FAMILY TOGETHERNESS IN SPRING JOY

Joyful Spring Family Package

I simply love the way Spring Toss names its yummy yee sang packages. Take the one meant for a medium-sized family comprising seven to ten pax. They call it the "Joyful Spring Family Package". That's what I call imparting the right kind of sentiment. Imagine the whole family together in the season of spring when the world has just reawakened and life is filled with joy and promise - doesn't that bring a lump to the throat if you have to stay or work far from your family right now?

This package also comes in three flavours - Authentic Traditional, Teo Chew and Thai. What I would suggest is that you enjoy the Traditional during the reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, the Teo Chew on Renri and the Thai on Chap Goh Meh. And if you issue me an invitation to any of your yee sang feasts ... you'll find I won't decline!

- BOLDWRITER -

THE MORE THE MERRIER

The More The Merrier Reunion Package

Yee sang parties are most fun when there is a large, boisterous party of ten or more around the table. The loh-hey will then be loud and raucous enough to scare away the spirits of ill-omen if any are lurking about. That's the general belief anyway.

Well, if your forthcoming reunion gathering is to comprise a big group, you'd do well to check out Spring Toss' mammoth package appropriately called "The More The Merrier Reunion Package". You have three choices - the Authentic Traditional Recipe, the Authentic Teo Chew Recipe and the Authentic Thai Recipe. Each has a distinct flavour which bears out its name. But if you're truly adventurous, you can mix and blend their ingredients any way you like - and come out with your own flavour. 

I did - and the effect is quite unique. I call it the Authentic Boldwriter Recipe. What I want to know now is whether those Spring Toss people will let me patent it!

-BOLDWRITER-

KEEPING IT SMALL AND INTIMATE

Reunion Bliss Mini Package

You really don't need a big crowd to create a ruckus when it comes to loh-hey. The general consensus is the more the merrier - and I won't refute that. But even a small gathering can be just as meaningful. You just have to get into the right spirit to celebrate.

Spring Toss has the perfect package for small, intimate loh hey parties. Check out its Reunion Bliss Mini Package, ideal for a table for three to five persons. Make no mistake, though - the mini-sized packaging is meant to suit convenience alone. The quality and yummy goodness remain unchanged. You still have green kua ying, sliced yam, peanut and sesame, pickled papaya, red and yellow ginger, pickled leeks and the distinctive lime dressing.

So if your family comprises dad, mom and two or three siblings, this package is tailor-made for you folks. But take my advice. Get more than one pack. You never know when the yee sang "urge" will come on you.

- BOLDWRITER -

SAY IT WITH SYMBOLS

I always think of symbols as visual metaphors. A metaphor is a word or phrase that is used to reflect something else. Symbols serve the same function.

Among the Chinese, symbols play an important role in all aspects of everyday life. Whether in business or work, leisure or social intercourse, they always select the proper symbol to evoke a desirable situation in life.

Red and gold, for example, signify luck and prosperity. A dragon and phoenix or a pair of mandarin ducks represent the happy union of a man and woman. Noodles are symbolic of longevity, while medicinal roots indicate a healthy constitution. 

The list is endless, so I won't pursue the subject further. But there's one more symbol that I'd like to mention before I sign off. You've guessed rightly - it's my favourite dish, yee sang.

To me, yee sang is more than something tasty you gobble down during Chinese New Year. It's symbolic of fond reunion, when the bonds of affection are renewed and old grievances forgotten. It's an annual rebirth for each, when spring makes the heart young again and fills it with fresh hope. Look at it this way the next time you loh-hey with your kith and kin. The enjoyment of yee sang will mean so much more to you.

- BOLDWRITER -

Giving Renri New Significance

Talk about Renri, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, and everyone thinks of yee sang and loh-hey. Which naturally brings to mind the myth about the goddess Nuwa creating our distant ancestors out of clay.

But, think again. Renri is supposed to be the common birthday of all mankind. Leaving aside the myth mentioned above, let's consider that which is truly signifcant - the commonality of mankind. Humans have one thing in common - the unique ability to think and reason, a gift that no other member of the animal kingdom possesses. 

Since we are united by that special ability, let's demonstrate our humaneness by caring a little more for those who have less. Sometimes it doesn't even cost money. A sympathetic ear, a kind word, a helping hand - these can work miracles. 

