Let's do the Loh Hei ( Yu Sheng)

Gong Xi Fa Cai. Been a wonderful evening sharing Chinese New Year dinner over at my place. It has been interesting to explain and exchange a piece of our unique Chinese New Year culture to my British friends. Some have heard of yu sheng, some not heard of it & not tried before. Yu Sheng is actually raw fish salad and typically had it during the 7thday of CNY (better known as Ren Ri or human birthday). This dish signifies all good fortune , prosperity, abundance, upward growth in business and etc. The belief is the higher you toss the better your good fortune and wealth will be....let's with excitement with loud voice says "Loh Hei" (toss upward) as you toss. The only time of the year where you can mess up the table :-). This dish is very popular with Chinese businessmen in Singapore/Malaysia. Nowdays we can have it anytime during Chinese New Year, and yes being in far and away from Malaysia/Singapore, my craving gets better of me :-).
A month ago, I asked my sis to buy me a vegetable slicer(mandolin) from CK Tang in Singapore specifically for yu sheng. I even googled for specific things to say while serving Yu Sheng :-). Enjoy and drool.

Yu Sheng (Raw Fish Salad)
Ingredients (serves about 8 people)

• 200gm fresh salmon fillet or smoked salmon (thinly sliced)
• 100gm carrot (julienned)
• 200gm Chinese radish (julienned)
• 20gm pickled ginger (pink color)-julienned
• 20gm fresh ginger - julienned
• 5 small pickled shallots (thinly sliced)
• 1 bunch of corriander (shred with hand)
• 1 stalk of spring onion (take only the green part-julienned)
• 2 dry sweeten kum quat(lime)-julienned
• 1 lemongrass-chopped finely
  
• 1 small apricot julienned
• 1 small semi ripe mango julienned
• 20gm yam/taro - colored it green and deep fry
  
• 20gm yam/taro -colored it red and deep fry
  
• half pink grapefruit
  
• 1/2 lime
  
• 2 tbsp sesame seed
• 3 tbsp toasted peanut - grounded
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seed
  
• 1 cup of crispy flakes (can use fried wanton skin)
• 1/2 cup of garlic oil + 1 tsp sesame oil
  

Sauce

• 3 tbsp plum sauce (I use Yeos brand)
• 1 dry sour plum grated and added to plum sauce.
  
• 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce (I use Lee Kum Kee brand)
• 1/2 tsp five spice powder-place them in red packet(ang pow)
  
• 1 tsp white pepper-place them in red packet
  
• 1 tbsp apricot jam
• juice from 1/2 lime

1. Place all other ingredients in a plate except salmon(I use 15inches in diameter plate), arrange nicely.
2. Mix the sauces ingredient together in a small bowl.
3. Place salmon in a small plate, squeeze juice of 1/2 lime and 1 tsp garlic oil and let it coat well onto the salmon.
4. Add the salmon to (1). Drizzle sesame seed, roasted peanut, crsipy cracker, five spice, pepper and garlic oil onto (1)
   
5. Pour in the sauce and get ready your chopstick and Loh Hei :-)