Its a soup you could easily slide onto your holiday table as a light side dish, even if you arent doing a full vegan dinner, Wahpepah says.
Yan, meanwhile, invites neighbors and relatives to his home for a Chinese-style Thanksgiving feast every year. Hell roast a turkey, but he stuffs it with a sesame oillaced stir-fry of bamboo shoots, Chinese celery, pressed bean curd and all different kinds of mushrooms, brushing the bird with soy sauce until the skin develops the lacquered, amber sheen normally associated with Peking duck. Hell make sweet potatoes seasoned with ginger and five-spice powder. I make it very Asian, he says.
Mostly, though, what he cooks are vegetables, which he says have long been the foundation of his diet, even if hes never been fully vegan or vegetarian. His fridge is crammed full of Asian producemustard greens, daikon, Chinese broccoli, winter melon and more.
For the reFresh demonstration, Yan plans to make a variation on mu shu pork, a very standard dish that you might order at a Chinese restaurant. Of course, hell make a version without meatjust heaps of thinly julienned fresh vegetables stir-fried to still-crunchy perfection, then served on top of pancakes made out of crispy noodles. According to Yan, Chinese tradition dictates that you have to eat noodles during special celebrations, since they symbolize longevity and long-lasting happiness.
Now in his early 70s, Yan still spends more than two-thirds of the year traveling around the world for various speaking engagements. And he attributes his good health to his mostly plant-based diet, even if he only recently started using the term.
After all, Yan says with his trademark deadpan delivery, Thats why for 36 years I have not gained one pound.
The Holiday reFresh virtual event takes place Sunday, Nov. 7, from 45:40pm. Theres an optional suggested donation of $35, but anyone who would like to attend can reserve a free ticket.
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Martin Yan and Crystal Wahpepah Share Plant-Based Holiday Recipes - KQED