We are all one under the skin. The title of a famous Chinese classic even bears out this truth - All Men Are Brothers. So let's give new meaning to the ritual of loh-hey the next time Renri comes round. When we wish for abundance in our lives, let's make sure there's an abundance of love in our hearts too.

The Joy of Giving Joy

Last year I was specially privilged to attend a yee-sang party where the guests of honour were a group of senior citizens from a local old folks' home. Several of them were physically handicapped and a few were in wheelchairs.

When they arrived at the community hall we had rented for the occasion, they were shy and unassuming, but we quickly put them at their ease by treating them as if they were our own kin. How their faces lighted up when we seated them at the dining tables and placed the savouries before them. 

The loh-hey proved a problem for a few of the old dears. Their arthritic fingers could not hold the chopsticks properly to pick up the yee sang ingredients. We placed our hands over theirs and helped them to do it. Loud and hearty were the wishes we made for their health and happiness. When we saw the happiness in their eyes, our hearts overflowed. And so did our own eyes.

For those of you who wish to arrange yee-sang parties for the less privileged, contact T.F. Food Industries by logging in to their website at http://springtoss.com/whatnew.php. They'll be happy to assist you.

New Year Fish Yee Sang

Want to know how to make 'New Year Fish Yee Sang'? Just click PLAY for the video. 

THE "X" IN X'MAS

I know I said you can improvise and compromise when it comes to yee sang. And you SHOULD, just to give life variety. But if you're considering turkey with yee sang, I'm telling you no - never ever! 

That's what a friend of mine proposed for his family's Christmas dinner this year, to which I was invited. I thought he was either joking or he had brain fever. It was neither. He was serious. I was equally serious when I declined the invitation to his Christmas repast. 

At this juncture, let me assure you that meat - any kind of meat - will NOT go down with yee sang ingredients or its dressing. Most kinds of seafood will blend, but some should not be taken uncooked. But when it comes to mixing any kind of meat - rare, medium or well-done - in your yee sang, place a big "X" across the idea.

That doesn't mean you can't have yee sang as an additional item - as a starter, for instance, before you tuck into the turkey. And you can loh hey, wishing for peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind. Like I always say, it's an endearing custom.

Have yourself a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

BOLDWRITER

YOU CAN ALWAYS BEND

Most of the time we make rules and impose conditions and adhere to them strictly without bothering to ask ourselves why. Take, for instance, the enjoyment of yee sang. Yes, yee sang is a festive delicacy and is associated with family reunion. I'm all for the preservation of this endearing tradition. That doesn't mean, however, the dish should be taboo at other times.

Last year, when April came round, I discovered that there were three packets of yee sang left over from the festive season. (They were the packagings not accompanied by sashimi, of course.) I decided to throw convention to the winds and hold a yee sang party at that time of year.

I invited a few friends over and treated them to yee sang out-of-season. We decided to undertake yee sang R&D by adding extra ingredients like jack-fruit and prawn-crackers! For the sashimi, we had boiled cuttlefish cut into thin strips.

Then we broke tradition even further by dining on the lawn, seated on a large mat round the yee sang platter. And, yes, we "loh hey-ed", wishing for everything from cooler weather to the jackpot prize of the forthcoming big-sweep draw! Our ancestors would have fainted!

But you see what I mean when I say you can really bend the rules, don't you? 

-BOLDWRITER-

SASHIMI ECSTASY

I have a friend who doesn't fancy sashimi because it's raw. Well, he'll be glad to know he's not alone in this aversion. In the West, most people are not overly fond of uncooked marine catch (more's the pity, if you ask me). 

Strangely enough, this friend of mine insists that, without sashimi, something seems to be lacking each time he tucks into yee sang. He wanted to know whether the jellyfish, salmon, cod or whatever-it-is from Neptune's kingdom could be cooked before it was mixed with the other yee sang ingredients. That, I replied, would be sacrilege, or idiocy, or both! Cooked sashimi, indeed!

I provided him with a remedy. Medium-sized prawns, steamed to perfection, then shelled and halved. They blend beautifully with the other yee sang ingredients and the sauce. My friend tried it, then insisted I was the Yee Sang Saint. 

A piece of advice to all you sashimi aficionados. Don't even dream of taking the prawns uncooked. Try it and your dream will turn into a gastronomic nightmare, I assure you!

