With Chinese New Year approaching us fast, it’s not uncommon to see that your news feed starts showing you more things in relation to the festival.
Those who celebrate CNY would know that no celebration would be quite that complete without a very fun and delicious thing we call Lou Hei or Yu Sheng.
For those who don’t know what Lou Hei means, it’s like a Prosperity Toss which typically includes a raw fish salad. The raw fish commonly used is salmon sashimi. It also incorporates different kinds of vegetables that are supposed to be added while shouting blessings.
If you’re curious as to what the ingredients are, here’s a list:
- Fresh salmon or tuna sashimi
- White radish
- Carrots
- Cucumber
- Capsicum
- Pomelo
- Pickled ginger
- Chinese parsley
- Roasted & unsalted peanuts
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Five spice powder
- Gold crackers
- Plum sauce
- Lemon Juice
- Peanut or corn oil
- Sesame oil
And after preparing all the ingredients into one big plate or tray, everyone gets together and toss the salad with chopsticks.
Lou Hei The Proper Way
But wait, did you know that there’s actually a proper way to go about doing Lou Hei to ensure the most prosperity and luck?
Well, read on to find out more!
Hone Sing Soi, the chef of De Golden Spoon Restaurant has made a video to show everyone the correct way to Lou Hei, and if you would rather have a step-by-step list of instructions, fret not because I’ll be listing them down below.
1. Add in the raw fish slices and as you add, you should say “年年有余” (nian nian you yu), which means “Abundance throughout the year”.
2. Add in the pomelo and say “大吉大利” (da ji da li), which means “Good luck and great prosperity).
3. Sprinkle pepper and cinnamon powder, and say “招财进宝” (zhao cai jin bao), which means “May you attract wealth and treasures”.
4. Add in shredded green radish and say “青春美丽” (qing chun mei li), which means “May you be forever young and beautiful”.
5. Add in finely chopped peanuts and say “金银满屋” (jin yin man wu), which means “May your house be filled with gold and silver”.
6. Sprinkle sesame seeds and say “生意兴隆” (sheng yi xing long), which means “Wishing you a successful and prosperous business”.
7. Add in the golden crackers and say “满地黄金” (man di huang jin), which means “May your floor be covered with gold”.
8. Add in the sour plum sauce and say “甜甜蜜蜜” (tian tian mi mi), which means “May you have a sweet and loving relationship”.
9. Toss and enjoy!
And there you have it, a simple nine-step process on how to Lou Hei the proper way. Of course, you can always add in more ingredients if you want, but the above are the key ingredients that most people would include.
So now that you’re equipped with this knowledge, you can ensure that your friends and family do it the right way this CNY!