Photo from dragonphoenix.com.sg
My boss treated her whole team to lunch today to celebrate the week after Chinese New Year. Of course, we had to have lo hei for prosperity. I first encountered this dish back in 2008 when I celebrated CNY in Singapore for the very first time. As it turns out, lo hei is a Cantonese word (which makes sense now coz my TLs back then were all Cantonese). In Mandarin though, it is called yusheng and it originated in Singapore but is a Teochew dish. Still with me, so far? According to history, this dish was inspired by mainland Chinese fishermen's custom of eating raw fish during the Chinese New Year.
As luck would have it (or my boss's discerning taste), we ate at the restaurant where the lo hei/yusheng originated: the Dragon Phoenix Restaurant located at the 6th level of the Novotel Liang Court (Clarke Quay - this was not the original site of the restaurant though). Here, 4 master chefs (Master Hooi Kok Wai, Master Tham Mui Kai, Master Sin Leong, and Master Lau Yoke Pui) created the modern version of what is now widely enjoyed in Singapore and in neighboring Malaysia every after Chinese New Year. The master chefs added new ingredients and symbolic meaning into the dish and its preparation.
The dish itself consists of: fish served with daikon (white radish), carrots, red pepper, turnips, red pickled ginger, sun-dried oranges, daun limau nipis or key lime leaves, parsley, chilli, jellyfish, chopped peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, shrimp crackers, five spice powder and other ingredients, laced with a sauce using plum sauce, rice vinegar, kumquat paste and sesame oil. The original dish used raw mackerel for the fish and since we dined at the home of the yusheng, the one we had also used mackerel. However, it is also common to find lo hei using salmon (which is what I had the first time I tried it).
Yusheng was the first dish to be served and was prepared by the waitress right in front of us. While she put each individual ingredient in the wide but shallow glass bowl, she would recite a Chinese verse. One of my teammates was nice enough to translate what she said for me although the fact that they all kept laughing made me unsure if he was telling me the right things.
I researched the steps of yusheng and the corresponding symbolisms since that's how I roll (and I don't want you to have to worry about it anymore):
Source: blogs.nlb.gov.sg/ask/children/342
- Everyone greets each other the usual CNY greeting: Gong xi fa cai meaning “Congratulations for your wealth” or Wan shi ru yi meaning “May all your wishes be fulfilled”.
- Fish = abundance. Nian nian you yu and You yu you sheng meaning "Every year may you have abundance in your life".
- Pomelo over the fish = luck and auspicious value. Da ji da li meaning "Good luck and great prosperity".
- Pepper to attract more money and valuables. Zhao cai jin bao meaning "To usher in lots of wealth and good fortune".
- Oil is poured out, circling the ingredients to increase all profits 10,000 times and encouraging money to flow in from all directions. Words: Yi ben wan li and Cai yuan guang jin.
- Carrots are added to the fish indicating blessings of good luck. Words: Hong yun dang tou.
- Shredded green radish is placed on the fish symbolising eternal youth. Words: Qing chun chang zhu.
- Shredded white radish is = prosperity in business and promotion at work. Words: Feng sheng shui qi and Bu bu gao sheng.
- Peanut crumbs are dusted on the dish symbolising a household filled with gold and silver. As an icon of longevity, peanuts also symbolise eternal youth. Words: Jin yin man wu.
- Sesame seeds quickly follow symbolising a flourishing business. Words: Sheng yi xing long.
- Deep-fried flour crisps in the shape of golden pillows is then added with wishes that literally the whole floor would be filled with gold. Words: Pian di huang jin.
- All toss the salad an auspicious 7 times with loud shouts of lo hei and other auspicious New Year wishes. Words: Lo heiwhich is Cantonese for “tossing luck”.
Ok, two things after reading this post: 1. Still being paiseh, I didn't know you were supposed to toss it high. I just thought they were trying to outdo each other and since I'm not the type, I didn't join in (Oh no! What will happen to my luck? :() and 2. My teammate did explain the sayings correctly to me. Phew! That's a relief.
Even if this dish has tons of vegetable, I found that I enjoyed it. Very crunchy and quite sweet so this dish is right up my alley. Too bad it's only served once a year. Oh, well, there's always next year!
