Friday, February 7, 2020

Why do Chinese Toss Yee Sang During Chinese New Year

Why do Chinese toss Yee Sang





Why do the Chinese toss yee sang during Chinese New Year?

Yee Sang  鱼生 is also known as yu sheng, lo hei or the Prosperity Toss; a prominent dish found during the Chinese New Year celebrations as it is a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor. It is a raw fish salad topped with shredded vegetables and pickled ingredients such as pomelo, carrot, radish and usually salmon. 

Each ingredient is added to the salad for a special meaning:
* Oil is poured circling the ingredients, hence encouraging money to flow in from all directions. 一本万利 Yi Ben Wan Li meaning “Make 10,000 times of profit with your capital”.
* Carrots are added indicating blessings of good luck. 鸿运当头 Hong Yun Dang Tou meaning “Good luck is approaching”.
* Crushed nuts symbolizes a household filled with gold and silver. 金银满屋 Jin Yin Man Wu meaning “Household filled with gold and silver”
* Plum sauce, is generously drizzled over everything. 甜甜蜜蜜 Tian Tian Mi Mi Meaning “May life always be sweet”.
* Deep-fried Chinese crackers (pok chui) in the shape of golden pillows are then added with wishes that literally the whole floor would be filled with gold. 满地黄金 Man Di Huang Jin meaning “Floor full of gold. 

During the yee sang toss, the Chinese would shout out all sorts of auspicious wishes and hopes for the new year, including good fortune, health, happiness, more holidays etc etc. The Chinese also believe "the higher you toss, the more luck you get". Best of all, the act of gathering together and tossing yee sang with close friends and family is a super fun activity before the start of the Chinese New Year meal.

Traditionally, yee sang is tossed and eaten during the 7th day of CNY (during Renri) but it is now enjoyed up to weeks before the actual celebration.




Check out our video on Yee Sang Toss here on YouTube!


Yee Sang shown in this video are from the following venues: Tapestry Dining KL, EQ, and Wan Chun Ting, Sofitel KL Damansara.



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