[Day 7 Of CNY] Ren Ri (人日) and Yu Sheng (鱼生)

Day 7 of Chinese Lunar New Year (年初七) is also known as Ren Ri (人日) meaning the common "birthday" of all human beings. During this day most of the family will gather everyone in the household to have a feast together in order to celebrate the occasion and at the same time do a Lo Hei Yu Sheng (捞起魚生) to bring in luck for the family.

In this post I would be sharing how we celebrate Ren Ri and some of the auspicious meaning when eating Yu Sheng (鱼生) as well as a recipe for Longevity Noodles (寿面).

[Day 7 of CNY] Lo Hei - Yu Sheng (鱼生)

Yu Sheng (鱼生) means raw fish in Mandarin which sounds like "abundance - 鱼" and "Rise - 生" therefore it is an auspicious dish to have through the 15 days of Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration.

[Day 7 of CNY] Lo Hei - Yu Sheng (鱼生)

To start with this dish, gather everyone together around the table; assemble the ingredients together with it's auspicious meanings in order as follow:-

1. Add RAW FISH (like salmon, yellow tail and etc)  年年有余
- Abundance throughout the year.

2. Add POMELO / LIME to raw fish  大吉大利
- Good luck and great prosperity.

3. Sprinkling PEPPER and CINNAMON powder  招财进宝
- Attract wealth and treasure.

4. Pouring OIL / PLUM SAUCE  财源广进
- Enjoy folds of wealth and profits.

5. Shredded CARROT   鸿运当头
- Good luck is approaching.

6. Shredded GREEN RADISH   青春常驻
- Forever young

7. Shredded WHITE RADISH   步步高升
- Prosperity in business and promotion at work

8. SESAME seeds and PEANUT crumbs   生意兴隆
- Household will filled with gold and siliver

9. YU SHENG / PLUM SAUCE   甜甜蜜蜜
-  May life always be sweet

10. Toss in FLOUR CRISPS    满地黄金
- Whole floor will be filled with gold.

[Day 7 of CNY] Assorted Sides And Condiment Yu Sheng (鱼生)

[Day 7 of CNY] Array of Condiment for Yu Sheng (鱼生)

[Day 7 of CNY] Lo Hei - Yu Sheng (鱼生)

After the above 10 steps to assemble the Yu Sheng, get ready to toss the mixture HIGH UP 7 times with auspicious wishes in order to bring in (Lo-Hei - 捞起) good fortunate. 

[Day 7 of CNY] Lo Hei - Yu Sheng (鱼生)

After tossing the mixture, get together and enjoy the Yu Sheng (raw fish salad) which always served as the starter before the main dish during CNY.

STIR-FRY LONGEVITY NOODLES

[Day 7 of Chinese New Year] Stir-fry Longevity Noodles - 寿面

Longevity Noodles (长寿面) is often eaten during Birthday or festive season such as Chinese New Year. This noodle is often served to symbolise longevity and there quite a few ways of preparation this noodles base on individual dialect groups and culture. To cook this noodle, one must not cut or break it into shorter length which defeats the meaning of "longevity (长寿)".

(Serves: 2  | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
Half Packet (150g) of Handmade Red Noodle (refer to the photo above)
4 Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
150g Beijing Cabbage, shredded
1/2 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
2 Stalks of Chinese Leek (optional), thinly sliced
1/2 Tablespoon of Oyster Sauce
250ml Chicken Stock or Hot Water

Garnishing:
Egg Omelette (cut into strips), Fried Shallot and Cut Chiili

Step-by-Step on Stir-fry Longevity Noodles

Method:-
1. Blanch handmade noodles in boiling water for 1 minute; remove and rinse in cold water, drain and set aside.

2. Preheat frying pan with 1.5 Tablespoon of olive oil, saute minced garlic till fragrant, add in mushroom and cabbage then continue to cook until cabbage is soften.

3. Toss in prepared noodles with a tong or chopstick, pour in chicken stock or hot water together with oyster sauce then simmer the mixture over low heat till gravy is almost aboard by the noodle

4. Remove and divide noodles into plates then serving immediately with extra garnishing.

[Day 7 of Chinese New Year] Stir-fry Longevity Noodles - 寿面

Since this dish was served on Day 7 (年初七) of CNY to celebrate everyone's birthday I decided to add in some leek to enhance the taste as well as include good "counts -  蒜/算" of everything for the year ahead.

Today, 14 February 2014 is the last day of Chinese Lunar New Year as well as western Valentine's Day so if you have not eaten any Yusheng this new year, go grab a set and enjoy it with your family or loved ones today to celebrate this festive reunion season.