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Chinese New Year

Adzuki Bean Brownies (Vegan, Grain-Free) + Red Bean Paste Japanese and Chinese style

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About Adzuki Beans

The adzuki bean, also known as the small red bean, originated in China and is a common feature in the cuisine of East Asian countries such as China, Japan and Korea. Although they are sometimes simply referred to as red beans, they should not be confused with kidney beans, which are twice the size and shaped like kidneys.

From a nutritional standpoint, the adzuki bean is credited as “the red pearl in grain” because it is a legume with a very high starch content. To put it in perspective, the adzuki bean is 58% carbohydrates and 20% protein; in comparison, the soybean is 30% carbohydrates and 36% protein. Since adzuki beans have a sweeter taste than most beans, they are often used in desserts as opposed to savoury dishes.

Macrobiotic cuisine considers adzuki beans to be the most warming (yang) of all beans – good for imparting strength and helping people to keep warm in cool weather. In Traditional Chinese Medicine philosophy, adzuki beans are said to support kidney, bladder and reproductive functions. In Ayurvedic philosophy, legumes including adzuki beans tend to have a sweet and astringent taste (rasa). Legumes, with the exception of mung beans, are not traditionally part of a yogic diet as they are considered rajasic; they stimulate the body, mind and senses. Nevertheless, legumes like adzuki beans can have a use in the diet, for example, to break up stagnant energy. Most legumes have a pungent post-digestive effect (vipaka).

How to Cook Adzuki Beans and Make Red Bean Paste

From a culinary standpoint, the adzuki bean is considered among the easiest to digest and they cook faster than most beans (approximately 1-1 1/2 hours). They do not require pre-soaking, although there is no harm in doing so. For creamy, evenly cooked beans, the trick is to cook them under a steady, gentle heat, and never a full boil. It is also important to throw off the first batch of cooking water to remove any mustiness and give a clean flavour at the end. You could also add a small piece of kombu to tenderise the beans and impart minerals. I have not tried this and so cannot conclude whether it affects the flavour of the cooked beans. So far I cooked the adzuki beans with the intention of using them in desserts, so I left out the kombu.

Red bean paste can be left chunky and textured, or pressed through a screen to get a smooth paste. Once the beans are cooked until tender, you add a sweetener (and optionally, oil), and reduce the mixture to a thick, glossy consistency.

Difference between Japanese and Chinese Red Bean Paste

Japanese red bean paste (anko) is made with adzuki beans and sugar only. It can be textured (tsubuan) or smooth (koshian). Chinese red bean paste is almost always smooth and contains additional oil.

How to use red bean paste

As mentioned earlier, adzuki beans are traditionally used in China, Japan and Korean cuisine, which I will elucidate below.

In Japanese cuisine, anko finds its way into pancakes (taiyaki, obanyaki, dorayaki), buns (anpan), soup with mochi (oshiruko / zenzai), all sorts of dumplings (dango, ohagi, daifuku, manju), icy desserts (kakigori, anmitsu), and glutinous jelly (mizu yokan). Apart from sweets, whole adzuki beans are often cooked together with kabocha pumpkin in a stew (nimono) flavoured with a tinge of soy sauce and sake.

Almost equivalent in nature, Chinese red bean paste finds its way into mooncakes, yeasted pancakes (min jiang kueh / apam balik), steamed buns (豆沙包; dou sha bao), red bean soup (红豆沙; hong dou sha), various dumplings (glutinous rice tang yuan, fried sesame donuts jian dui), icy desserts (chendol, ice kachang), and glutinous jelly (nian gao).

Tips on making adzuki bean brownies

I borrowed the idea of adzuki bean brownies from black bean brownies. I wanted to keep the recipe minimal and have a clean chocolate taste, so the only binder in this brownie is adzuki beans, and a bit of almond butter. The other ingredients you will need are straightforward – cacao powder, cacao butter (for the chocolate flavour), vanilla, salt and baking powder. Once you have prepared the red bean paste (you can make a large batch and store in the freezer), getting your brownie batter together is a one-bowl breeze.

