PROSPEROUS YU SHENG FISH SALAD
Singaporeans believe the seventh day of the Chinese New Year (Renri 人 日) marks the occasion for people to gather and enjoy Lo Hei Yu Sheng, a tasty fish salad and popular specialty served every Chinese New Year on the Lion Island. It is associated with the hope of enhancing luck and good things in the New Year. Yu Sheng in Chinese stands for a prosperous life, indicating wealth and longevity.
It is a salad dish made with pieces of salmon, julienne-chopped radish and carrot, grapefruit wedges, roasted peanuts, roasted sesame and plum sauce. Each ingredient is prepared carefully for them to bring good luck and wealth. Fish indicates prosperity of the upper class; grapefruit indicates good luck and wealth; white radish indicates a successful business and a promotion; cooking oil indicates cash inflow.
The raw ingredients are put in a large bowl alongside seven more representatives of good wishes for the New Year including great happiness and advantages prosperity for the whole year, achieving thousands of desired things, wealth and prosperity, and so on. Family members or business partners stand around a table and use chopsticks to mix and tumble the ingredients for the dish as high as possible and speak their wishes for the New Year out loud. This mixing is known as ‘Lo Hei in Singapore, meaning prosperity’. Lo Hei Yu Sheng fish salad expresses the wish to thrive and experience prosperity in the New Year and has become an indispensable dish at every spring welcoming party organised by Singaporeans.
CNY dish: 七 样 菜 Stir Fried 7 Vegetables
Every 7th day of Chinese New Year (also called ‘Ren Ri’ ; 人 日), Ah-mm will tell me to go and buy 7 types of vegetables for her to cook 七 样 菜. 人 日 is literally ‘human day’. According to Chinese legend, 女 媧 created different animals on different days. Humans were created on the 7th day after she created the world, so Ren Ri is also known as everyone’s birthday. Don’t be surprised if a Chinese wishes you ‘Happy Birthday’ on this day!
Some markets will pre-pack the 7 assorted vegetables for you so you don’t end up with big bunches of everything. Ah-mm says there’s no hard and fast rule as to which vegetables go into the dish, but she insists on having Chinese leeks (大 蒜), pronounced ‘da suan’, which sounds like calculating (money). She also always got some 春 菜 (mustard greens) but it’s kinda hard to find. My 7 types of vegetables this year:
- Chinese leeks (red leeks)
- Spring onions
- Chives
- Celery
- Cabbage
- Puay Leng (Chinese spinach)
- Xiao Bai Cai
You can add in some meat slices like lean pork, but I added bak gwa this year hehe. Slice the bak gwa into strips and fry them together with the leeks, chives and celery in the beginning, so that the entire wok has the smokey fragrance of bak gwa. But watch the fire to prevent burning. I like them a bit charred though!
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Lo Hei 捞起 Yúshēng 魚生
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LO HEI & WHAT IT ACTUALLY REPRESENTS
The Chinese Lunar New Year is an annual festival where many traditions culminate from exchanging of oranges to the receiving of red packets and more. Still, as far as the Chinese New Year goes, the iconic yu sheng toss remains at the helm of all things festive. Yu Sheng, otherwise known as lo-hei or prosperity toss, is something that we’ve grown terribly fond of. A vibrant centrepiece dish comprising various elements, each boasting its own unique flavour and meaning behind it, the yu sheng is always the first order of business at any family gathering. Yet, as we find ourselves going through the motion of this tradition year in year out, how many of us millennials can actually say that we truly understand this practice and its significance? To a season dedicated to good fortune, family reunion and feasting, here is our guide on lo hei, what it is and what it represents.
Since its origins as a simple raw fish dish back in the 1930s, the recipe has undergone a series of transformations, and even until today, people are still finding innovative ways to present this dish. The dish was brought to Singapore in the late 19th century by the migration of Cantonese and Teochew migrants from China. “Lo Hei”, in Cantonese literally translates to “tossing up good fortune”, and it refers to the ritual adopted in Singapore that involves a group of people gathered around a massive plate, tossing its contents violently while saying out auspicious phrases before eating it—it is popularly believed that the higher the toss, the better your prospects and fortune in the year ahead.
At the very beginning, the salad itself consisted merely of raw fish slices, some vegetables and seasoning to taste. It was only much later on in 1964, where a quartet of chefs—known affectionately as the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’—reinvented the dish and served it at the then, newly opened Lai Wah restaurant. The new salad saw an improvement in texture, colour, and flavour. Key ingredients & what they represent:
- Carrots – Represents good luck.
- Green Radish – Represents eternal youth.
- White Radish – Represents good job opportunities in the coming year.
- Raw Fish – symbolises abundance and prosperity.
- Pomelo – Represents luck.
- Crushed Peanuts – Is a sign that your home will be filled with many valuable possessions.
