What To Say When Tossing Yee Sang in 2024?
It’s the Lunar New Year and time for the Yee Sang Toss, so what do you say?
You’ll want to impress your superiors, bosses, and elders’ bosses or demonstrate your command of the language.
Now is the time to have a quick read and arm yourself with the right saying as you toss the Yee Sang to greater prosperity.
Pro Tip: Each ingredient has significance and a corresponding saying, making it easy to remember!
Now is the time to brush up on your Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, or any Chinese dialect you speak to converse with your relatives to express your good wishes during the customary tossing of Yee Sang.
Yee Sang is enjoyable, delicious, and healthful, and it is a must-have for CNY feasts, gatherings, and parties!
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Contents
History of Yee Sang
While you may think that Yee Sang originated in China, this custom is exclusive to Malaysia and Singapore. The practice of a Prosperity Yee Sang Toss is not found in China.
In Malaysia, it is customary for people to toss Yee Sang together during the Chinese New Year in the hopes of having a prosperous new year.
Yee Sang Toss is not practiced by Chinese people in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or Indonesia.
As Yee Sang is a Malaysian thing, all the races in Malaysia, including Malays, Chinese, Indians, and other ethnic groups, know the significance of eating this special dish during Chinese New Year.
According to Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, his grandfather, Loke Ching Fatt, popularised the famous Yee Sang dish.
In the 1920s, Loke Ching Fatt emigrated from China to Malaya and opened a catering business in Seremban.
By the 1940s, he introduced Yee Sang to his menu, and the Chinese community immediately took to it.
Loke Ching Fatt invented Yee Sang by combining seven symbolic yet readily available vegetables with raw fish, plum sauce, oil, salt, and pepper as garnishes.
The new dish, the Yee Sang, emphasized vegetables because fresh fish was more expensive.
There are frequently long queues waiting to enter the Loke family house.
Loke’s father, Loke Chee Chow, received Ching Fatt’s recipe and used it to build a restaurant in 1974.
It is good to find out the significance of Yee Sang in our Malaysian cuisine and the historical facts of the dish before it gained popularity.
Source: Anthony Loke remembers his grandfather who ‘invented’ Yee Sang
What is Yee Sang?
Yee Sang, a “prosperity toss,” is a salad typically consumed during Chinese New Year celebrations in Malaysia.
It is also known as “Yu Sheng” in Mandarin and “Lo Hei” in Cantonese.
The dish typically includes a variety of colourful ingredients, including fresh vegetables, fruits, crackers, and generally raw fish.
Fish (Salmon) is used as it represents abundance, wealth, and energy.
It is enjoyable, delicious, healthful, and a must-have for CNY feasts and parties!
Simple is best!
How To Toss Yee Sang?
Yee Sang tossing is fun to enjoy the holiday season with loved ones, friends, and coworkers because the food represents prosperity, wealth and success.
Everyone waits for the sweet plum sauce, vegetable oil, pepper, five-spice powder, and lime juice to be poured over the salad.
Then comes the fun part – everyone uses their chopsticks to mix and toss the Yee Sang with more auspicious phrases or words.
Make a mess and toss it high.
All you have to do is toss it high and create as much of a mess as possible.
Your life and social standing will improve as you lift the ingredients higher and higher.
The greater a mess you make, the more ground all of these good wishes will cover in your life.
What To Say When Tossing Yee Sang To A Better 2024
Get to know them and recite the ingredients and what to say when tossing Yee Sang with your family and friends.
A big celebration or home celebration, Yee Sang is the star prosperity dish during the Chinese New Year in Malaysia.
Lime
Start by squeezing the lime over the dish while saying “Da Ji Da Li” – wishing good luck and high profits for the new year ahead.
Fish
Then, add the fish (this applies only to salmon and abalone Yee Sang or relevant seafood variations).
In Chinese, fish is translated as ‘Yú,’ a homophone for the word abundance.
Thus, “Nian Nian You Yu” means always having more than enough yearly.
Seasonings
Typically, there will be two packets of spices, one red and one green, among the condiments. You may mix these in or do them one at a time.
The Chinese word for red, “Hong,” results in the expression “Hong Yun Dan Tou,” which denotes good fortune coming your way. Green, or “qing” in Mandarin, on the other hand, stands for endless youth. “Qing Chun Chang Zhu” thus means “may you be young and vibrant forever.”
Olive oil
Next, add the oil, pouring it in a circular motion to represent money flowing in from all sides while reciting “Cai Yuan Guang Jin.”
The expression “Yi Ben Wan Li” (一本万利) means to increase your profits ten thousandfold
Plum Sauce
To ensure that “everything in life will be as sweet as honey,” spread the plum sauce over the entire dish after adding the oil.
Sesame Seeds & Nuts
Then, add the sesame seeds and almonds and utter “Wu Gu Feng Shou” to invoke riches.
Fried Crisps
With the phrase “Jin Yu Man Tang,” which means “may your home be full of prosperity and treasure,” cap the meal off by adding the fried chips.
So, toss it away!
Everyone can say these wishes while tossing Yee Sand: Gong Xi Fa Cai, Shen Ti Jian Kang, Wan Shi Ru Yi, Lou Hei, and Huat ahhhh!!!
Remember that the messier you become, the better the new year.
Don’t forget to include the traditional good luck messages of “Gong Xi Fa Cai,” “Wan Shi Ru Yi,” and “Lou Hei” as you toss higher and higher.
Sayings For Yee Sang Toss
Do you recall how servers at Chinese restaurants typically recite good wishes when adding sauces and spice to the Yee Sang?
What do you say when tossing Yee Sang?
We have selected a few proverbs and sayings guaranteed to add some profound adage so you can do the honors at the next family get-together.
Pro Tip: That’s a great method to remember that each component has a special meaning and corresponding proverb!
What To Say When Tossing Yee Sang?
If you’re preparing it for a home gathering, Prepare chopsticks for the tossing and prepare for a small mess, depending on how ‘rowdy’ your guests are.
After everyone is gathered around the table and ready to begin – Drizzle dressing over the veggies and top with sesame seeds and crushed peanuts.
Wishes are usually recited while drizzling the dressing. Here are some phrases you can repeat as you add different ingredients to your Yee Sang.
It is believed that the higher you toss the Yee Sang, the better luck you’ll get in the new year!
Start tossing the salad using chopsticks and enjoy it fresh right away!
Say Yee Sang Wishes
- Da Ji Da Li (大吉大利) as you squeeze lime over the dish.
- Nian Nian You Yu (年年有余) as you add the fish/salmon.
- Cai Yuan Guang Jin (财源广进) as you pour the dressing oil in a circular motion.
- Tian Tian Mi Mi (甜甜蜜蜜) as you drizzle the plum sauce.
- Wu Gu Feng Shou (五谷丰收) as you add on the sesame seeds and nuts.
- Jin Yu Man Tang (金玉满堂) when you top off the dish with fried crisps.
Start tossing now that you know what to say when tossing Yee Sang! Some wishes everyone can say while tossing:
- Gong Xi Fa Cai (恭喜发财)
- Shen Ti Jian Kang (身体健康)
- Wan Shi Ru Yi (万事如意)
Time to ring in health, wealth, prosperity, and abundance!
And if you stumble over the Mandarin, you can always chime in with a hearty ‘Lou Hei’ and ‘HUAT ahhhh.’
