Red beans and rice

When others begin to think of deprivation, I contemplate ways to indulge at the table Southern-style and toy with the idea of red beans and rice.

Red Beans and Rice
from "New Orleans Cuisine: Fourteen Signature Dishes and Their Histories," edited by Susan Tucker

1 quart dried red beans
1 pound ham or salt meat
1 carrot
1 onion
1 bay leaf
salt
fresh ground black pepper

Wash the beans and soak them overnight, or at least five or six hours, in fresh, cold water.

When ready to cook, drain off the water and put the beans in a pot of cold water, covering with at least two quarts, for beans must cook thoroughly.

Let the water heat slowly. Then add the ham or salt pork and the herbs and onion and carrot, minced fine.

Boil the beans at least two hours, or until tender enough to mash easily under pressure.

When tender, remove from the pot, put the salt meat or ham on top of the dish, and serve hot with boiled rice as an entree. Makes 8 servings.

The Lunar New Year

Among foods prepared during the Lunar New Year, jai seems to me the most complicated. It is also perhaps the most fascinating.

Known alternatively as Vegetarian's Delight or Buddhist's Delight, the traditional dish incorporates a selection of dried and fresh ingredients, all of which symbolize luck and success. Eaten on the first day of the new year, it should bring fortune in the weeks and months ahead.

Ingredients such as fat choy, a form of black seaweed, and ho see, or dried oysters, signify wealth and happiness. The words fat choy, for example, sound like the Chinese words for "prosperity"; the words ho see sound like the ones for "good news." To eat these items, then, is to be particularly blessed.

Though its origins remain unclear - some peg jai as an ancient, annual offering to Buddha - the healthful, meatless dish can be cooked an infinite number of ways. Recipes and preferences vary by region and differ inevitably among households. Technically a stir-fry combined in either a wok or a large pan, the mixture won't be crisp, however. It will instead turn out quite soft.

Ellen Leong Blonder, who, with Annabel Low, penned "Every Grain of Rice: A Taste of Our Chinese Childhood in America," uses about 15 dried and fresh noodles, fungi, nuts and vegetables in her jai. She also provides illustrations of items such as fresh water chestnuts and arrowheads, handy to have when wandering unfamiliar aisles of an Asian market.

Admittedly, her recipe appears time-consuming. Most of the prep work, though, can be done at least a day in advance. For instance, soak, drain and chop bean-thread noodles and dried black mushrooms the night before.

Veteran chef and cooking instructor Ken Hom strips his jai down to eight or nine essential ingredients. In "Ken Hom's Chinese Kitchen," he simplifies the process by forgoing items such as fat choy and ho see.

His less-expensive version is the one more commonly found in Chinese restaurants around the United States. It reminds me in some ways of chap chae, a popular Korean dish with noodles and vegetables.

Like Blonder and Low, my mother adheres strongly to custom. Growing up, we celebrated with an elaborate jai. In the kitchen New Year's Eve, my sisters, brothers and I found items such as cloud ears, tiger lily buds and jujubes soaking in small bowls of water.

We watched our mother peel fresh water chestnuts and arrowheads, and rinse fat choy. We went to sleep as she continued to work.

Early the next morning, we discovered platters of jai on the dining table, as if by magic. Our mother had awakened before us.

In our bright, new clothes, with our faces freshly scrubbed, my siblings and I ate jai for breakfast. We had it with bowls of steamed white rice and dabs of preserved olives. We ate it sometimes for lunch and dinner, too - a fortuitous start, we said, to our Lunar New Year.

(A version of this essay appeared originally in The Oakland Tribune.)


Jai (Vegetarian Monks' Dish)
adapted from Ellen Leong Blonder and Annabel Low's "Every Grain of Rice: A Taste of Our Chinese Childhood in America"

1 3 1/2-ounce package bean-thread noodles
20 small dried black mushrooms
1/2 ounce cloud ears
1/2 cup tiger lily buds
20 small dried jujubes (Chinese red dates)
1/2 ounce fat choy (black seaweed)
1/4 cup dried lotus seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. plus 1 Tbsp. vegetable or peanut oil
1 1/2-inch piece ginger
8 to 12 dried oysters, soaked overnight in water to cover
3/4 cup shelled ginkgo nuts
2 ounces dried bean curd sticks (also called dried bean flour skins)
4 ounces snow peas, strings removed
8 to 10 ounces tofu, cut into 3/4-inch dice
8 fresh or canned water chestnuts, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup sliced bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained
4 to 8 fresh arrowheads, lightly scraped with stems intact
12 pieces dao pok (fried wheat gluten)
2 cups finely shredded Napa cabbage
1 Tbsp. red bean curd
1 Tbsp. fermented bean curd

seasoning mixture:

3 cups water
1 Tbsp. sugar
4 tsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

Soak the bean-thread noodles in water for 2 hours. Put the mushrooms in a small bowl with hot water. Let stand 30 to 45 minutes to soften. Cut and discard the stems. Rinse the caps, squeeze dry and cut into quarter-inch-thick slices.