 

-BOLDWRITER-

CREATION OF MANKIND, CASUAL-LIKE

In the very first article I touched on the creation of mankind by the goddess Nuwa. What I omitted to mention was the way in which we were created. What I'm about to tell you isn't quite a morale booster, I'm afraid - not from the human viewpoint anyway. 

Nuwa took seven days to create living beings. We were given form only on the seventh and last day. Chickens came first, followed by dogs, sheep, swine, cows and horses, in that order. Finally came humans! Feeling indignant? Wait - there's more to come that you won't quite relish.

When the seventh day arrived, Nuwa started creating our distant ancestors out of yellow clay, one at a time. It didn't take long before she grew tired of the process. So she resorted to ingenuity. She dipped a rope in soft clay and swung the rope desultorily. Wherever each blob of clay landed, there sprang up one more member of homo sapiens!

Imagine chickens, dogs, sheep and all the rest having precedence over us. Then, when our turn came, we were given corporeal form with casual swings of a rope dipped in mud! I wonder which Mandarin oldie the goddess was humming when she swung that rope.

Still, we celebrate that day as Renri and we feast on yee sang on that day. But, if you ask me, yee sang more than makes up for the uncomplimentary history of our creation. Three cheers for yee sang

YET ANOTHER YEE SANG ADVENTURE

Here's one more experimentation with yee sang which turned out beautifully when I tried it out. 

Ingredients:

Pok choy
Sliced yam
Red pickled ginger
Fresh turnip strips
Tiny shreds of the leafy parts of cabbage

Stir and blend in the sauce. But, this time around, add a tablespoonful of honey. It offsets the tartness of the sauce slightly and leaves an unforgettable taste on your palate.

The name of this recipe? You get creative and come out with one.

- Bold Writer -

YEE SANG A'LA MALAYSIA

Yee sang is versatile - or rather, YOU can be versatile when it comes to the enjoyment of the dish. Here's a suggestion of how you may go about it. Try concocting yee sang with a Malaysian flavour.

Add thin slivers of fresh jack fruit (buah nangka) to the ingredients. Make sure the flesh is finely sliced so that it will blend well with the dressing. 

Now for another element - finely pounded cashew nuts. This will give the dish a new texture as well as an enhanced taste. For a better effect, I suggest you sprinkle the pounded cashews over the dish after the sauce has been stirred into the other ingredients.

And there you have it - yee sang a'la Malaysia! Enjoy!

 

MUHIBBAH - HARI RAYA WITH YEE SANG

Be adventurous this Hari Raya and imbue the season with a different flavor. Give your guests an eye-popping, mouth-watering treat - one that they least expect - yee sang! Let them relish a different delicacy - and your Raya open house will be the most talked about. "Loh Hey" by all means, and wish for all the good things you want for the coming year in the true Malaysian spirit of Muhibbah!

Adoh! Every year it's the same kuih! Boring-lah!

Ahem, this year's present will surely surprise them! They won't guess what it is!

[Boy] Yahoo! Tomorrow is our New Year! 
[Girl] Yeah, yeah, yeah!

NOW is the right time to bring them the food! Heh-heh!

[Man 1] Teng-teng-teng-teng! Everyone, come and look what it is!
[Man 2] Hoi, what's that?

[Man 1] Eh, wait for me! I just got here! I want to toss with you all!
[Man 2] Hey, Kumar, hurry up. Come toss with us!

[Wife] How clever my hubby is ...
[Husband] Hee, hee! Now you know it!
[Man 1] Hey, can we toss one more time? It seems like fun!

[Man 1] Waaah! This year is so merry - different from other years. Simply the best!
[Man 2] Hey, wait for me! I want to toss as well!
[Man 3] Me too!
[Woman 1] Let me join in the fun!
[Man 4] Hurry up and get over here!

A Delicious Toss for The Spring

I thought I was a connoisseur of Yee Sang until a friend I met in a hypermart introduced me to Spring Toss. She even pointed out to me the section where the Spring Toss items were arranged.

Was I impressed when I drew near! What a FIND! There was variety a-plenty to choose from - Traditional, Teochew and Thai flavours. There were different packagings to suit different sizes in gatherings. I found one that was just nice for three to five people - and another that was enough for a table of thirteen! And there were also supplementary packs of pok choy and sliced yam - these people think of everything.

And that's not all. On some of the boxes were exotic names like Fruity Fiesta, Golden Sensation and Radiant Lotus. I read the ingredients listed on them - and nearly fainted with an uncontrollable yearning for the festive delicacy. 

