How to ‘lou sang’ the right way during Lunar New Year for love and good fortune in the Year of the Rat
Yee sang is a salad believed to have originated in Southern China, a tradition that emigrants took back to Malaysia and Singapore.
It was made popular in the 1960s in its contemporary form, where family and friends get together to “toss the salad”, “lou hei or “lou sang”, as a way to bring good luck and fortune in the coming year.
The Prosperity Toss, as the salad is also known, incorporates over 20 auspicious ingredients, each added for a different reason.
Raw salmon, for example, symbolises “being in abundance every year”, a play on the pronunciation of the word fish in Cantonese, a homophone for abundance. Lime is used to bring “good luck and great profitability”, while plum sauce “always sweetens your life”.
We spoke to chef Sze Leung-fat at Cafe Malacca about what exactly goes into an authentic yee sang, and its significance during Lunar New Year.
Video by Bridgette Hall and Jeff Chen
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Chef Sze Leung-fat at Cafe Malacca tells us about the auspicious ingredients that go into yee sang, or the Prosperity Toss salad, and the symbolism behind it all