Toss for Prosperity
Tossing food at the table might be the behaviour of childish brats involved
in a food fight, but during the Chinese New Year (CNY), the motion of “lo
hei” gains special importance, since it literally means “mix
upwards”, which sounds like prosperity and progress in Cantonese.
We’re referring to none other than the colourful and popular raw fish salad dish more commonly known to the Chinese as yu sheng.
While this has become an indispensable tradition, surprisingly most still haven’t the faintest idea why they actually have to toss the yu sheng. Yet being typical kiasu [afraid to lose out in Hokkien] Singaporeans, they will gladly follow this custom in the hope of receiving more blessings and all things good.
Origin of Yu Sheng
The origin of this CNY delicacy can be traced indirectly to Guangzhou,
China. Legend has it that the Goddess Nu Wa spent 6 days shaping different
livestock out of mud and creating humans out of her own appearance on the 7th
day. To honour this occasion, the seventh day of the first lunar month was known
as Ren Ri, Day of Mankind. According to tradition, Man were not allowed
to kill animals for food on Ren Ri instead 7 dishes representing as
many different good signs are prepared. These vegetables include leaf mustard
for thriftiness, celery so one will be hardworking, garlic for lots of money
to count, Chinese leek (lasting forever) and Chinese kale (for things to go
one’s way).
From its Motherland, this beliefs swam to Singapore, following the footsteps of the migrants and was brought alive by the 4 heavenly chefs of the 1960s, Than Mui Kai, Sin Leong, Lau Yoke Pui and the owner of Dragon Phoenix Restaurant Hooi Kok Wai.
They invented the yu sheng by combining the ikan parang (wolf herring) with different vegetarian ingredients and topped it off with a sweet and sour plum sauce. Over time, this prosperity and longevity dish has evolved to become a household name, being served everywhere and not only during CNY either.
Made With Love
Served on a bed of vegetables, the multi-coloured raw fish salad is normally
made up of 14 different ingredients such as preserved cucumber strips, red and
yellow ginger, pickled leek, sliced jellyfish, salmon slices and Mandarin orange
peel. The mixture is drizzled with peanut oil and plum sauce to achieve a rich
and flavourful taste. Over the years, the main ingredient has become more elaborate
and exotic; the ikan parang was replaced by salmon, and sometimes tuna,
sashimi.
Eating yu sheng at restaurants can be quite costly, what with prices
that range from $30 to $68 per dish. Budget constraints and convenience have
made the heading to the supermarkets for pre-packed boxes of D-I-Y yu sheng
more attractive over the years.
Others would leave of the mass-produced kits and do it from scratch, after all
yu sheng is rather simple to make once you know what the ingredients
are. Remember that even though it’s home made, it does not mean that it
will not look or taste as good as those sold in restaurants.
Food consultant and celebrity chef Violet Oon, 54, shared a few tips in The
Sunday Times on how to achieve that top grade delicacy. Her secret to getting
crunchy strips of vegetables is to wash them first in tap water and dry them
with kitchen towels to get rid of the sticky juice after being grated. For extra
flavour, she would roll a piece of kaffir lime leaf, slice it and sprinkle on
the dish. When it comes to presenting the dish, Oon suggests arranging the salmon
slices like flower petals, and placing vegetable strips in a triangle and cutting
carrots in the shape of stars.
Madam Loh Gek Eng, 48, a civil servant, also makes her own yu sheng.
“The idea is actually to have the fish raw but I don’t like the
taste and for hygiene reasons I prefer to use smoked salmon. I also use other
vegetables to add to the taste and colour,” she said.
The younger and adventurous ones won’t even mind adding jellyfish and
abalone. To cater to the diversity of taste, certain restaurants prepare the
fish like Japanese sashimi. However, one should always pay extra attention when
handling raw food, as yu sheng can pose as a health risk if the raw
fish is not handled, stored and sold in the proper chilled condition. Bacteria
can grow rapidly in raw fish when sold in the open, and the contamination can
lead to food poisoning.
Eight Steps to Prosperity
When dining at Chinese restaurants, it’s a treat to see waiters presenting
the yu sheng while reciting auspicious phrases that signify prosperity
and longevity. The 1st step is to greet customers by wishing them ‘Gong
Xi Fa Cai’ (congratulations, may wealth come your way) and ‘Wan
Shi Ru Yi’ (may everything go smoothly) when placing the yu sheng
on the table. Then when adding the lime juice, they will say ‘Da Ji
Da Li’ (good luck and blessing). While placing the fish on the shredded
carrot and radish, they say ‘Nian Nian You Yu’ (abundance
wealth) and ‘Long Ma Jing Shen’ (enjoy good health).
