Yesterday colleagues and I went to Lou Sang session in Oversee restaurant. Around CNY holidays, i can notice a lot of Chinese restaurants are crowded with people, mainly working people due to 'CNY lunch' la. The first dish we had is the Yee Sang. I searched internet to get more detail about this Yee Sang custom in Chinese community and I found this http://www.fooxion.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t290.html
"”Yee” means “fish” and “Sang” means “toss”. However, “Sang” as it is pronounced can also mean “rise up” or “give birth”. “Yee” can also mean “prosperity”. The whole wordplay thing is very much a part of Chinese culture.
The rule of yee sang is that the dish itself must be very colourful. It usually consists of coloured flour strips (such as the "chow mein" that some westerners add to salads) in red and green. Also shredded carrot, pickled papaya, shredded radish and ginger which has been dyed red and green. Crispy strips of fried stuff is added and some nuts (usually chestnut). Bits of pomelo (the small bits you find if you peel a section) is also added. This is arranged on a large plate (very large) with each ingredient seperate from the other.
Strips of thinly sliced raw fish are placed on a seperate plate. Pour a little brandy, lime juice and five spice powder onto the fish (chemically cooked now). Then arrange the fish strips on top of the stuff on the plate so as to be aesthetically pleasing. Add pepper, sesame ssed, ground up peanuts, oil and sweet sauce to the top. It should look pretty nice now (depending on how much of the earlier brandy you sipped - heh).
Any kind of fish can be used. To do it on the cheap or if you are squeamish about raw fish you can use jelly fish also. Using vegetarian substitutes is done in some places but it defeats the purpose methinks. Abalone strips can also be used for those who don't know how else to include this in their new year menu."
"The practice of eating it is that every person around the table has a pair of chop sticks and they all toss the salad. In Chinese this act of tossing uses the word "lou" and to "lou sang" is to gather prosperity. Ironically the Chinese have no crossword puzzles despite their love for word games.
Tradition has it that the higher the salad is tossed the better, which is also why you need a large plate for this. The dish must be totally consumed by the diners around the table and nothing left over. Most people speak of prosperity or wealth or something like “lou hei” which means liveliness, prosperity and lonngevity, during the tossing. Then again, its the new year and traditionally you must not speak of inauspicuous things such as death.
The dish is taken as an appetizer and it precludes the other courses. "
