Chinese New Year will be upon us in just a few days. Yusheng, or raw fish salad, has become an unmissable dish for Singaporeans, eaten from as early as the first day of the Chinese New Year right up to its 15th day of festivities. It’s also a dish that local chefs delight in delivering new twists on each year.
Originating from the Lingnan region in China’s Guangdong province, the humble raw fish salad took on myriad variations after it was brought to Singapore and Malaysia. The early forms of local yusheng were typically on the menus of hawker stalls peddling Cantonese porridge, until the 1960s, when four leading Chinese chefs of that period - Than Mui Kai, Lau Yoke Pui, Hooi Kok Wai, and Sin Leong - decided to add vibrantly coloured vegetable shreds and sauces to the mix, each one accompanied by a verbal exhortation for blessings. Thus the street snack was transformed into the auspicious delicacy that we know of today: luxurious, colourful platters tossed for good luck in Singapore’s leading hotels and restaurants around Chinese New Year.
Around this time every year, every chef and hotel will set aside the time, effort and the best ingredients in their pantry to offer a fresh variation on their first dish of the brand new year, vying to outdo the other with ever more innovative and creative takes on the dish. We round up some of the most creative - and decadent - yusheng on the island:
At one-Michelin-starred Summer Pavilion in The Ritz-Carlton Singapore, annual yusheng creations are named after key ingredients that feature in them. This year’s specialities: the Japanese sea urchin and bluefin tuna yusheng, elegantly arrayed on a platter so that the sea urchin and bluefin tuna are the first ingredients to catch your eye. The sea urchin are presented in their shells and set aside during the tossing so the delicate morsels are not lost among the vigorous tossing. They are later placed atop each individually plated portion of the raw fish salad, for you to savour on its own or while mixed into the melange of fresh salad, bringing out its rich sea flavours.
It isn’t enough these days for yusheng platters to be a treat for the stomach, but a feast for the eyes too. Jade at the Fullerton Hotel’s Eight Happiness Gold Rush Yusheng is decorated with calligraphic drawings of roosters and auspicious greetings, each one meticulously painted on by the restaurant’s executive chef Leong Chee Yeng. This decadent array is accompanied by fresh slices of salmon, gold foil-speckled house-made champagne jelly, a sprinkle of cinnamon powder and drizzles of olive oil and honey pineapple dressing.
Looking for a little East-West extravagance? Then Man Fu Yuan’s special creation for 2017 will check all the right boxes. As its name suggests, the addition of black truffle and Hokkaido crab meat add a luxe lift to convention, and are perfect for entertaining the VIPs in your life. Paired with silverbait fried to a golden crisp, and fruits such as mango and rock melon, its vibrant, golden-yellow appearance will appeal to many. Toasted Japanese pearl rice crackers is mixed with gold flakes and sprinkled throughout, resulting in an aromatic melange that is as attractive as it is tasty.
What’s in a name? Plenty, when it comes to auspicious Chinese New Year dishes. Not one to be overlooked among the plethora of offerings, Bib Gourmand-rated Peony Jade has created a rooster-shaped yusheng aptly titled “Instant Enormous Windfall, Good Health and Longevity Yusheng”. Brimming with premium ingredients such as Canadian lobster, Norwegian salmon and crabs, fish roe and poached two-head golden abalone from Australia, the yusheng is topped with 18-carat gold dust and a dressing made from fresh pears and peaches.
In a refreshing twist to this popular Chinese New Year classic, Shang Palace’s head chef Steven Ng has eschewed the typical gold-gilded toppings for a red and purple-themed yusheng instead. Creatively incorporating ingredients such as organic grape vinegar, beetroot, arugula and purple sweet potato chips into a yusheng starring boiled red lobster and smoked salmon, the dish is both attractive as it is auspicious.
Salmon and Shredded Chicken Yusheng with Green Peppercorn Sauce by Sichuan Dou Hua, Parkroyal on Beach Road
While yusheng is traditionally sour, Sichuan Dou Hua restaurant has rolled out a special Sichuan-inspired Salmon and Shredded Chicken Yusheng with Green Peppercorn Sauce for lovers of Sichuan spice for those seeking a little heat in the year of the Fire Rooster. Shredded Chicken with Green Peppercorns is a traditional appetiser in Sichuan cuisine, which Si Chuan Dou Hua’s chefs have cleverly married into the local yusheng tradition.
Besides salmon sashimi and chicken, the pampering indulgence includes a variety of premium vegetables, and a sauce made with sesame oil, soy sauce and fresh green peppercorns imported directly from Sichuan. Its alluring aroma and piquant, lingering heat is sure to make your festive occasion an unforgettable affair.