A trick I learnt from making medu vada (urad dal donuts), and which be applied to making all baked bean-based products, is to whip the bean batter very vigorously to make it light and fluffy. Bean-based products can be very dense especially when made as a paste, so it definitely helps to incorporate as much air as you can into the batter, in addition to the help of baking powder.

I tested this recipe three times. The first is a non-baked brownie which turned out like frozen fudge or chocolate potong ice cream. The second time I baked a batter that was sweetened with coconut sugar. It came out almost like a classic brownie with a crackly top and caramelised sugar mixed with cacao. However it veered on being too crumbly. The third time I baked a batter that was sweetened with dates. It came out chewy and fudgey, almost way too fudgey, and I missed the crisp exterior of the former. Perhaps a balance would be achieved if using half each of the two types of sweeteners, but I have yet to try this out.

For more delicious brownie recipes, check out my:

Best Raw Vegan Brownies
Sweet Potato Fudge Brownies (Baked, Vegan)

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Red Bean Paste (Japanese & Chinese Style) + Adzuki Bean Brownies (Vegan, Grain-Free)

How to make adzuki "red bean" paste with the Japanese and Chinese methods. Japanese red bean paste (anko) is made with adzuki beans and sugar only, and can be textured (tsubuan) or smooth (koshian). Chinese red bean paste is almost always smooth and contains additional oil. The recipe below provides healthier options for the sweetener and oil.

How to make easy one-bowl adzuki bean brownies (vegan, grain-free, date-sweetened) with prepared red bean paste.

Course Dessert
Author Sabrina Chu

Ingredients

Japanese Style Red Bean Paste (Anko)

  • 200 g (1 cup) dried adzuki beans
  • 3.5 L filtered water (divided into 1.2 L + 1.5 L + 0.25x3)
  • 100-133 g (+/- 1 cup) coconut sugar OR
  • 266 g (+/- 25 no) pitted Medjool dates, blended to a paste

Chinese Style Red Bean Paste

  • 1 batch Japanese Style Red Bean Paste (Anko) (recipe above)
  • 70 g (7 tbsp) coconut oil

Adzuki Bean Brownies

  • 1/2 batch Chinese Style Red Bean Paste, smooth (recipe above; preferably date-sweetened - see Notes)
  • 48 g (3 tbsp) activated almond butter
  • 16 g (3 tbsp) cacao powder
  • 15 g (1 1/2 tbsp) cacao butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp Himalayan salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions

Japanese Style Red Bean Paste (Anko)

  1. Wash the beans and remove any stones and debris. Place the drained beans in a large pot with 1.2 L water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady and gentle simmer. Cook the beans for 8 minutes, or until the water turns wine red. Drain the beans and discard the first batch of cooking liquid. This action is said to "remove astringency" (shibumi kiri).

  2. Rinse the pot and remove any scum that might be clinging onto the sides.

  3. Return the beans to the clean pot, add 1.5 L water, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady and gentle simmer. Cook the beans for 30 minutes, or until the water barely covers the beans. Skim away any scum and loose skins occasionally.

  4. Add 0.25 L cold "surprise water" (bikkuri mizu) and continue to cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Repeat this "surprise water" treatment about 3 times, or until the beans are tender and collapse when pinched between your fingers.

  5. For Tsubuan (textured anko). Add the sweetener of your choice (coconut sugar or date paste) and simmer for another 10-20 minutes. The final bean paste should be slightly chunky, look glossy, smell nutty and aromatic, and be thick enough to coat the back of a spatula. Towards the end of cooking, stir constantly to prevent scorching.

  6. For Koshian (smooth anko). After the last addition of "surprise water," press the beans through a fine-mesh sieve or nut milk bag into a bowl. It is easier to do it when it the beans are at the more watery stage. Discard the fibrous solids and return the bean paste to the pot. Add the sweetener of your choice (coconut sugar or date paste) and simmer for another 10-20 minutes. The final bean paste should be smooth and creamy, look glossy, smell nutty and aromatic, and be thick enough to coat the back of a spatula. Towards the end of cooking, stir constantly to prevent scorching.

  7. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to cool.

  8. Transfer the cooled paste to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to one month.

Chinese Style Red Bean Paste

  1. Follow the same steps above, but add the coconut oil along with the sweetener and proceed with reducing to a paste.

Adzuki Bean Brownies

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) .

