It turns out that Singaporeans have a necessary appetizer on the New Year's Eve table-fishing for raw fish. "Fishing" means "mixed" in Cantonese. "Fishing, fishing" actually requires everyone to mix colorful shredded vegetables, ingredients and sashimi. The higher the "fishing" is, the higher the clip is, which means that it is promoted step by step and has a beautiful meaning of "wind and water" and more and more prosperity. During the Lunar New Year, families get together. Adults like the auspicious meaning of fishing raw fish, while children like the lively atmosphere of the whole family fishing raw fish. Therefore, in Singapore, fishing for raw fish is an indispensable highlight of the New Year's Eve.
It is said that this dish originated in the south of China, where the river network is dense and the ditches are criss-crossing, and it has been a land of fish and rice since ancient times. Perhaps it was the first person who ate raw fish that discovered the delicacy of raw fish, and this eating method gradually became popular and continued. The local people eat vegetables such as onion ginger, sour buckwheat head and coriander, and eat raw fish with a little sauce, which has become a local delicacy. Obviously, the original fishermen hardly need cooking, which is convenient to learn, delicious and affordable. Therefore, this delicious practice followed the ancestors of Chinese in Nanyang and traveled all the way across the ocean, leaving home and coming to the present Singapore-Malaysia region.
The core material for fishing raw fish is naturally sashimi. The first fish used was freshwater pomfret or the more expensive western saury. This dish was once very popular in Guangdong and Hongkong in China. However, after more than half a century of changes, Hong Kong and Guangdong no longer have the tradition of fishing for raw fish during the Spring Festival. This dish has developed unexpectedly in Singapore and Malaysia, and has been served on the table of every family in China.
According to Singapore, the fishermen who appeared on the dinner table on New Year's Eve were the New Year's food improved and developed by four famous Singaporean chefs in the1960s ... These four famous chefs were known as the "Four Heavenly Kings" in the Singapore chef circle at that time, and they were the representatives of the highest level of cooking. Most of the improved raw fish are mainly marine fish such as salmon; The bottom of the dish is covered with shredded red and white radish, shredded celery, shredded lettuce and shredded fruits of various colors, and then sprinkled with chopped flowers, dried fruits, chips, sweet and sour sauce, etc. Colorful and delicious, making people's index fingers move. When everyone "scoops up" the raw fish, they will have an entrance. The fish fillets are fresh, the dried fruits are crisp, the shredded vegetables are sweet, and the shredded fruits are sweet. The secret sauce is sour and refreshing. What a delicious dish!
More importantly, the concept of fresh ingredients, no overcooking, low oil, low salt, low fat and low calorie is just in line with the trend of healthy eating and healthy Chinese New Year. In the New Year's cooking series that makes people "gain three pounds on holidays", catching raw fish is simply a refreshing stream.
On New Year's Eve, when eating raw fish in restaurants, waiters often sprinkle ingredients on the spot and place sashimi. Every time they sprinkle it, they will shout a pleasing and auspicious word: "Fish" comes every year, which is lucky, peanuts are sweet, and lucky ... The guests then "fish" sashimi sprinkled with ingredients, shouting "while fishing" Huat (send)! Even young people and children whose Chinese level has deteriorated follow their families "huat! Ah! "Such a lively scene, cheerful atmosphere, more lively than China's New Year's Eve.
It's hard to imagine a group of blond westerners around a few fish slices or a bowl of salad, shouting "wealth! Wealth! " However, in the Chinese world, regardless of region or nationality, in the new year, we will change the usual golden mean and express our blessings and hopes! Grab it!
The area of Singapore is only 7 19 square kilometers, which is only one tenth of that of Shanghai. There is no Spring Festival travel rush Peak, the largest population migration in the world; There is no TV program with the widest coverage in the world-Spring Festival Evening; There is almost no distinction between the north and the south and the four seasons. The earliest Hong Kong businessmen and laborers who went to Nanyang came to a land far away from the old country, but they kept the flavor and dishes of China from generation to generation. Children who used to fish and eat meat on the banks of the Pearl River may now have a big family of four or five generations in Xingzhou. For Chinese Singaporeans who are born and raised in Singapore, the memory of parents holding hands to catch fish on New Year's Eve will become a happy picture for generations to remember.
With the improvement of living standards, the once luxury western saury has been upgraded to salmon, as well as more advanced shellfish, Boston lobster and Sri Lankan crab ... The world is changing, even fish are changing, but the cultural background and emotional memory of China people will last forever.
Sin Chew cuisine has been introduced from abroad for hundreds of years. Chinese are all over the world, and Wan Li is beautiful.