Chinese New Year in Melbourne ~ 2016

Our first meal on the first day of the Lunar Chinese New Year was dumplings at  New Shanghai restaurant in the Emporium food court, away from the traditional vegetarian meal which we used to have all along.  Must admit that the food was delicious and the service  …… Fast!

Does the gentleman in the right picture look familiar to you?  Yes, he’s Gary Mehigan, one of the judges of the Masterchef series.   And the mysterious special guest is none other than Kylie Kwong, one of Australia’s celebrity chefs.

And what’s for dinner?  Home made ‘Yee Sang/Low Sang/Yu Sheng/Lo Hei’.  What a mouthful….no worries, here’s a short introduction of this special Chinese New Year dish which is unique in Malaysia and Singapore and only available during the fifteen days of the Lunar New Year.

According to Chinese legend, the goddess Nu Wa spent six days creating animals out of mud and on the seventh day she created humanity.  Thus Ren Ri or the seventh day is Day of Mankind and therefore birthday for everybody and hence a special dish comprising seven symbolic delicacies known as Yee Sang was created.

The dish, which is made up of shredded colourful vegetables and raw fish is usually served as an appetiser and everyone will toss the ingredients high in the air with their chopsticks, saying loudly auspicious wishes.  The significance of the ‘prosperity toss’ is to wish for abundant luck and happiness for all.

And what’s in this dish?  Shredded white and purple cabbage, carrot, yellow and red capsicum, coriander and not forgetting the salmon, some were seared while some were raw, laced with lemon juice.  Drizzle on some olive oil  and sprinkle on some five spice powder.  As for the sauce, I mixed plum sauce with honey and a wee bit of water.  Toasted walnut crumbs, white sesame and the crunchy ribbon biscuits which were air flown from Malaysia added more crunch to the delicious ‘Yee Sang’, and healthy too )

No-Frills Recipes