  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except the baking powder.

  3. Using a hand whisk, whip the bean batter vigorously for 5 minutes like beating an egg. This helps to make the batter light and fluffy, a trick I learnt from making medu vada (urad dal donuts) and can be applied to making all baked bean-based products.

  4. Add the baking powder into the whipped batter and gently fold-in to combine. The final batter should be of a thick consistency; you should be able to hold it between your fingers, and it should maintain the shape you give it.

  5. Transfer the batter into a greased baking pan or mold. Use an angled spatula to spread the batter in an even layer, being sure to work it into the corners of the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out mostly clean. Let the brownies cool completely before cutting into 9 squares for serving. Store the brownies in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 4 weeks.

Recipe Notes

How the choice of sweetener affects the brownie's texture
Dates give chewy, fudgy brownies, while coconut sugar (dry sugar) gives crispy, crackly brownies. Depending on what type of brownie person you are, use dates or sugar accordingly.

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Eight Treasures Laba Porridge

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Eight Treasures Porridge (Ba bao Porridge; 八宝粥), also known as Laba Congee (腊八粥), is a traditional food for the Chinese Laba Festival, which falls upon the eighth day of the 12th lunar month, usually at the beginning of January. This year, it occurs on 13th January 2019. In the past, people in China ate this porridge to keep warm, welcome wealth in the new year and gain enlightenment. 

Perhaps the porridge might have been originally made with eight kinds of ingredients, hence its name. Nowadays, the ingredients used in this porridge are varied and can be classified into three categories of grains (regular rice, glutinous rice, black rice, job’s tears, millet), beans (aduki beans, mung beans, peanuts, lotus seeds) and dried fruits (longnan, goji berries, jujube). Because of all the nourishing high-protein beans and easy cooking method, many Chinese love this porridge. It is subtly sweet and has a soft glutinous texture. 

Some tips for making delicious eight treasures porridge:

  • Soak the grains and beans overnight.
  • Simmer the porridge for at least 1 1/2 hours.
  • If needed, add additional sweetener such as raw honey or lakanto.

Eight Treasures Laba Porridge
Serves 6
Nourishing multi-grain, bean and dried fruit porridge traditionally eaten on Laba Festival, the eighth day of the twelve month of the Chinese calandar.
Prep Time
8 hr
Cook Time
2 hr
Prep Time
8 hr
Cook Time
2 hr
Ingredients
  1. 25 g (1/4 cup) sweet glutinous rice
  2. 25 g (1/4 cup) black glutinous rice
  3. 25 g (1/4 cup) job's tears (coix seeds)
  4. 25 g (1/4 cup) millet
  5. 25 g (1/4 cup) aduki beans
  6. 25 g (1/4 cup) mung beans
  7. 25 (1/4 cup) peanuts or apricot kernels
  8. 15 g dried longans
  9. 10 g red dates, pitted
  10. 2.5 L (10 cups) filtered water
  11. To taste, raw honey or lakanto
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Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, place the ingredients except the red dates and soak overnight. The next day, drain and rinse well. Transfer into a large soup pot or electric cooker and add in filtered water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, adding more water during the process if needed. The final texture of the congee should be pasty. Taste and adjust the sweetness level if desired. Ladle into bowls and serve warm.
Notes
  1. You may substitute similar ingredients of the same category, according to what you have on hand - grains (regular rice, glutinous rice, black rice, job’s tears, millet), beans (aduki beans, mung beans, peanuts, lotus seeds) and dried fruits (longnan, goji berries, jujube).
  2. As all ingredients are slow-cooked to a paste, this porridge is easy to digest and good choice for people with a weak digestive system. It is also a diuretic and helpful for people with the constipation.
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Monk Wensi’s Tofu Thread-fin Soup