- Sesame Seeds – Represent the hope that your business will flourish.
- Golden Crackers – Symbolises wealth.
- Plum Sauce – A key component that binds the salad together, it represents stronger ties among family and friends.
- Pepper & Cinnamon Powder – signify the wish for wealth
- Oil – Often drizzled onto the salad in a circular motion rather than poured over. This is to symbolise that money will come from all directions.
Nián Nián Yǒu Yú 2024
Rabbitfish 白肚鱼 for Chinese New Year
Rabbitfish as a symbolic dish in Chinese New Year (CNY)
Rabbitfish is one of the must-buy food during Chinese New Year (CNY). The species commonly eaten is White-Spotted Rabbitfish. Its stomach region is usually bitter. CNY period coincides with their mating season, as a result, the fish taste great. Rabbitfish contains fish roe and milt (fish semen) during this time. Rabbitfish Milt tastes like soft tofu and with a tinge of seafood flavour. This is viewed as an abundance by the Chinese and will also buy it for its taste.
Fish is one of the most eaten food during the Chinese New Year (CNY). The word Fish (鱼yú) has the same pronunciation(余yú) as Chinese idiom 年年有余 (nián nián yǒu yú). Traditional Chinese idiom represents surplus all year round. It is one of the popular auspicious blessings during CNY festive season. Chinese choose Rabbitfish as one of the preferred fish even calling it “发财鱼” prosperous fish. Thus, it is common to buy Rabbitfish as a custom is to wish their loved ones prosperity and living in abundance during reunion dinner. There will often be some leftover fish to symbolise surplus that matches the idiom. Most importantly, CNY reunion dinner is once a year, Chinese will definitely buy it during CNY.
White-Spotted Rabbitfish is also known as Spinefoots and they belong to the Siganidae family. Rabbitfish is a diurnal animal (active during the day). At night, it often hides in between rocks and corals. Younger rabbitfish form large schools, while the adults are usually seen in smaller schools. Some species can reach up to a length of 40 cm. White-spotted Rabbitfish is more commonly found up to 15cm. The rabbitfish elevated spines contain poison glands on its fins. These spines can be found on their fins. As Rabbitfish have venomous spines on their fins, you must act with caution when handling rabbitfish. Although not lethal, its sting can inflict great pain to people. While rabbitfish are not aggressive in nature, however, they do not hesitate to sting predators in self-defence. Rabbitfish is mainly herbivorous. Its diet is based mostly on algae. Some species of rabbitfish eat zooplankton, seaweed and corals.
Chinese New Year Traditions
- Spring Cleaning: All family members will clean-up the house together on the 28th day (of the last month) of the (old) year. Spring Cleaning symbolizes that sweeping all misfortune or bad luck away from the house. Plum blossom symbolizes lucky and representing people are resilient, even in a harsh environment.
- House Decoration: Red lanterns and red banners will be hung beside the door to keep in good luck and longevity.
- Reunion Dinner: In New Year Eve, the whole family members will gather together and have a sumptuous dinner. If a family member could not come for the dinner, his or her presence is usually symbolized by placing an empty seat at the banquet.
- Symbolic dishes: In the reunion dinner, some dishes are mostly being served as they hold a symbolic good meaning. For instance, prawn featuring smile always and fish featuring prosperity.
- Shou Sui (守岁): People stay awake all night for increase longevity of the elderly family members.
- Angpau: Angpau with lucky money or sweet inside were distributed to the young by elders. The red color of the angpau symbolizes good luck and also ward off evil spirits.
- Ancestor Worshiping: Chinese believe that deceased family members have a continued existence and they will look after the family.
- New Cloth: New cloth especially in red colour will be worn during Chinese New Year as it symbolize a new start and monster Nian scared about this colour. Black and white is avoided during Chinese New Year because they represent mourning.
- New Year Visits (Bai Nian): Chinese travels back to their home town to meet their family and also to visit relatives and friends.
- Firecrackers: To scare away any traces of monster Nian, because it is afraid of noise.
- Lion Dances: The loud beats of the drum and cymbals together with the face of the lion dancing can evict bad or evil spirits. Lion dance are popular for visiting houses and shops to perform the traditional custom of "Cai Ching" (采青) as people believed it can brings prosperity to people.
- Sticky Cake (Nian Gao): To appeasing the appetite of the Kitchen God and also sticking his mouth to prevent him from speaking ill about the family.
- Yu Sheng (鱼生): To achieve prosperity and vigor, normally having Yu Sheng on renri (day 7).
- Jade Emperor Ritual (Bai Tian Gong): The Hokkiens will have another family reunion dinner, and they pray to the Jade Emperor at midnight (day8).
- Lantern Festival: Children will go out at night carrying lanterns which symbolic of hope and good luck. People will eat Tang Yuan (汤圆) as it considered to family reunion.
