Yu sheng has become an integral part of Chinese New Year
meals. These days, it typically features plum sauce, oils and other
condiments to season the raw fish slices and julienned vegetables
of different colours.
Some people imagine that yu sheng must have originated from Hong
Kong – why else would so many know it by its Cantonese term ‘yee
sang’, and call the ceremonious toss of its colourful ingredients
‘lo hei’ (Cantonese for “rise up”)?
There is also a myth that claims it was a young couple in ancient
China who discovered the first version of the dish: they were
stranded in a temple due to bad weather after having gone fishing –
while waiting, they chanced upon a bottle of vinegar and decided to
pour it over the raw fish to consume it, and they actually found it
appetising.
The true story of yu sheng
Yu sheng was created by the Four Heavenly Kings of Cantonese
cuisine in Singapore in the ’60s – chefs Lau Yeok Pui, Tham Yui
Kai, Sin Leong and Hooi Kok Wai first developed the idea of a raw
fish dish that was common in Malaysia into this festive must-have
here. Lai
Wah Restaurant, helmed by Lau and Tham, claims to be the first
in the world to have served it.
In that tradition, yu sheng is meant to be enjoyed
on ren
ri, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, in celebration of
the day mankind was created, though many now consume yu sheng
throughout the festive season.
HGW