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This tofu thread fin soup is my take on shark fin soup, considered a Chinese delicacy that is served during festive banquets and Chinese New Year. For the uninitiated, shark fin consists mainly of soft collagen and has a chewy, gelatinous texture without much discernible taste of its own. The soup’s flavour comes from the stock and seasonings like vinegar. I wanted to develop a vegan shark fin soup with shark fin melon, but there was a drought of such melons in all markets. Serendipitously, I stumbled across an intriguing recipe called “Monk Wensi’s Tofu Thread Soup” in the cookbook Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China (2016) by Fuchsia Dunlop. It involves cutting silken tofu into 1 mm filaments and swirling them in starch-thickened broth, along with lily flower, wood ear fungus and spring onions. The historical origins of this soup traces back to 18th century Yangzhou, China, where a Buddhist monk called Wensi served this dish in the Manchu Han Imperial Feast laid for the Qianlong emperor. Modern versions of Wensi tofu can be found in some upscale Chinese restaurants, and even more elaborate cuts to create tofu flowers have create a storm in the culinary world.

In my version, I used kombu shiitake stock as the base and kudzu starch to thicken. Kudzu is less processed than corn starch that is usually used to thicken Chinese soups. You can read more of the properties and benefits of kudzu in this post. Instead of wood ear fungus, I decided to repurpose the rehydrated kombu along with the shiitake mushroom by creating a ceviche – cutting them finely and marinating them in tamari, toasted sesame oil and brown rice vinegar and use them as a garnish with a salty-sour punch. Moreover, the kombu provides enough mineral salts so that added salt is not needed. If you like, season with tamari for more “salty” flavour. When properly prepared, this soup nourishes you with sustained energy, leaving one calm yet alert.

The video below shows the method of cutting the silken tofu into threads. It’s definitely harder than it looks! When I first attempted it slowly, the tofu kept sticking to the sides of the cleaver and broke when I tried to slide it off. As I practiced, I realised the trick is to just keep going with the motion and everything will fall into place. Always have your fingers in the claw grip position for safety reasons! Do not be disappointed if your tofu threads fail to match up to Yangzhou standards; the soup will be a pleasure to eat anyway and half the fun of making this dish is the cutting of the tofu.

If you are up for a challenge, you can even cut the tofu into a flower, like in the video below. The tofu hydrangea was made famous by a restaurant called Chili Party in Fountain Valley, CA. Apparently the chef makes 60 cuts horizontally and vertically on the block of tofu, turning it into a flower with 3,600 filaments.

