Buddha's delight

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Synthesised from Google · Yelp · Reddit · 3 food blogs · Updated August 2026

The story the reviews tell

Buddha's delight is a vegetarian dish that moves between the monastery and the dinner table—traditionally the sustenance of Buddhist monks who kept vegetarian practice, now a familiar refuge on Chinese restaurant menus worldwide. Various vegetables and ingredients simmer together in a soy-based broth, their specific identities shifting with region and kitchen, until they turn tender and yielding. The dish carries multiple names across languages and scripts, each one a thread connecting Buddhist tradition to contemporary vegetarian eating.

What makes this version distinct

Buddha's delight, often transliterated as Luóhàn zhāi (simplified Chinese: 罗汉斋; traditional Chinese: 羅漢齋, Japanese: rakansai (羅漢斎, 羅漢菜, 羅漢齋, らかんさい)), lo han jai, or lo hon jai, is a vegetarian dish well known in Chinese and Buddhist cuisine. It is sometimes also called Luóhàn cài (simplified Chinese: 罗汉菜; traditional Chinese: 羅漢菜). The dish is traditionally enjoyed by Buddhist monks who are vegetarians, but it has also grown in popularity throughout the world as a common dish available as a vegetarian option in Chinese restaurants. The dish consists of various vegetables and other vegetarian ingredients (sometimes with the addition of seafood or eggs), which are cooked in soy sauce-based liquid with other seasonings until tender. The specific ingredients used vary greatly both inside and outside Asia.

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