Buddha’s delight
Strolling through Chinatown lately, one sees handwritten signs announcing the arrival of lo han jai, aka Buddha’s delight.
Jai is one of the traditional foods eaten during the 15 day celebration of Chinese New Year. This dish, ritually eaten on New Year’s Day, is linked to the ancient Buddhist tradition of eating vegetarian food for the first five days of the new year. The word jai actually means principle, and the dish represents the principles of Buddhism.
This tasty treat is composed of dried roots and fibrous vegetables and usually includes wood ear mushrooms, black moss seaweed, bamboo shoots, gingko nuts, arrowroot, lotus seeds and dried bean curd. Each ingredient reflects a symbolic wish for the coming year–wealth, fertility, longevity, unity, good luck, blessings. So it would seem wise to find a jai with as many ingredients as possible, to insure yourself the best possible outcome for 2010.
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