The next phrase is ‘Hong Yun Dang Tou’ (good luck at your
doorstep) and is usually said when sprinkling pepper and 5-spice powder, also
known as the spice of life to the yu sheng. When it comes to pouring the golden
peanut oil, the waiter will say ‘Rong Hua Fu Gui’ (wealth
and prosperity). ‘Sheng Yi Xing Long’ (a flourishing business)is
said when sprinkling the sesame powder and plum sauce. Lastly, when adding the
‘Pok Chui’ crackers, they finish off by saying ‘Man
Di Hung Jin’ (gold at your feet). The final part is fun as it signals
to everyone to stand and ‘lo hei’ as high as possible while saying
‘Yue Lao Yue Qi, Lao Dao Feng Shen Shui Qi (toss
higher and higher for a prosperous year) or other good wishes.
International Cuisine
This beautiful dish is not only limited to our shores. It has since evolved
into different varieties and is now available in countries like Indonesia, Vietnam
and even London. Packets of yu sheng are on sale at the DFS (Duty Free
Shop) store at Changi airport for both locals and tourists to buy as gifts.
In New York there are a few Singaporean restaurants that serve the yu sheng
during CNY, and the dish is also sold in Chinese restaurants in Australia. As
it is mainly patronised by the Chinese families there, the dish is not common
fare and can get quite expensive. In Shanghai and Hong Kong, yu sheng has only
just caused a ripple in the food scene. It is not readily available and can
only be found in certain upmarket eating-places, even Singapore/Malaysian restaurants
don’t usually sell this dish.
At the different stopovers the yu sheng undergoes a makeover and takes
a bit of that country’s food culture with it. The Thai version of the
yu sheng uses a mixture of fish and vegetables with pomelo, lemongrass, green
papaya, mango and Thai herbs. Their sauce is a combination of Thai chili powder,
chili-garlic sauce, Chinese lime and basil leaves.
What should we try?
You could also improvise and do it the European way; this reinvention can be
found at the One-Ninety restaurant, Four Seasons Hotel Singapore. To achieve
the Asian-Western fusion, the yu sheng is a blend of fish roe, wasabi
caviar, butternut squash, enoki mushrooms and baby spinach with a sauce base
of cherry vinegar and soy sauce. These ingredients were chosen not just for
their flavour, but for their symbolic meaning. The fish roe represents the hope
for an offspring and the baby spinach signifies a new beginning.
Prima Tower offers another twist to this dish- smoked chicken. To represent
vitality and vibrancy, the yu sheng is made spicy with the addition of ma la
sauce concocted from Szechuan chili padi, Guilin chili sauce and other ingredients.
Supermarket yu sheng is also getting a revamp to draw more customers. Chng Kee’s
Chef Chen Green Tea Yu Sheng has vegetables and condiments packed neatly in
a box with their green-tea-flavoured sweet sauce.
Whatever your preference, toss away. And from UrbanWire to
you, Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Martin Yan’s New Year Fish Salad
Serves 4-6
Salad Mixture
1/2 cantaloupe or 1/4 honeydew melon
1 grapefruit
1/4 cup thinly sliced sweet pickled ginger
1 medium carrot, shredded
3-inch wedge (113 grams.) jicama, shredded
Dressing
3 to 4 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons plum sauce
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
170 grams salmon fillet
170 grams firm white fish fillet, such as sea bass
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
1 green onion, slivered
Getting Ready
Peel melon and cut into crescents. Segment grapefruit by cutting away the peel
and white pith; cut and lift out segments. In a bowl, combine melon, grapefruit,
ginger, carrot, and jicama.
Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
Place sesame seed in a small frying pan over medium heat; cook, shaking pan
continuously, until lightly browned, which should take 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately
remove from pan to cook.
Remove skin and bones from fish. Thinly slice fish across the grain to make
pieces about 1 by 2 inches. Fan slices on a serving platter, alternating pink
and white fish. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, oil, and white pepper.
Putting it together
Drizzle lime juice mixture over fish. Mound salad mixture in centre of fish.
Spoon dressing over the salad. Garnish with peanuts, sesame seed and green onion.