack of a bulb. Unlike regular Western chives, the shoots are broad and flat and have a strong flavor and odor similar to garlic. Standard Chinese chives are also known as garlic chives, Chinese garlic chives, Oriental garlic chives, Chinese leek, ku chai, jiu cai, gau choy, or nira. There are two other varieties of Chinese chives: flowering chives, which have yellow flowers and an even stronger garlicky flavor, and yellow chives, which are grown out of direct sunlight. All are interchangeable in recipes. Flowering chives are also known as
flowering garlic chives, flowering Chinese chives, flowering leek, or Chinese leek flower. Yellow chives are also known as blanched chives.

CHINESE EGGPLANT
A narrow, purple variety of Asian eggplant that may be streaked with white. It has thinner skin and less seed than regular eggplant, and is therefore less bitter. Also known as Oriental eggplant.

CHINESE FLOWERING CABBAGE
A relative of bok choy with small yellow flowers; medium green leaves; and a sweet, mustardy flavor. Also known as choy sum or choi sum.

CHINESE HOT OIL
A fiery condiment typically made from soybean oil that has been infused with dried chili peppers; also known as red oil, hot sauce, hot pepper oil, or chili oil.

CHINESE LONG BEAN
A pencil-thin legume that resembles a long green bean, usually picked when eighteen inches or less in length; has a flavor similar to the green bean but is not as sweet. Also called long bean, yard-long bean, asparagus bean, or snake bean.

CHINESE MUSTARD GREENS
A peppery variety of the cabbage family that is similar in taste to Western mustard greens but with a less pungent flavor, mature Chinese mustard greens are eaten cooked, while young mustard greens can be eaten cooked or raw. Also known as gai choy, kai choy, Chinese mustard cabbage, Indian mustard, or leaf mustard.

CHINESE OKRA
A dull green vegetable with lengthwise ridges with a taste and texture slightly similar to Western okra; also known as silk squash, angled luffa, sing gua, or dishwasher gourd.

CHINESE SESAME PASTE
Made from ground toasted sesame seeds, sesame paste has a texture and flavor similar to tahini or peanut butter, which can be used as substitutes; also known as Asian sesame paste.

CHINESE SPINACH
A leafy green vegetable with either green or red leaves similar in taste to spinach; also known as amaranth, yeen choy, or xian cai.

CHINESE WHITE RADISH (DAIKON)
Commonly known as daikon, Chinese white radish is a long radish resembling a large white carrot with a sharp bite; also known as lo bak, low bak, or Chinese icicle radish.

CHINESE YAM
A starchy and bland white tuber with a thick, gluey texture when grated. Unlike regular yams, it can be eaten raw after peeling; peel with a vegetable peeler under running water to avoid any skin sensitivity to its sticky juices. Also known as Japanese mountain yam, Korean yam, or wild yam.

DRAGON FRUIT
An exotic tropical fruit, usually scarlet red or pink in color (although some are yellow), with a scaly skin and a red or white sweet pulp with tiny black seeds; also known as pitaya, pitahaya, huo long guo, or strawberry pear.

DRIED LILY BUD
Yellow-gold or brown in color, with an earthy taste, a dried lily bud is the unopened flower of a daylily.

DRIED OSMANTHUS FLOWER
The dried tiny golden-yellow flower of the osmanthus plant, a member of the olive family that is native to China, with a sweet and pleasant fragrance; popular in teas, desserts, and jellies, and occasionally used in savory dishes. Also known as tea olive, fragrant olive, sweet olive, or gui hua.

DUCK SAUCE
(
see
Plum Sauce)

DUMPLING WRAPPER
A thin, round, flattened piece of dough primarily made of wheat flour and water (sometimes contains eggs) that is used to make dumplings and pot stickers; also known as dumpling skin, gyoza wrapper/skin, or jiaozi wrapper/skin.

FERMENTED BLACK BEANS
Strongly flavored soybeans that have been dried and fermented with salt; other spices such as chilies, wine, and/or ginger may be added. Also known as salted black beans or dried black beans.

FERN ROOT NOODLES
Purplish-black colored noodles with a chewy texture made from the starch of the common bracken fern; in dried form, they resemble twigs.

FIVE-SPICE POWDER
A pungent Chinese blend of five ground spices, typically consisting of equal parts cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns.

FUZZY MELON
A mild-tasting gourd resembling a zucchini covered with fuzz whose skin must be peeled before stuffing and steaming or using in soups and stir-fries. Also known as hairy melon, fuzzy squash, mo gwa, or mo qua.

GINGER
A tropical root plant with a tan skin and gnarled, bumpy appearance. The flavor is peppery and slightly sweet, while the aroma is pungent and spicy. Also known as gingerroot.

GINKGO NUT
A buff-colored, mildly sweet nut from the center of the inedible fruit of the maidenhair tree, a native of China; also known as gingko, ginkgo/gingko seed, white nut, or bai guo.

GLUTINOUS RICE
A variety of short-grain Asian rice that becomes sticky when cooked; also known as sticky rice, sushi rice, sweet rice, pearl rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, or pulut.

GLUTINOUS RICE FLOUR
An Asian rice flour made from glutinous, or sticky, rice; also known as sweet rice flour, sticky rice flour, mifen, or mochiko.

