Sngapore comes alive during January. Not only does it marks the coming of spring, it is also the lunar new year. In the old days, this was the only time that farmers would take a break from working their land. Today, the festival represents more of a spiritual renewal than aphysical one, with the celebration representing new beginnings, new opportunities and the reaffirmation of family ties.
Lunar New Year is traditionally celebrated over a 15-day period. Many foods are significant to the festival, and among these are the following:
o Bak Kwa
Preserved sweet meat is atradition that dates back to China, before the invention of refrigerators. The meat is trimmed of fat, sliced and marinated before being spread on rattan trays and baked in an oven. Removed and cut to size, it is ready for storage.
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o Yu Sheng
A unique part of Lunar New Year celebrations in Singapore is yu sheng, a salad of paper-thin raw fish, finely shredded fresh vegetables, candied melon and citrus, red and white pickled ginger; pomelo flesh, sesame seeds, lime leaf, crispy crackers and peanuts dressed with plum sauce, oil and spices.
This salad is traditionally eaten on the seventh day of the new year, (though people now eat it anytime throughout the 15 days) and diners toss the salad together with their chopsticks, shouting ‘Lo hei’ (‘toss up’) and making wishes for abundance and prosperity before eating it. Yu sheng began in China as plain raw fish with a few types of vegetables. In the 1950s, four Singaporean chefs added more types of colourful vegetables to make it look more appealing. It was then popularised as a ‘rising abundance’ dish and a‘must-have’ during the Lunar New Year.