Wheat Gluten with four Ingredients (四喜烤麩)

This is a very traditional Shanghai dish, and a vegetarian dish. It'll keep in the fridge for a week or two, and be served as a cold dish. (#ShanghaiDish)

1. As the title implies, this is very much a dish about its ingredients. All ingredients can be acquired from Chinese supermarkets, in California. Here they are: (1) Wheat Gluten (1 bag)- This can be found in Chinese supermarkets in two forms, dry roasted (looks like a bag of dry bread cubes, use the Kimbo brand if possible) or frozen steamed (like a chunk of frozen sponge, see product package). Both types should be available in the Tofu section. (2) Frozen Bamboo Shoots (get a 16-oz bag, Kimbo brand, if possible, use 3-4 pieces); (3) Dry Mushroom (香菇, 8-10 pieces); (4) Dried Daylily (金針菜, enough to fill a small rice bowl); (5) Dried Black Fungus (黑木耳, enough to fill a half of the rice bowl in dried form); (6) Peanuts (get a bag of peeled raw peanuts, and use 15-20 pieces). Note 1- It is often hard to find quality wheat gluten. Sometimes the gluten might come with a slightly sour taste, which means we might have to try another brand next time. It appears the dry roasted form is safer than the frozen steamed form, in this respect. Note 2- The standard for assessing Bamboo Shoots is that it should still be crunchy, not soggy, as part of the end product in this dish. Notes 3- The picture to the right shows 4 ingredients immersed in water (UL- dry mushroom, UR- black fungus, LL- daylily, LR- peanuts).
2. Process the ingredients: (1a) Frozen Gluten- defrost, cut into large cubes, and then hand-tear the pieces into 2-3 smaller pieces (to give it the non-cut natural form); (1b) Roasted Gluten- immerse in cold water for an hour, take out, squeeze dry; (2) Frozen Bamboo Shoots- defrost, slice and cut into smaller pieces (~1/2" x 3/4"); (3) Dry mushroom- soak 8-10 pieces in cold water for an hour, or in hot water for 20 minutes, slice into 1/4" strips; (4) Dried Daylily- soak in water for 15-20 minutes, use a pair of scissors to cut off the hard head at one end, and cut the long pieces into half; (5) Dried Black Fungus- soak in water for an hour, and hand-tear into smaller pieces; (6) Peanuts- immerse in cold water for 20 minutes, and boil in low heat for 10 minutes. Note 4- Here is a picture of the processed ingredients- UL- half bowl with dried daylily, half bowl with dry mushroom, UR- black fungus (hand-torn to smaller pieces), Center- peanuts, LL- wheat gluten (hand-torn to smaller pieces), LR- bamboo shoots (cut into smaller chunks).
   
   
3. [Medium Heat] Use a large-size flat-bottom cooking pan (12" in diameter and 2.5"-3.5" in depth). Heat 4-6 Tbsp veggie-oil first, pour in the wheat gluten pieces, and immediately stir till the surface of the gluten pieces are coated with oil.  After stirring, set the gluten pieces into one layer on the pan, till  both sides of the pieces are in light to medium golden color (6-8 minutes total, flip the pieces to check on the color). Set the pieces aside. 
4. [Medium-to-high Heat] Heat 1-2 Tbsp of vegi-oil in the same pan, put in all the other ingredients except the black fungus, add 2 tsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, then add black fungus, and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. (High heat for this and next steps)
5. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water .  Now pour in the cooked wheat gluten pieces, and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes,  Season to taste (see Note 6 below, a must read!). Note 6- Once the gluten pieces are put in the pan, we can no longer use regular soy sauce, because the gluten, and the gluten alone, will quickly absorb the soy sauce, making the gluten too salty. Using thicker version of the soy sauce, such as Oyster-flavored Sauce, 蠔油, or Soy Sauce Paste or Glaze, 醬油膏, is still ok, to do the job of "season to taste", just make sure the seasoning fluid is thick and not easily absorbed into the sponge-like gluten.  Also, this dish is traditionally pretty sweet.  Add 1/4 tsp of sugar a time and taste. Since the thick soy sauce is already salted, taste first before adding any salt, 1/4 tsp a time, if necessary. 
6. Bring to boil, cover the pot, and let simmer till the gluten is soft (~30 minutes, add water if necessary to keep the ingredients moist).  Some gluten product might be a bit chewy by nature. In that case, try a different brand next time. Turn off heat.  Sprinkle sesame oil liberally, and stir it in evenly.   Here is a photo of the finished product.