I started filling up my cart so fast you'd have thought the government was about to prohibit the sale of Yee Sang.

As I neared the cashier's counter, I saw my friend who had told me about Spring Toss. She looked at the contents of my cart and laughed.

"Stocking up for the New Year?" she asked me.

"WHO's waiting for the New Year?" I replied. "I can always come back for more."


BOLDWRITER

LOH HEY LAR ! EVERYONE...

Some people think that Yee Sang is strictly Chinese. Well, some people are so very wrong.

Though of Chinese origin, Yee Sang is, first and foremost, a treat for the palate. It's actually a delicacy for all. How so? I'll explain. 

Anyone can enjoy it. It contains neither animal meat nor extract, save for sashimi (and that's optional). It's low on calories and settles easily on the stomach. (It has to be, since it's an appetiser!)

If you're a health freak and a confirmed vegetarian, fine! Just forego the sashimi and everything else is of botanic origin, the sauce included. 

Yee Sang is also good news for those who are weight-conscious. There's precious little carbohydrate and fat to provide unwanted calories. Imagine demolishing a whole plate of yummy eatables and not being bothered as to what it'll do to your waistline.

And if you've never tried Yee Sang before, all I have to say is - you don't know what you've been missing. Let me try to describe it for you.

Basically, it's a salad. Everything's in thin slices and small pieces. You don't have to do any cooking, heating or chilling - "instant" is the word. All you need to do is place the ingredients on a plate, pour the sauce over it and stir thoroughly.

It's crispy, crunchy, a little sweet, a little tangy, with its unique flavour settling beautifully on your tongue. Maybe I'll just use one word to describe the experience - SLURP! 

You don't have to bother with chopsticks if you're not used to them. Use a fork, spoon or ladle to stir and mix. Heck, you can use your fingers if you want to - the taste remains the same. Just remember to blend the sauce well with the ingredients.

And if you want to "Loh Hey" like the Chinese, just say: "May (whatever it is you want) come my way!" Then toss the ingredients high in the air and let them fall back on the plate. 

That's all there is to it? You bet.

-BOLDWRITER-

LOH HEY...WISHING FOR JUST ABOUT ANYTHING

I know most people just shout "Loh Hey" when they toss Yee Sang in the air with their chopsticks. But "Loh Hey" merely means "toss high". That's not a wish! It's a mere exclamation like "Yam Seng" which you make on an appropriate occasion.

Loh Hey goes much deeper in meaning and philosophy. For one thing, the ritual is invariably carried out among close family members and loved ones. And it's done during the New Year festive season, a season of good cheer and hope.

There are a set of standard wishes folks make when they toss the Yee Sang high in the air with shouts and laughter. The popular ones are for domestic happiness, a carefree life, freedom from obstacles, filial piety, youthful looks, perpetual bliss, a happy and easygoing existence, a safe and happy life - and plentiful income (let's not forget THIS last wish).

However, there are no hard and fast rules as to what you may ask for. The abovementioned list is but a set of standard wishes people make, NOT a set formula to follow.

When you Loh Hey, you can utter aloud whatever desire there is in your heart. Perhaps you want your newly-formed business to do well? Then shout out loud, "May my business prosper!"

Or if your concern is about the major exams your son has to sit for at the end of the year, then wish that he will come through with flying colours.

Just keep your words (and your train of thought) auspicious. Remember that the dish on the table before you is Yee Sang, the emblem of good luck that a new year brings.

As for me, each time I make a SPRING TOSS (what a poetic way to describe Loh Hey), I hope that the fresh season will bring blessings and opportunities for all. The success you achieve depends on the kind of effort you put in.

Now, THAT'S pretty fair by any reckoning, don't you think?


BOLDWRITER

TOSS HIGH AND WISH!

Some years ago, an American friend of mine who was here on vacation, joined me and a group of other friends for a Yee Sang treat.

The Yee Sang dish was the appetiser. First the thick, treacly sauce was poured over the ingredients. Then everyone stood up to "Loh Hey". (You have to stand up when you "Loh Hey". Take it from me, half the fun and the spirit of the occasion are gone if you sit down and do it.)

Bemused, my American friend asked me what it was all about. I explained to her that the ritual was an invocation of good fortune and a wish for the myriad blessings the New Year could bring. Everyone at table invited her to join in and she was most eager to.