Monk Wensi's Tofu Thread-fin Soup
Serves 4
A soup to showcase your knife skills and impress your guests. Delicate threads of silken tofu and colourful poached and marinated vegetables floating in seasoned dashi ankake, it's appearance not unlike shark fin soup. A great cruelty-free alternative for Chinese New Year.
Prep Time
8 hr
Cook Time
10 min
Prep Time
8 hr
Cook Time
10 min
Kombu Shiitake Dashi
  1. 16-20 square inches kombu
  2. 1 dried shiitake mushroom
  3. 1 L filtered water
Shiitake & Kombu Ceviche
  1. 1 rehydrated shiitake, reserved from dashi preparation, finely sliced
  2. 1 rehydrated kombu, reserved from dashi preparation, finely sliced
  3. 1 tsp tamari
  4. 1 tsp brown rice or Chinkiang vinegar
  5. 1/8 tsp toasted sesame oil
For the Soup
  1. 1 L kombu shiitake dashi (recipe above)
  2. 80 g (1 small) carrot, finely sliced
  3. 300 g (1 block) silken tofu, finely sliced
  4. 40 g (4 tbsp) kudzu starch mixed with 120 g (1/2 cup) filtered water
  5. White pepper and tamari, to taste
Shichimi Togarashi
  1. 1 tbsp gochugaru or Korean chili flakes
  2. 2 tsp ground tangerine peel
  3. 2 tsp white sesame seeds, lightly toasted
  4. 2 tsp black sesame seeds, lightly toasted
  5. 1 tsp hemp seeds
  6. 1 tsp whole Sichuan peppercorns, freshly ground
  7. 1 tsp aonori or flaked nori
  8. 1/2 tsp ground ginger
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Kombu Shiitake Dashi
  1. Place the kombu and mushroom in a pot with the water. Soak for at least 2 hours, or refrigerate for up to 1 day, to allow the flavour-enhancing glutamates in the kombu and mushroom to infuse the stock gradually with their essence. Bring almost to a boil, and then just as bubbles appear, remove and reserve the kombu. Simmer with mushrooms inside for 5 minutes. Strain and reserve the mushroom.
Shiitake & Kombu Ceviche
  1. Combine the tamari, brown rice vinegar and sesame oil in a small bowl and whisk together to create a dressing. Add in the finely sliced shiitake and kombu and gently fold together to coat the mushrooms with the dressing. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
For the Soup
  1. Finely julienne the carrot and set aside.
  2. Turn the tofu out onto a chopping board. Hold a Chinese cleaver or broad cutting knife perpendicular to the board and trim off and discard the sloping end of the block, so you have a clean perpendicular edge. Working slowly and steadily with an up-and-down chopping motion, cut the tofu into the thinnest slices you can - ideally about 1 mm thick. When you have sliced about a third of the block, nudge the slices so they fall on their sides in overlapping layers. Cut them into the thinnest possible strips. Use the side of your cleaver to gently scoop up the tofu silvers and place them into a bowl of cold water. Repeat with the rest of the block.
  3. Bring the dashi to boil in a seasoned wok or large saucepan. Once boiling, add in the julienned carrots and reduce the heat to simmer for 3 minutes until the carrots are tender. Drain the tofu in a sieve and gently transfer them to the stock. Stir gently and taste and adjust the seasoning with white pepper and tamari as necessary.
  4. Give the kudzu starch slurry a good stir and slowly pour into the soup, stirring gently as the liquid thickens: it's best to do this by nudging the soup with the back of a ladle so you don't break up the tofu. When the liquid has a heavy, lazy consistency that holds the tofu threads easily, transfer to serving bowls. Garnish with the shiitake and kombu ceviche and sprinkle shichimi togarashi. Serve with brown rice or Chinkiang vinegar on the side.
Notes
  1. For a fuss-free or safe option, you can use tofu shirataki noodles or rehydrated yuba.
  2. For a challenge, you can cut the tofu as a hydrangea. This is popularised by restaurant Chili Party in Fountain Valley, CA. See link for video.
  3. For soy-free alternatives, substitute the tofu with mung bean noodles, sweet potato noodles, shredded sharkfin melon, shredded mountain yam, finely sliced konnyaku (Japanese yam cake) and/or bamboo shoots.
  4. The kombu provides enough mineral salts so that added salt is not needed. Season with tamari for more "salty" flavour. This when properly prepared, can have an extraordinary effect on one's energy, leaving one calm yet alert.
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Adapted from Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China (2016), Fuchsia Dunlop
Adapted from Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China (2016), Fuchsia Dunlop
Straits Road Kitchen http://straitsroadkitchen.com/
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Raw Vegan Mango Pomelo Chia Pudding

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My family is a traditional Cantonese family; the mode of celebration when it comes to special occasions like birthdays is indefinitely a multi-course meal at a Cantonese restaurant. Like an excited reader who is too impatient to plough through the pages of a book, my eyes would inadvertently jump to the end of the menu to see what is in store for dessert. If it is chilled cream of Mango Sago Pomelo or glutinous rice balls, I would eagerly look forward to this sweet ending.

Pomelo is the largest citrus fruit, alluding to its species name, Citrus maxima. The gargantuas tropical fruit is in season from August to October and from January to March. They have been arriving in heaps at the supermarket recently which piqued my curiosity to learn more about this fruit.

At the supermarket, I observed different shapes of pomelo. Indeed, the shape depends on the cultivar, which generally falls into three groups – Chinese, Indonesian or Thai. Confusingly, these group names do not reflect the country of origin as all pomelos are generally imported from Malaysia. The Chinese variety (Shatian or J8) is pyramidal with a thick rind and lots of juice. It is mainly grown in the southern states of Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka. The Indonesian variety is large and round. The most popular is the Tambun White and Tambun Pink that hail from Tambun, Ipoh, also known as the Pomelo centre of Malaysia. The Thai variety is the smallest and sweetest, and comes from the northern state of Kedah. This round I selected Ipoh Tambuns, but I’d be sure to note any difference in future pomelo tastings!

