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-