Put the cloud ears, tiger lily buds, jujubes, fat choy and lotus seeds in separate bowls, add hot water to cover and soak for 30 minutes.

Rinse the cloud ears well, drain, cut and discard any hard parts. Rinse and drain the tiger lily buds, cut the hard ends. Drain the jujubes.

Rinse the fat choy and put it in a small saucepan with the salt, 1 tsp. of the oil, the ginger and water to cover. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat and let stand 10 minutes. Drain the fat choy and gently squeeze out the water.

Open the lotus seeds and discard the bitter green parts inside. Put the lotus seeds in a small saucepan with water to cover, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.

Rinse the soaked oysters to remove any sand. Trim off any tough parts. Steam the oysters in a small dish for 10 minutes over medium heat until soft.

Put the ginkgo nuts in a small saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer five minutes. Drain, then skin.

Break the bean curd sticks into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Soak for 30 minutes in a small saucepan with water to cover, simmer about 10 minutes to soften, then drain. Drain the bean-thread noodles, then cut into 6-inch lengths.

(You can prepare the recipe to this point one day in advance. Cover the individual ingredients separately and refrigerate.)

Blanch the snow peas in boiling water for 30 seconds. Rinse them under cold water and drain.

Combine ingredients for the seasoning mixture in a medium bowl and set aside.

Put the mushrooms, cloud ears, tiger lily buds, fat choy, lotus seeds, oysters, ginkgo nuts, tofu, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, arrowheads and dao pok (fried wheat gluten) in a large bowl.

Put the bean-thread noodles and bean curd sticks in a second bowl, and the jujubes, Napa cabbage and snow peas in a third bowl.

Heat a wok over high heat, then heat 1 Tbsp. of oil.

Add the red and fermented bean curd, lower the heat to medium-high and cook 15 seconds, breaking it up with a spatula.

Stir in the seasoning mixture, bring to a boil, and cook for two to three minutes.

Add the mushroom mixture and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bean-thread noodles and bean curd sticks and cook 4 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook 2 minutes longer, tossing gently to distribute the Napa cabbage evenly. Makes 8 servings.


Vegetarian Delight
from "Ken Hom's Chinese Kitchen: With a Consumer's Guide to Essential Ingredients"

6 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. sesame oil
1 ounce Chinese dried black mushrooms, re-hydrated
1/2-ounce cloud ears, re-hydrated
2 ounces bean-thread noodles
4 ounces pressed seasoned bean curd, re-hydrated
8 ounces cucumber
3 Tbsp. peanut oil
1 small onion, sliced
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh ginger
2 Tbsp. finely chopped garlic
3 Tbsp. light soy sauce
2 Tbsp. whole bean sauce
3 Tbsp. Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

In a small bowl, combine the egg, salt and 2 tsp. sesame oil, and set aside.

Remove and discard the mushroom stems and finely shred the caps into thin strips.

Remove and discard any hard stems from the cloud ears. Set aside.

Soak the bean-thread noodles in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain well and set aside. Cut the pressed bean curd into thin strips.

Peel and seed the cucumbers, and cut them into thin strips.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat until it is hot. Add 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the oil and, when it is very hot and slightly smoking, turn the heat down to moderate.

Add the egg mixture and stir-fry for a few minutes or until the egg has barely scrambled. Remove the egg from the wok and drain on paper towels.

Wipe the wok clean and reheat it. When it is hot, add the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp. of oil.

When it is very hot and slightly smoking, quickly add the onion, ginger and garlic, and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Then add the mushrooms, cloud ears, pressed bean curd, bean-thread noodles and cucumbers, and stir-fry for 2 more minutes.

Add the soy sauce, bean sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, hoisin sauce and remaining sesame oil, and continue to stir-fry for 3 minutes. Finally, add the cooked eggs and stir-fry for one minute. Turn onto a platter. Makes 4 servings.