Hello friends.
All the guides online I’ve seen are how to lo hei are if you’re Chinese and you would totally get what it means.
This is a how to lo hei guide from a non-Chinese for our international friends who have come to learn our cultures also for Singaporeans here who haven’t experienced a lo hei before.
My drawings will be replaced with pictures but I wanted to get this out before tonight or noonish when corporate yushengs are had in offices.
FIRSTLY. Yes, number 1 questions is always is yu sheng, Halal?
Well, it’s a bunch of vegetables and either raw fish but mostly, if you’re in an office or whatever people will prefer to get smoked salmon since they can keep it in the fridge or somewhere while waiting for everyone to gather.
So for you vegetarians, it’s not uh vegetarian unless they got the vegetarian pack aka no fish. There’s crackers too so yes, if you want to look, it’s only the fish and the crackers.
The rest are pickled vegetables.
You can get tons of Halal Yu Sheng sets in the supermarket because it’s freaking packed vegetables in tiny containers.
It’s usually on a plate or in a plastic bowl/plate thing if you buy those sets from the supermarket since it’s easier for them to pack.
OK. HERE IT IS.
If you’re new to lo hei. You just joined a company and stuff and this is new to you, THIS IS HOW to make you look like a professional lo hei-er. If you’re doing it at a restaurant, you can ignore below because all is SET UP for you.
How to Lo Hei for Real
1) PAPER IT ALL OVER
Yes. PLACE NEWSPAPER all over your table and maybe even the floor. Once, I had one year where we pre-empted because we had low ceilings and put newspaper on the ceiling. This is important especially if you don’t want the cleaners to be pissy at you in your work place OR yourself for not thinking of it first.
Do you know what a lo hei is? It is for luck and prosperity and we want that immensely so the higher the better, mmkay?
2) Place your yusheng set in the middle of the table with your ‘in charge’ knowing what to do
Your in charge is someone experienced with this, they will make sure everyone have a pair of chopsticks and also do get ready little paper plates or your own plates for later on.
3) TOSS THE YUSHENG WITH 4 LETTER WORDS
Ok, this step three is gonna be confusing. Either your yusheng set is already prepared and you just take the plastic top off and go “HUAT AHH”, “YAAAY. I DON’T KNOW WHICH CHINESE WORDS ALSO BUT BIG MONEY, BIG MONEY” (ironically from Chinese friends) etc etc with your chopsticks, tossing it about.
Or you take route 2 in which you pour the ingredients step by step. Here are the words (provided by Raven Silvers and Joelyn):
a) Add fish say Nian Nian You Yu. Prosperity every year/throughout the year
b) Add pomelo say Da Ji Da Li. Good luck and prosperity. OR if you have aunties and uncles and such the point where they say STRIKE 4D! STRIKE 4D!
c) Add pepper and the other seasoning powders say Zhao Cai Jin Bao. May wealth enter your pockets. (BIG MONEY, BIG MONEYYY)
d) Add sauces like your plum or honey and such say Yi Ben Wan Li. May your investments multiply a lot.
e) Add carrot. Hong Yun Dang Tou. May opportunity strike you.
f) The green vegetable thingy. Qing Chun Chang Zai. STAY YOUNG.
g) White colour thing we all don’t remember but is radish or something. Bu Bu Gao Shen. May you walk high.
h) Peanut and sesame seeds. Jing Ying Man Wu. May your house be full of gold and silver.
i) CRACKERS. Man Di Huang Jing. May your floor be full of gold.
EVERYONE loves the crackers and the fish. Make note when you toss the yusheng on the ‘positions’ of it because everyone wants gold.
4) TOSS IT
And then you realize you got yusheng all over your hands and which of your friends are super enthusiastic that you got yusheng all over the floor (and sometimes yourselves).
Say HUAT AHHH. GOOD LUCK. FORTUNE. ETC. Good things.
We like good things, say those things and your wishes while you toss it really high.
Please keep a firm grip on your chopsticks cause you can lose them in the party chaos as you try to mix it all up.
5) EAT IT
This is where your tiny plates work. Put them on it after and you EAT IT. Also, you might find that you might want more yu sheng because it is a delicious salad just that hmmmmmm is it considered double dipping if you’re using the same chopsticks to take from the main dish? You might have another separate pair of chopsticks only after to just ‘serve’ it to others (if there’s any left on the plate after tossing enthusiastically) or friends who just came by after the main lo hei.
What is a yu sheng?
It’s a Singapore thing. And parts of Malaysia and well, south east asia. Chinese from other countries will not know what it is since it’s more of a culture here. Main thing to know it’s for prosperity and togetherness since you’re all doing it together eh?
SO THERE.
That’s how you do it for real.
Oh yes.
6) Clean it up.
This is where your newspapers on the table/floor/ceiling helps.
