I know it's days after the 15th of CNY and I apologise for this late Yusheng post. When I was younger, I did not know how to appreciate Yusheng and I always picked up those "koropok" (the deep-fried flour crisps) to eat only. But as I grew older, I started to enjoy the other colorful vegetables in it like the shredded radish and carrots. When they are mixed with the different condiments: crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, cinnamon, pepper and other spices, the Yusheng turns into a nice big platter almost instantly.
But why is Yusheng called "Yusheng", I asked my mom the other day and this is what she said: yu means "fish" but enunciated appropriately, it also means "abundance"; and sheng means literally "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.
Let the pictures do the talking:
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My mom bought two sets of Yusheng from the Soup Restaurant (as the maternal side of my family is really huge so we always need to divide into two rounds to lo hei) and boy, the sauces, seasonings and condiments were really fantastic. The plum sauce wasn't too sweet nor sour, it was just nice such that it doesn't make us feel sick after eating a few mouthfuls and made us keep wanting more. We'd definitely get it from them again next year. .JPG) My childtime-favourite: "koropok".
.JPG) The mess we created thereafter.
All my friends who know me well would know for sure that CNY is my (EVER) favourite festive season of the entire year and my whole extended family treats this occasion as a highly-important period as well. It's the season of generous giving, fabulous eating and of course not forgetting the small-time gambling at my Grandma's place. Really enjoyed myself this CNY and I can't wait for 2009! |
posted by An Economist Baker at 