A plate of stir-fried mushrooms and greens, a plate of sweet and sour tofu strips, a plate of stir-fried yam with wood ear mushrooms, along with a large sea bowl of tomatoes in sugar syrup and a serving of seaweed egg-drop soup—a series of very simple, homey dishes. Yet the monk, with his precise control of timing and seasoning, managed to make each dish perfectly, leaving one's appetite thoroughly stirred.
Of course, the monk was not entirely bound by the strict commandments of monastic discipline, so the dishes weren't strictly vegetarian. At least Mr. Su Bai saw him use pork belly to render out oil for cooking.
Three dishes, one soup, and an appetizer made up the meal. The four of them sat around a small table in the courtyard of the fat guy's aunt's house. Across the river was the Giant Buddha, though now its view evoked a wholly different feeling. Scenes from earlier seemed like a fleeting dream.
