Facts About Yusheng
Yusheng, yee sang or yuu sahng, or Prosperity Toss, also known as lo hei is a Cantonese-style raw fish salad. It usually consists of strips of raw fish, mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. There is also a vegetarian version of this dish, where the fish is replaced with soy "fish", which resembles salmon. Yusheng literally means "raw fish" but since "fish " is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance ", Yúshēng is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.
While versions of it are thought to have existed in China, the contemporary version was created and popularised in the 1960s amongst the ethnic Chinese community and its consumption has been associated with Chinese New Year festivities in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia in Maritime Southeast Asia.
Today, the common form of yusheng is the qicai yusheng (七彩鱼生; "seven-coloured raw fish salad") served in local restaurants during the Chinese New Year period. Also referred to as facai yusheng (发财鱼生; "prosperity raw fish salad") or xinnian yusheng (新年鱼生; "Chinese New Year raw fish salad"), this present colourful take on yusheng has an uncertain origin. However, there are two competing claims to the origins of the modern take on yusheng: first was said to be invented by a Malaysian named Loke Ching Fatt in Seremban, Malaysia in the 1940s; second was said to be created in the 1960s by chefs Lau Yoke Pui, Tham Yui Kai, Sin Leong and Hooi Kok Wai, together known as the "Four Heavenly Kings" in the Singapore restaurant scene. The recipe generally includes ingredients such as shredded white and green radish and carrots, ginger slices, onion slices, crushed peanuts, pomelo, pepper, essence of chicken, oil, salt, vinegar, sugar and more.
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