During my younger days in Malacca, I was not aware of Yee Sang, a dish which is now considered as a must by many Chinese as part of their Chinese New Year celebration. Yee Sang actually means ‘raw fish’ which is one of the ingredients in this dish, as the Chinese believe that raw fish symbolizes the promise of abundance.
At the mention of Yee Sang, I immediately think of people standing round their dinner tables, tossing their food as high as they could with their chopsticks, cheering, “Heng Ah! Huat Ah! Ong Ah!” Translated from the Hokkien dialect, this means “Good Fortune and Prosperity!!” Indeed, it is a good wish for all, be it as individuals, a society or a nation.
Today Yee Sang is enjoyed by people from all races and all walks of life. I was quite surprised that it is listed in our Malaysian Heritage Food List, together with Nasi Lemak, Nasi Kerabu, Char Kuey Teow and Teh Tarik.
Indeed, this tradition of prosperity toss has also become a unifying factor in our multicultural and multi-religious nation. During the Lunar New Year season, relatives and friends of different cultures and backgrounds participate in the fun of tossing and cheering for good fortune and prosperity.
This year, I am going to let my creative juices flow and assemble my own version of Yee Sang. One can easily browse the internet for an easy recipe like this here. To me, this is a great salad dish. The variety of vegetables used add to the colours of festivity on the dinner table. To me, the fun begins with choosing the vegetables and fruits of vibrant colours and flavours that you fancy. Then it comes to arranging them all on a large plate to make the dish simply eye-catching or ‘too nice to be disturbed’. Of course, the sauce or dressing can also be done to your personal preference. To me, there is no hard and fast rule to coming up with what suits your taste buds. The final cheer comes when all your relatives or friends gather round the table for the toss to a good year ahead. All that is painstakingly created will then become a complete mess just to satisfy each of our cravings. After all, food is for eating.
So, what’s on my mind? Colourful vegetables like round cabbage, purple cabbage, red, green and yellow capsicums, radish, yambean, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, grapes of different colours, strawberries, guava and even mango! Instead of raw fish, which I do not fancy, I might try sliced canned abalone or simply some cocktail prawns.
As one who likes to ‘play’ with food and experiment with recipes, I am sure I will not be disappointed.
Let us collectively toss to a great 2025!
Mei Wong
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