Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Tossing Yee Sang
Shared on Flickr by chee.hong
So, why is there a tradition of "tossing" yee sang? According to pamper.my, it is a belief that tossing yee sang reflects the height of growth in fortunes for the people taking part in the tossing. Thus, the higher the toss, it should follow that a person's growth of fortune will be higher as well. Those who toss the yee sang will also say "Loh Hey" loudly over and over as they toss. "Loh Hey" literally means to 'move upwards'. Hence, saying "Loh Hey" while tossing yee sang is symbolic of the participants' wish that the year ahead, their fortunes will rise and expand. 

At the end of the tossing, one would expect to see the table a little messy with the ingredients of the yee sang scattered all over. It's not all wasted. The yee sang ingredients left on the plate will still be eaten.

0

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

MCM Red Box Prepacked Yee Sang (Bundle Box form)
Whenever the word 'history' is mentioned, people are going to expect a long and boring narration. Well, not all people, anyway. We'll keep this light, short and interesting.

Apparently, the tradition of Yee Sang during the Chinese New Year period is only celebrated in Malaysia and Singapore. Most probably in Indonesia as well, according to Wikipedia. Other Chinese-populated countries, including China itself, don't have Yee Sang as part of their CNY tradition. According to a report in thesundaily.my, citing Bernama as the source, the reporter asked a resident of Dalian, a city in northern China, whether she has heard of Yee Sang. 26-year-old Le Gao responded, "Tossing Yee Sang sounds interesting, but I have never heard about that."

So, how did this tradition come about? pamper.my states that in the early 20th century, immigrants from China brought their love of fish and raw fish salads to Malaysia and Singapore. If that's the case, then from which part of China did these immigrants emigrate from? It couldn't have been northern China, or else Le Gao would have known about it. Well, according to Wikipedia, during the colonial times when Malaysia was Malaya, a raw fish dish was sold at porridge stalls set up by Chinese migrants and it is said that the dish originated from Jiangmen, Guangdong province, which is in the southern part of China. The raw fish dish consisted of fish, turnip and carrot strips, and served with condiments of oil, vinegar and sugar. Customers would then mix the ingredients themselves. 

Anyway, the tossing of Yee Sang during Chinese New Year has become an integral part of the culture among the Chinese here. Thus, MCM would like to take this opportunity to promote its MCM Red Box Prepacked Yee Sang. A bundle box of 10 originally cost RM318. But now, it is at a promotional price of RM238, which is a discount of 25%. Check it out at MCM's e-store on Dinasou.com.
0

Author

authorKum Thim Food Industries Sdn Bhd, established since 1971, is one of the leading sauces manufacturers in Malaysia.   Learn More

Social Media