Pomelo can be enjoyed on its own, just as how one enjoys grapefruit. It also features in salads such as the Chinese Yu Sheng, and the Thai Yum Som-O. However because Australian mangoes are also in season, I decided to make the best of both fruits with a variation of Mango Sago Pomelo using chia seeds instead of sago pearls.

Normally Mango Pomelo dessert is made with evaporated milk or cream, but I used coconut milk to keep it dairy-free while keeping it silky smooth and luxurious. In addition, most recipes call for simple syrup to enhance sweetness but personally I prefer it with a sour edge that is contributed by lime juice. The crowning highlight of this refreshing dish is indubitably the sudden spurts of sweet-sour juices from pomelo arils, Even if pomelo is inaccessible to you, I highly recommend you try this dessert with grapefruit sacs, although it will probably be more acidic.

Mango Pomelo Chia Pudding
Serves 4
Mango Pomelo is a popular dessert from Hong Kong. This raw vegan version uses chia seeds in place of sago to create the same chewy effect. The best time to enjoy this dessert in during January, when Australian mangoes and Ipoh pomelos are in season and bursting with lush flavour.
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
2 hr
Total Time
2 hr 30 min
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
2 hr
Total Time
2 hr 30 min
Ingredients
  1. 240 g (1 large) ripe mango, roughly diced
  2. 180 g (3/4 cup) coconut milk* (see Notes)
  3. 38 g (2 1/2 tbsp) lime juice
  4. 180 g (1 1/2 cups) pomelo sacs,
  5. 160 g (1 cup) mango, small dice
  6. 15 g (1 1/2 tbsp) chia seeds
To garnish
  1. Diced mangoes
  2. Pomelo sacs
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Instructions
  1. In a blender, combine 240 g of mango, coconut milk and lime juice. Blend until smooth.
  2. Pour out the mixture into a large bowl. Stir in pomelo sacs, diced mangoes and chia seeds.
  3. Place the mixture into the refrigerator for 2 hours or longer to allow the chia seeds to absorb water and thicken.
  4. To serve, ladle the pudding into bowls and garnish with extra mango and pomelo. This dessert is best served within 24 hours from preparation.
Notes
  1. To make homemade coconut milk, blend one part coconut flakes or young coconut meat to two parts filtered water. It will be less thick than packet or canned coconut milk.
  2. Select pomelos that are heavy and aromatic, with blemish-free skin ranging from green to yellow. Unripe pomelos have green skin which turn yellow as they ripen (although Thai varieties can remain green when ripe). Allow green fruit to ripen at room temperature but not for too long or they can turn bitter.
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1

Raw Vegan Yu Sheng with Plum Sauce and Five Spiced Flax Crackers

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Are you ready to rise to the Rooster year? It is time to stop the playful tricks of the Monkey, and be determined, punctual and responsible in our goals and tasks like the Rooster. The Chinese New Year starts from 28 January this year. Today I’d like to share with you an indispensable dish for Chinese New Year called yu sheng, made raw and vegan, along with some auspicious sayings.

Chinese New Year festivities come along with many traditions – one of which is the Toss of Good Fortune. Known as “Lo Hei” in Cantonese (where 捞 “lo” means mixing), this interactive ritual involves diners tossing yu sheng (raw fish salad) as high as possible while belting out auspicious sayings, and is enjoyed with emotion and intensity by its members. Usually led by one individual, ingredients are added one by one in a predetermined order, while the server recites wishes of luck and prosperity evoked by the names of the ingredients used. Tradition upholds that the higher the toss, the better your prospects and fortune in the year ahead.

Traditional yu sheng, which origins trace back to more than 2,000 years during the Zhou dynasty, is a simple dish made up of thin slices of raw fish, shredded vegetables and a variety of seasonings and condiments. Over the years, the recipe has evolved into elaborate platters, some handcrafted with intricate designs and infused with exotic ingredients. In actual fact, it is not a common practice by all Chinese communities except Hong Kong and Southern China take this dish seriously. The custom was brought to Singapore in the early 20th century by immigrants of Cantonese and Teochew peoples. Because of this, until the 1960s, there were traditionally two different versions of yu sheng consumed in Singapore – Cantonese and Teochew. What we now associate with yu sheng today in Singapore is known as qi cai yu sheng (七彩鱼生) or “seven-coloured raw fish salad”. It is said to be invented by four chefs in 1964 to attract more customers to their newly opened restaurant, Lai Wah (now at 44 Bendemeer Road). They improved the visual appearance, aroma, and flavour of yusheng by making portions bigger and using a variety of colourful vegetables, while also giving it texture and depth through the addition of plum sauce, peanuts and flour crisps. In doing so, both the custom and dish became a more interactive and lively affair.

