Yee sang or yu sheng (鱼生), both referring to the Teochew-style raw fish salad which is extremely popular amongst the Chinese communities in Singapore and Malaysia. It usually contains strips of raw salmon (or any other fish), shredded vegetables and/or fruits (i.e. pomelo), served with other condiments and sweet-and-sour sauces, which makes it an especially delectable appertiser! Back home, this dish is most commonly consumed in restaurants and ready-made versions are also available in supermarkets. Making your own yee sang is not as difficult as it sounds or looks, and it’s a good time for bonding with your family and friends! In conjunction with this year’s Chinese New Year, I decided to take on this particularly meaningful dish myself, below is my own recipe for yee sang:
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| The gloriously colourful yee sang! |
Ingredients:
Smoked salmon (though raw salmon is preferred, but sorry-lah it’s too expensive in the UK :P)
Radish (Daikon), shredded
Carrots, shredded
Cucumber, shredded
Pickled onions (optional)
Toasted sesame seeds
Toasted, crushed peanuts
Deep fried wanton skin
Deep fried mihun (rice vermicelli)
You can use other shredded ingredients such as capsicum, turnips, pickled ginger, etc, anything as you like 🙂
And for the sauce:
Bay leaf (used for its pungent and bitter taste)
Sesame oil
Plum sauce
Honey/sugar
Pinch of salt
Five-spice powder (optional)
Arrange all the shredded vegetables and other condiments on a flat, round plate or tray, leaving a space in the middle for the salmon.
Gather your friends and family around the table with chopsticks in their hands. Pour in the sauce, make sure all the ingredients are evenly laced with the sauce.
Then comes the moment that everyone has been waiting — lou sang (捞生) Tossing the ingredients as high as possible while shouting auspicious wishes out loud!!!! HUAT AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