Unfortunately, she wasn't quite at home with a pair of chopsticks. Could she use her spoon, she wanted to know. No way. The ingredients would slither off. What about a fork? Nope, the thin slivers would get caught between the tines. 

It had to be chopsticks to make the ritual genuinely, authentically Chinese. Using a fork or spoon to Loh Hey would have been like putting the Queen of England in a cheongsam. Not a winning combination, sad to say.

Since it would take too long to teach my American friend the art of using a pair of chopsticks (and we were all famished), we did the next best thing. We improvised. While I "Loh Hey-ed" she placed her palm over the back of my hand. That way, she sort of participated in the Loh Hey ritual too, in a vicarious manner. How romantic, did you say? Hardly. She was a Catholic nun.

But to get back to Loh Hey. The Chinese believe that the higher you toss, the greater the luck that comes your way. But you have to shout when you Loh Hey. Voice out loud what it is you wish for and fill the air with merriment and laughter. That's the way to create the true spirit of Loh Hey. Never mind the neighbours. They'll probably be having their own Yee Sang party.

One practical explanation for the practice of Loh Hey is that it helps the sauce to blend well with the ingredients. That's why the slivers of food are tossed high, and not once but several times.

But there's one lovely and meaningful interpretation of the Loh Hey ritual which I once heard and which I'd now like to share with you. According to this version, when you toss the ingredients high, you lift them towards Heaven, that source from which all blessings come. It's an offering you make to Heaven before you yourself consume the dish. Then, when you utter your wish with all your heart, Heaven hears and responds. 

But wish for something sensible. If you're tone-deaf, for instance, and you aspire to step into Celine Dion's shoes, your wish might be more than even Heaven can manage.

When you Loh Hey, wish for something you can believe in, something that can come about in your life. Then practice the virtue of patience, and before the year is out, what you desire may just come to you.


-BOLDWRITER-

Who Says It's Old Hat???

How can anything be old hat when it's faithfully observed from one year to another, and from one generation to the next? It's alive, it's vital, it's ... well, if not hip, at least cool.

Before I go any further - and before you get even more muddled - let me explain what I'm talking about. Tradition. That link between the past, the present and the future. Every race and every culture has them. 

Talking about traditions brings to mind those observed during Chinese New Year. 

The one I'm fondest of is the tradition of Loh Hey and the eating of Yee Sang, where all family members gather round the dining-table and have fun tossing the Yee Sang high in the air before eating it, with shouts of good wishes for the New Year.

As an uninformed but inquisitive child I often wondered why the family dined on Yee Sang on the seventh day of the New Year. 

A kindly great grand-aunt undertook to enlighten me. According to her, the world, and everything else that exists, were created by the goddess Nu Wa a long, long time ago. On the seventh day of her construction work (no, the goddess didn't need a developer's licence), Nu Wa created mankind. To commemorate this day, known as Renri (also called as human day), everybody feasted on the dish known as Yee Sang. 

Years later, I picked up a copy of "The Origins of Chinese Festivals" (printed by Asiapac) and found that my great grand-aunt was not guilty of invention. The myth was exactly as she had told it. 

Wanting to know more about Yee Sang, I did a little research. It seems its tradition  goes all the way back to the era of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.). It was started by the fisherfolk who lived in the province of Guangzhou, along the southern coastline of China. 

Those folks celebrated the common birthday of all humanity in their own way. They had a slap-up feed by feasting on their own catch. That probably explains why folks today still have a hankering for sashimi in their Yee Sang.

To lend more variety to their Yee Sang, those fisherfolk added pickles and vegetables. Then they poured over the ingredients a  dressing made up of vinegar, oil and plum sauce. A far cry from the delectable concoctions of Spring Toss.

One aspect of the enjoyment of Yee Sang has survived the ages. What they did back then in the good old days, we do now in the new hip age. If you haven't guessed, I'm talking about the Loh Hey ritual, that endearing practice of tossing the ingredients high and wishing for New Year Blessings. 

Personally, I can't think of any happier way to usher in a New Year than to "Loh Hey" with your loved ones. The only thing that can beat Loh Hey is when all those yummy Yee Sang ingredients pass your lips and settle on your tongue and ... I think I'd better stop. It's not Renri yet, but I'm craving for Yee Sang so badly I keep seeing pickles, crackers and sashimi on my monitor!

- BOLDWRITER -