GOLDEN NEEDLE MUSHROOM (ENOKI)
A small white mushroom growing in clumps that have long, thin stems topped with tiny caps having a mild flavor and crisp texture; also known as enoki, velvet stem, snow puff, or golden mushrooms.

HOISIN SAUCE
A sweet-and-spicy condiment, hoisin is a thick, dark sauce made from a combination of fermented soybeans, garlic, vinegar, sugar, chilies, and other spices; also known as Chinese barbecue sauce.

HOT BEAN SAUCE
A fermented paste that combines hot chilies with broad beans and/or soybeans and other seasonings; also known as hot bean paste, soybean paste with chili, or chili bean sauce/paste.

HOT MUSTARD
A sharp, hot condiment made by mixing dry mustard powder with water. Vegetable oil, sesame oil, and rice vinegar may also be added. Also known as Chinese mustard.

KELP
A green, gray, or brown sea vegetable, or seaweed, kelp contains essential iodine and is available in fresh and, more commonly, dried form; one of the most popular types of kelp for culinary uses in both fresh and dried forms is seaweed tangle, or sea tangle, which is strands of kelp that are usually emerald green in fresh form and grayish green in dried form. Also known as haidai, kombu, konbu, or dashima.

KIWIFRUIT
Native to China, kiwifruit has a thin, fuzzy brown skin and a fruity aroma. The flesh is green with shiny black seeds and succulent flesh. Also known as kiwi.

KONJAC
A gray- to white-colored gelatinous, fiber-rich mass made from the starchy corms of the konjac plant, which grows in southern China. Also known as konjac tofu, moyu, or konnyaku.

KUMQUAT
A small, round, or oblong citrus fruit with an edible rind and acid pulp used primarily for preserves and sauces; also known as cumquat or kinkan.

LITCHI
A small round to oval fruit having a hard, reddish outer covering and sweet, whitish edible flesh that surrounds a single large seed; also known as lychee or litchi/lychee nut.

LONGAN
A small round fruit having a golden brown outer covering and sweet, whitish edible flesh surrounding a single large seed; similar to the litchi but with a more subtly sweet flavor. Also known as dragon’s eye.

LOQUAT
A small pear-shaped fruit with a yellowish-orange skin and juicy flesh; also known as Japanese plum, Chinese plum, or Japanese medlar.

LOTUS ROOT
The thick, tuberous root of the lotus, an aquatic plant similar to the water lily, with a sweet taste and crisp texture.

LOTUS SEED
The small, nutlike seed of the lotus plant; also known as lotus nuts.

MANGO
A tropical fruit with a firm yellowish-red skin, a hard central stone, and juicy aromatic pulp. Also known as mangou, mangot, or manga.

MI DOU FU
A white-colored mass resembling tofu that is made from rice milk boiled to a curd in a method similar to making tofu; also known as rice tofu.

MUNG BEAN
A tiny green-skinned bean with a tender texture and slightly sweet flavor, whose sprout (
see
Bean Sprout) is commonly used in salads and stir-fries. Dried mung beans are used in soups, and ground into flour, which is used to make mung bean, or cellophane, noodles. Also known as green bean, green soy, or mongo bean.

MUSHROOM SOY SAUCE
A soy sauce that has been infused with the flavor of straw mushrooms.

OYSTER MUSHROOM
A shell-shaped mushroom with white flesh and a gray to brown exterior with a soft texture and robust flavor; also known as oyster caps, angel’s wing, tree mushrooms, summer oyster mushrooms, pleurotte, or shimeji.

PANDAN LEAF
A long leaf of the screwpine pandanus, a tropical plant that grows in southeast Asia, with a sweet, unique flavor that is used to enhance the aroma and flavor of desserts and, occasionally, savory dishes. Also known as screwpine leaf, pandanus leaf, rampe leaf, kewra, bai toey, or bai touy.

PERSIMMON
An edible fruit resembling a large tomato with a sweet flesh. The Fuyu persimmon is slightly tart and is best eaten when firm and crisp, like an apple. The acorn-shaped Hachiya persimmon has a softer, sweeter pulp when fully ripened.

PLUM SAUCE
A light brown, sweet-and-sour condiment made from sweet plums or other fruit such as peach or apricot, along with sugar, vinegar, ginger, and chilies; also known as duck sauce.

POMEGRANATE
An apple-sized fruit with a leathery reddish outer skin and sweet red gelatinous flesh containing many edible seeds; also known as Chinese apple.

RED DATE
A small red, plumlike fruit whose skin becomes crinkly when dried; also known as jujube or Chinese date.

RICE NOODLES
Flat (stir-fry or linguine-style) or thin (rice vermicelli) long Asian noodles made from rice flour and water used in soups, spring rolls, cold salads, and stir-fries. Generally sold dried in bundle form, they can be located in most major supermarkets in the international aisle among the Asian foods.

RICE PAPER WRAPPER
(
see
Spring Roll Wrapper) Typically, a very thin, semi-transparent large round wrapper made from a mixture of rice flour and water, generally sold in dried form that requires soaking to soften, used to make spring rolls or summer rolls. Also known as rice paper, spring roll skin, or spring roll wrapper.