Nian Nian You Yu... and got fish!

Our dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year had to have fish...

Because fish, or 鱼 ("yu") is a play on the "yu" in the phrase  年年有余 ("Nian Nian You Yu") meaning, year after year of surpluses.

Also because the salmon was fresh enough for me to season it with just salt and pepper -- and let its own sweetness shine!

I left it to bake simply in the oven. And went and did a quick stir-fry of the mushroom, and shrimp or "ha" as it's called in the Cantonese dialect -- for lots of "ha ha's" (laughter) in this Rabbit Year!

Also threw some chicken into that side dish with broccoli. That subsequently an old friend in Singapore said that chicken or "ji" could signify blessings and good fortune in the likes of 吉祥 ("ji xiang") and 大吉大利 ("da ji da li").

So there, a symbolic meal that was very doable for a schoolnight, but a special one at that. We ate it with long, long noodles, of course (angel hair for how fast it cooked).  And rounded it up with an easy longan + lychee dessert that required no prep.

Abundance, Happiness, Blessings... may the year we've ushered in be overflowing with them! :)

***

More fish...
I did not try to make our own Yu Sheng, quite the platter of a salad with raw fish in it.  I did go on to buy and cook more fish again and again since -- for the husband after his wisdom teeth (x4) surgery on the second day of CNY. 


Bake it, pan-fry it, or steam it, and he especially likes his fish in soup during this "baby food" phase. Only one week after the surgery now is he able to open his mouth better.  The swell is going down, and the pain is also slightly better but that's because he is on stronger meds that knock him out still.


On CNY eve, I was also going to rely on our trusty slowcooker to churn out a big pot of  soup with chicken drumsticks/thighs for more deliberate leftovers, if Meimei wasn't practising her "Yu Sheng tossing" with such fervour! Or maybe she was trying to help me do a lastminute clean sweep of the place, that busy schoolday?!! 


This, among the things keeping me on my toes. With the boys also, and more than just the usual to-ing and fro-ing for their school and activities. Whilst also trying to take care of the husband in this time he has to lay low to get all better.  


I am really exhausted, but am also really going T.G.I.F!!!  


(I find the cod fish fillet works really well in soup. Shrimp in particular their shells or dried anchovies are great to make a quick broth with for a simplified stovetop version of the steamboat. That made for yet another fish-ful meal for us, when eventually I got hold of some fishballs and other frozen seafood bites).