I prepared my own raw vegan version for the yu sheng. I changed the raw fish to my special sous vide Tomato Salmon (recipe to be released), golden pillow crackers to Chinese five spiced flax crackers and made a raw Chinese plum sauce from scratch. The vegetables, which evidently needed no alteration, comprised finely julienned carrots, daikon, pomelo (lots of!), cucumber and red bell pepper. The sauce is the key to the dish’s success – it should have a honey-like viscosity, sweet, sour and a little spicy. This raw vegan version uses fresh plums, dried apricots and thickened with Eucheuma paste. It tasted as far as I could remember like the ones I have had in yesteryears. I am so glad that I managed to come up with a replica for the salad that is suitable for all people (vegans, vegetarians, celiacs, paleo etc.). I think this is a good recipe to share with all of you; enjoy! Do recite the sayings as you make your yu sheng, it is all part of the festive fun.

Raw Vegan Yu Sheng with Plum Sauce and Five Spiced Flax Crackers
Serves 6
The indispensable Chinese New Year salad given a fully raw and vegan update. Many of the components are already raw like the vegetables and pomelo, but why not take a step further with a plum sauce from scratch and crispy five spiced flax crackers? When you Lo-Hei, belt out the auspicious sayings and toss as high as possible, which is believed to bring better fortunes in the coming year.
Chinese Plum Sauce
  1. 110 g (2 small) red plums, peeled and dehydrated for 2 hours
  2. 60 g (1/4 cup) filtered water
  3. 24 g (1 1/2 tbsp) Eucheuma cottonii paste
  4. 20 g (2 pieces) dried apricots or prunes, soaked in filtered water until plump
  5. 16 ml (1 tbsp) apple cider vinegar
  6. 16 g (1 tbsp) raw honey
  7. 8 g (1/2 tbsp) coconut nectar
  8. 8 g (1/2 tbsp) ume plum paste (I used Eden Foods brand)
  9. 5 g (1/2 tbsp) grated ginger
  10. 1/8 tsp dried red chili powder
Chinese Five Spice Powder
  1. 1 1/2 tbsp ground star anise (12-15 pieces whole star anise)
  2. 1 tbsp ground Cassia cinnamon (3-inch stick Cassia cinnamon)
  3. 1 tbsp ground fennel seed (1 1/2 tbsp whole fennel seeds)
  4. 1/2 tbsp ground Szechuan pepper (1 tbsp whole Szechuan peppercorns)
  5. 3/4 tsp ground cloves (1 heaping tsp whole cloves)
Chinese Five Spice Flax Crackers
  1. 60 g (6 tbsp) whole golden flax seeds
  2. 150 ml (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) filtered water
  3. 2 1/2 tsp ground flax seeds
  4. 3/4 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder (recipe above)
Pickled Ginger
  1. 10 cm (4-inch) young ginger, peeled and sliced finely
  2. 60 g (1/4 cup) brown rice vinegar
  3. 16 g (1 tbsp) maple syrup
  4. 15 g (1 tbsp) filtered water, or more as needed to cover the ginger
  5. 10 g (2 tsp) beet juice
  6. 1/2 tsp sea salt
Salad
  1. 130 g Tomato Salmon or plum tomatoes, sliced thinly to resemble sashimi
  2. 1 small pomelo, peeled and broken down into sacs
  3. 130 g (2 small) carrots, julienned
  4. 130 g (1 medium) cucumber, julienned
  5. 130 g (1/2 medium) daikon, julienned and soaked in water for 20 minutes to reduce harshness
  6. 65 g (1/2 large) red bell pepper, julienned
  7. 1-2 tbsp ground activated peanuts or almonds
  8. 1-2 tbsp white sesame seeds
  9. 2 tbsp Pickled Ginger (recipe above)
  10. 2 handfuls Chinese Five Spice Flax Crackers (recipe above)
  11. 2 tbsp Chinese Plum Sauce (recipe above)
  12. 2 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder (recipe above)
  13. 1-2 sheets nori, cut into strips
  14. 1/2 tbsp cold-pressed sesame oil (optional)
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For the Plum Sauce
