[Sca-cooks] More on Jai/Buddhist Delight, was, Re: OOP: Tentative Lunar New Year Menu

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Jan 20, 2009, at 9:54 PM, Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:

>  here's a quote from the Buddha his ownself on the subject of meat  
> and fish being eaten by Buddhist monks:
>
> http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma3/meat.html
>
> According to that source, they're not barred from eating meat or  
> fish; they're primarily barred from killing meat or fish, or eating  
> meat or fish that has been specifically killed for their benefit.
>
> As far as I can tell, therefore, going to the butcher shop and  
> buying, cooking and eating a steak is out, but one could argue that  
> since dried seafood is a storehouse item not specifically killed for  
> the monks to eat (the whole point of drying it being to extend its  
> shelf-life and therefore broaden its versatility). Essentially, a  
> piece of fresh meat from the butcher shop is a murdered animal,  
> while dried shrimp, oysters, and scallops, are more like inert  
> storehouse grocery staples.

The wikipedia article on Buddhist Delight also indicates that dried  
seafood as an ingredient (mostly dried oysters, as well as quail eggs  
and, apparently, fresh/undried shrimp) is sometimes included.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_Delight

As I say, I've seen many, many recipes for jai which include oyster  
sauce, so apparently the idea of a strictly vegan interpretation is  
actually rarer than one might think.

I can't find any recipes calling for dried scallops as an ingredient;  
this could conceivably be a nod to the fact that my wife is aware of  
my loathing of dried oysters, except in the form of oyster sauce.

Adamantius






"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,  
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's  
bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter