Buddha's Delight

In keeping with the Buddhist tradition of cleansing the body with only vegetables, Jai must be eaten on New Year's Day. The dish has been eaten in one form or another for hundreds of years. It contains 18 different ingredients, including dried black moss, dried bean curd and ginkgo nuts, but this simplified version is just as good and much easier to prepare.

* 2 tsp. dark sesame oil
* 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
* 8 Chinese dried mushrooms
* 2 oz. dried bean thread noodles, broken into 4-inch pieces
* 1 1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil
* 3 scallions (white and light green parts), cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 small clove garlic, minced
* 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
* 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced on diagonal
* 1/2 cup canned sliced water chestnuts
* 1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, julienned
* 15-oz. can baby corn, drained
* 8 oz. snow peas, strings removed
* 8 oz. Chinese (Napa) cabbage (1/4 small head), cut into 2 x 1-inch pieces
* 8 oz. firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
* 2 Tbs. soy sauce
* 2/3 cup vegetable broth

Sauce

1. Make sauce: In small bowl, mix all sauce ingredients. Set aside.
2. In medium bowl, soak mushrooms in 1/2 cup cold water until softened, about 30 minutes. In another bowl, soak noodles in hot (not boiling) water to cover 5 minutes.
3. Drain mushrooms and squeeze dry (reserve soaking water to use in soups). Cut off and discard stems; thinly slice caps and set aside. Drain noodles and set aside.
4. In wok or large deep skillet, heat vegetable oil over high heat. Add mushrooms, scallions, garlic and ginger and stir-fry 1 minute. Add carrot, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby corn, snow peas and cabbage and stir-fry 2 minutes.
5. Add sauce, cover and cook 5 minutes. Gently stir in noodles and tofu until well coated. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until most of the sauce is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Serve at once.