  1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy and smooth. Taste to check the flavour and consistency; it should have a balance of sweet, sour, salty and piquant, and have a honey-like viscosity. Adjust the seasonings and Eucheuma paste if necessary. Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
For Chinese Five Spice Powder
  1. If starting from whole spices, place the spices separately in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Sift to remove debris. In a small bowl, combine the ground spices. Transfer the mixture to an air-tight container and store in the pantry away from heat and light.
For Chinese Five Spice Flax Crackers
  1. Soak the flax seeds and ground flax in water for 1-2 hours until gelled and mucilaginous. Add in the Chinese Five Spice powder. Spread the mixture as thinly as possible across one paraflexx sheets. Dehydrate at 46˚C for 2-3 hours, flip and peel away the sheet, then dehydrate another 6-8 hours until dry. Once dry, break crackers by hand. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
For the Pickled Ginger
  1. Massage the julienned ginger with sea salt for 1 minute then set aside for 30 minutes for the ginger to soften. Squeeze the ginger to extract excess juice; you can do this by placing in a nut milk bag and squeezing, or pressing against a strainer.
  2. Rinse the ginger under running water, pat dry, and place into a mason jar. Mix the vinegar, sweetener and beet juice and pour over the ginger. Top with filtered water, just enough to cover the ginger, if necessary. Allow to pickle for at least 6 hours before using. Store in the refrigerator for up to one month.
For the Salad
  1. Arrange the Tomato Salmon in a fan shape a small plate. Arrange the pomelo, carrot, cucumber, daikon and red bell pepper in separate mounds on a large round serving platter. Alternatively, you can choose to arrange in any intricate pattern, such as a rooster for the year 2017.
  2. Put the peanuts (or almonds), sesame seeds, flax crackers, nori, Chinese Five Spice powder, plum sauce and oil (if using) in small bowls.
  3. As you (or the server) bring out the ingredients, recite the auspicious sayings as in the table below. All the diners are encouraged to toss the yu sheng salad with chopsticks as high as possible, to bring good luck for the year ahead.
Symbolism of yu sheng ingredients with auspicious sayings
  90. Order Ingredient Auspicious Saying (pin yin) Meaning
    1. Diners gather 恭喜发财 (gōng xǐ fā cái)
    万事如意 (wàn shì rú yī)    		 Congratulations for your wealth
    May all your wishes be fulfilled
    2. Tomato Salmon 年年有余 (nián nián yǒu yú) Every year earn surplus
    3. Pomelo 大吉大利 (dà jí dà lì) Good luck and great prosperity
    4. Five Spice Powder 招财进宝 (zhāo cái jìn bǎo) Attract wealth and treasures
    5. Sesame Oil 一本万利 (yī běn wàn lì)
    财源广进 (cái yuán guǎng jìn)    		 Increase profits
    Have many sources of revenue
    6. Carrot 鸿运当头 (hóng yùn dāng tóu) Good luck is coming
    7. Green Radish or Cucumber 青春常驻 (qīng chūn cháng zhù) Eternal youth
    8. Daikon 风生水起 (fēng shēng shuǐ qǐ)
    步步高升 (bù bù gāo shēng)    		 Progress at a face pace
    Gradually rise with each step
    9. Crushed Peanuts (or Almonds) 金银满屋 (jīn yín mǎn wū) House filled with gold and silver
    10. Sesame Seeds 生意兴隆 (shēng yi xīng lóng) Flourishing business
    11. Flax Crackers 满地黄金 (mǎn dì huáng jīn) Floor full of gold
    12. Plum Sauce 甜甜蜜蜜 (tián tián mì mì) Sweet and happy
    13. Diners toss 捞起 (lāo qǐ) Lo hei or toss to good fortune
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Straits Road Kitchen http://straitsroadkitchen.com/
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