Chinese New Year is celebrated by Chinese communities across the world, and while it has its roots in Chinese culture, the prosperity toss or yee sang is something that is uniquely Malaysian and Singaporean.
Yee sang is no ordinary dish, it is much more than just food. It is a traditional and colourful celebration on a large round plate!
Yusheng (in Mandarin) or popularly known as ‘yee sang’ (pronounced as ‘yee sung’ in the Cantonese dialect) has become a much-loved communal and culinary activity that is practised only during Chinese New Year. This unique dish is served by restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore during the 15 days of Chinese New Year and about two weeks prior.
Yee sang literally means “raw fish” but since “fish” is commonly associated with “abundance” in Chinese culture, this special dish is believed to bring good fortune, prosperity, and growth in the year to come.
The dish is served as an appetiser salad at the beginning of a multi-dish meal. Its ingredients include strips of raw salmon, shredded radish or cabbage in various colours, carrots, ginger slices, onion slices, crushed peanuts, pomelo, pepper, crackers and other condiments drizzled generously with plum sauce and sesame oil.
The ingredients carry their own significant meanings. The salmon in the platter symbolises abundance, the vegetables represent growth and the crackers represent gold that brings wealth. The sweet sauces are meant to add sweetness to life. Together, all these ingredients aspire to create a fresh start, filled with hope for the year ahead.
Watch the video of the prosperity toss
The act of tossing the yee sang itself is fun, with everyone gathered around the table, tossing the salad as high as possible with chopsticks whilst saying or even shouting various auspicious wishes or simply “lo hei, lo hei” (meaning “scoop it up, scoop it up”).
The tradition goes that the higher the salad is tossed, the more luck will come in the new year thus diners are expected to toss enthusiastically so it can get a bit messy! After the tossing, everyone can enjoy an individual plate of this wonderful lucky salad.
The dish is believed to have been created in Southeast Asia by the Chinese communities (particularly the Cantonese who moved from China to Malaysia and Singapore). Both Malaysia and Singapore have competitive claims over who first modified the dish to its modern version but both countries are winners when it comes to serving this special dish.
Some restaurants even come up with creative twists on how to decorate the dish according to special themes or the Chinese zodiac. This year is the Year of the Snake so it will be interesting to see how the dish is prepared according to the theme.
Strangely, this dish or tossing ceremony is not historically practiced in Hong Kong, mainland China or the other countries in Southeast Asia.
You can even prepare the dish at home. Here is a recipe by Malaysian celebrity chef Sherson Lian.
