Yu Sheng

I love Yu Sheng (发财鱼生). I feel it's the one dish that really symbolise Lunar New Year. You can find Bak Kwa, Pineapple Tarts and Love Letters any time of the year but Yu Sheng only appears during the first 15 days of Lunar New Year.

And I have the privilege of eating really yummy home-made Yu Sheng prepared by my parents. The ingredients for Yu Sheng are really simple. The ingredients my parents use this year are:

鱼生             Yu Sheng
柚子             Pomelo
红萝卜          Carrot
白萝卜          White Radish
青萝卜          Green Radish
七彩锦菜丝    Preserved Mixed Melon
碧绿瓜英丝    Preserved Melon Strip
正宗中国茶瓜 Cucumber Strip
酸姜丝           Pickled Ginger Shredded
红姜丝           Red Ginger Shredded
桔饼丝           Shredded Kit Pan
柠檬瓜丝        Preserved Lemon
海蜇丝           Shredded Jelly Fish
薄脆              Crispy Cracker
鱼生胡椒粉     Pepper Powder
鱼生五香粉     Five Spice Powder
鱼生花生碎     Grounded Peanut
鱼生炒芝麻     Sesame Seed
鱼生酱           Yu Sheng Sauce
梅酱               Plum Sauce
柠檬酱            Lemon Sauce

The process of preparing the Yu Sheng is fairly tedious. I know because years ago I helped them before. They would shred the carrot, white radish and green radish, grind the peanuts, and peal the pomelo  themselves. It's hard work. My parents have "upgraded" to a semi-automatic machine that now requires them to turn a lever to shred the carrots and radish. And this year they buy items six onwards ready-made from Tungsan Food Industries (I got the names of the items from their pricelist so if it sounds funny, dun blame me). Many have replaced the raw fish in the Yu Sheng with fancier alternatives like Salmon, Salmon Belly, or even Abalone.

My parents love to decorate their Yu Sheng. This year being the year of the Rabbit, my parents made a rabbit with the white radish. The bigger version is the first photo you see above and the smaller version is below.