Yusheng (also spelt Yu Sheng) meaning "raw fish" is a Chinese New Year dish, served traditionally on the seventh day of Chinese New Year or Ren Ri ("Everyman's Birthday")... It is a salad dish made of thin slices of raw fish and various spices, mixed with tossing actions by diners... A play on Chinese homonyms links the ingredients and tossing actions to prosperity and longevity, all adding to the good wishes for the new year...
Rituals & Meanings...
Yusheng is deemed auspicious because of its homonymic quality - yu means "fish" but enunciated appropriately, it also means "abundance", while sheng literally means "raw" but enunciated appropriately, it means "life"... Thus Yusheng implies "abundance of wealth and long life"... In Cantonese, it is known as lo sheng with lo also meaning "tossing up good fortune"... The tossing action is called lo hei, which means to "rise" (hei), again a reference to a thriving business and thus its popularity with businessmen during the New Year...
Step 1: All at the table offer New Year greetings...
Words: Gong xi fa cai meaning "congratulations for your wealth" or wan shi ru yi meaning "may all your wishes be fulfilled"...
Step 2: Fish, symbolising abundance or excess through the year, is added...
Words: Nian nian you yu and you yu you sheng...
Step 3: The pomelo is added over the fish, adding both luck and auspicious value...
Words: Da ji da li...
Pepper is then dashed over the ingredients in the hope of attracting more money and valuables...
Words: Zhao cai jin bao...
Then oil is poured, circling the ingredients to increase all profits 10,000 times and to encourage money to flow in from all directions...
Words: Yi ben wan li and cai yuan guang jin...
Step 4: Carrots are added to the fish, indicating blessings of good luck...
Words: Hong yun dang tou...
Then the shredded green radish is placed on the fish, symbolising eternal youth...
Words: Qing chun chang zhu...
Next, the shredded white radish is added for prosperity in business and promotion at work...
Words: Feng sheng shui qi and bu bu gao sheng...
Step 5: The condiments are finally added... First, 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 are then added with wishes that literally translate to mean the whole floor would be filled with gold...
Words: Pian di huang jin...
Step 6: All toss the salad an auspicious seven times with loud shouts of lo hei and other auspicious New Year wishes...
Words: Lo hei which is Cantonese for "tossing luck".The ingredients are mixed by pushing them toward the centre, an encouragement to push on the good luck of all at the table...
