Jai for Chinese New Year

As a tribute to my late-mother, I finally decided to make jai (Monk's Food) for Chinese New Year (Feb. 8th this year). Before she passed away, I foolishly threw away the hand written recipe she had given me over 20 years ago. She was trying to pass down a family tradition while at the same time, freeing herself from the annual ritual of preparing this dish with it's many ingredients. I remember thinking that I will never make this dish and that I was way too busy.

Fast-forward to today, I had to start from scratch to try to duplicate my mom's recipe. I browsed the internet and studied 4 jai recipes, each one slightly different from the other. I thought about the ingredients my mom used and what I like and don't like. (Yes to mushrooms and bean curd sticks! No to taro, snow peas, and konyaku.) Also, my mom used yellow fermented bean curd instead of the usual red variety. My dad said he didn't care which one I used, so yellow it is.

I went to Chinatown to find the dried ingredients, gingko nuts, and fermented bean curd. Since Hawaii supermarkets carry a good selection of Asian products, I was able to buy the remaining ingredients at Foodland. Upon tasting the final product, my dad commented, "Not bad." I'll take that as a thumbs-up.

Here is the recipe I pieced together. Be sure to start early to give the dried ingredients time to soak. (NOTE: Omit the oyster sauce if you want a true vegetarian dish. But it won't be as tasty!)

Preparation Time: 2 hours

Cooking Time: 20-20 minutes

Servings: Approximately 10

Ingredients:

1 to 2 Tbsp. Cooking Oil
4 oz. Yellow Fermented Bean Curd
5 oz. Dried Bean Curd Sticks
4 oz. Dried Bean Thread Noodles
2 oz. Dried Lily Flowers
½ oz. Dried Black Fungus
6 to 7 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
3 oz. Raw Blanched Peanuts
6 Chinese Dried Red Dates
½ oz. Dried Seaweed (black hair-like strands)
7 to 8 oz. canned Bamboo Shoots
6 oz. canned Mushrooms
7 oz. Gingko Nuts
4 oz. canned Water Chestnuts
2 to 3 cups sliced Napa Cabbage
½ cup sliced Carrots
3 oz. Aburage (deep fried tofu puffs)
6 oz. Deep Fried Tofu (1 inch thick slabs)
2 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce (or to taste – I just shake the bottle)
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Hawaiian Salt (or to taste)
2 cups Water

1. Soak the dried ingredients in individual bowls of water as follows:
   1. Bean Curd Sticks – soak for 2 hours, drain, and cut 2-3 inches long.
   2. Bean Thread Noodles – soak for 2 hours, drain, and cut 3 inches long. (I just grab a bunch and snip with kitchen scissors.)
   3. Lily Flowers – soak for 2 hours, drain, and snip off hard stems.
   4. Black Fungus – soak for 2 hours, drain, and cut in half. (Don't use too much fungus because it puffs up to triple the original size.)
   5. Shiitake Mushrooms – soak for 2 hours, squeeze out the water and reserve the soaking liquid. Rinse the mushrooms to remove debris. Cut off stems and slice mushrooms. Strain the reserved soaking liquid to remove debris.
   6. Raw Blanched Peanuts – soak for 10 minutes, drain. Then boil the peanuts for 15 minutes, drain.
   7. Chinese Dried Red Dates – soak for 10 minutes, drain.
   8. Dried Seaweed – soak for 10 minutes, drain and cut to 3 inches long.
       
2. Thinly slice the (drained) water chestnuts and carrots to resemble coins. Pre-cook the sliced carrots by microwaving with a little water. Drain the canned mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Cut the bamboo shoots in half, then slice thinly. Cut the napa cabbage 2 inches thick. Cut the aburage and deep fried tofu into 1 inch cubes.
     
3. Heat the oil in a large pot. Smash the fermented bean curd cubes and add to the pot. Add the dried/soaked ingredients, peanuts, and canned ingredients. Stir fry for 1 minute, mixing well.
    
4. Add the water and reserved (strained) Shiitake mushroom soaking water to make a little gravy, but not so much that it's soupy. Add the napa cabbage and carrots. If the mixture is too dry for your taste, add more water. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes.
    
5. Add the sugar, salt, and oyster sauce to taste. Mix well. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with white or brown rice.

Top left to right: black tree fungus, lily flowers, bamboo shoots, mushrooms. Middle: dried seaweed, raw blanched peanuts, aburage. Bottom: deep fried tofu, bean thread noodles

Bean Curd Sticks

Bottles: fermented bean curd and oyster sauce. On the plate are some of the ingredients. The dried ingredients are already rehydrated: Top left to right: bamboo shoots, black tree fungus, bean curd sticks, bean thread noodles, gingko nuts, carrots, lily flowers. Middle left to right: Shiitake mushrooms,  canned mushrooms, napa cabbage, deep fried tofu, aburage. Bottom left to right: water chestnuts, dried (hair-like) seaweed



Finished product. Kung Hee Fat Choy!