What is Yee Sang - CNY Prosperity Toss

Image source: Marufish

Hi Steemians! Today I am going to share a little about Yee Sang which is the Chinese New Year prosperity toss. It is also known as Yu Sheng, Lou Sang and Lo Hei. Yee Sang is a popular Chinese colourful salad dish in Malaysia and Singapore. It is a part of the Chinese New Year tradition where people gather around the dining table and toss the ingredients high with chopsticks to welcome the new year with wishes of prosperity and abundance for everyone. Yee Sang is made of many ingredients and some of them are pickled vegetables which are sliced. They are all mixed thoroughly when the meal is eaten.

The following photos are some of the ingredients of Yee Sang which I snapped in a Chinese restaurant. They caught my eyes because they looked so colourful. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a perfect top view of all the ingredients due to my short height :(

All of the ingredients that I could find in the restaurant.

A closer shot of the first half of the ingredients

The yellow ingredient on the top left is called takuan. They are daikon radish pickles. The other shredded ingredient in the container is pickled red ginger which indicates good luck. The ingredient placed beside the container is Chinese 5 spice powder. It is to usher good fortune to everyone in the family. The ingredient next to it is sesame seeds. It symbolizes prosperity in one's business. Then, the first ingredient on the bottom row is shredded beetroot for good luck as red is an auspicious colour. The next ingredient is candied ginger. It is a symbol of seeking more abundance throughout the year.

A closer shot of the other half of the ingredients

The ingredient on the top left was already mentioned in the previous paragraph. Hence, I am moving on to the one next to it which is crushed roasted peanuts. It is to symbolize a home that is filled with gold and silver. The ingredient next to it is white ginger. Yee Sang toast is done with a small portion of raw fish. So the ginger helps to kill the bacteria if there are any in the raw food item. In the bottom row, the green ingredient is chuka wakame which is seasoned seaweed. It is used because the colour green symbolizes the hopes for youthfulness and vitality in the year. The ingredient in the last bowl is vermicelli noodles. The main ingredient which is a raw fish is missing as it was not displayed. The dish will be complete with the fish.