Norwegian salmon has become the fish of choice when it comes to Yee Sang, that all-important dish for Chinese New Year.  The focus of this festive dish used to be freshwater carp, but has since been replaced by delectable Norwegian salmon.

Yee Sang is about the “prosperity” fish in a melange of fresh vegetables, fruits, pickles, nuts, crackers, spices and other condiments which everyone tosses together while calling out wishes of prosperity, good fortune and abundance. Yue or fish signifies abundance.

You can have Yee Sang with raw Norwegian salmon every day of the Chinese New Year, or even before it. It’s such a versatile fish which can be safely served raw and also cooked in various Chinese dishes. The same can be said for the Norwegian fjord trout which has become popular among Malaysians.

Norwegian Salmon Yee Sang will be the highlight of The Norwegian Seafood Council’s Workshop on “Cooking Healthy and Prosperous Chinese New Year Dishes with Norwegian Salmon and Fjord Trout” at KDU University in Shah Alam.

Chef Jimmy Chok will lead the media in a hands-on session preparing Yee Sang with salmon. He will also show how to prepare Healthy and Prosperous Chinese New Year Reunion Dishes featuring Norwegian Salmon and Fjord Trout.

The dishes the chef will be demonstrating include Sweet Sour Soup with Norwegian Fjord Trout, Steamed Norwegian Salmon Head with Fermented and Salted Garlic Chilli Sauce, Deep Fried Norwegian Salmon Cubes with Szechuan Pepper Salt, and 41C Norwegian Fjord Trout with Japanese Mushroom Black Pepper Sauce.

“The auspicious colour of Norwegian salmon and fjord trout makes it so suitable for these fish to be served during the Chinese New Year celebrations,” says Mr Jon Erik Steenslid, the Norwegian Seafood Council director for South-East Asia. “Besides, they are widely and easily available throughout the festive season in markets, supermarkets and seafood stores in Malaysia.”

Norwegian salmon is now widely used in Japanese restaurants as sashimi and in sushi, attesting to its food safety factor as a fish that can be served raw. It is also popularly used in Yee Sang during Chinese New Year.

Norwegian salmon and fjord trout are harvested out of the cold, clean waters of Norway and within hours are sent for export to more than 100 countries around the world.

Norwegian salmon is one of the richest sources of Omega 3 fatty acids and a normal meal of 150g of salmon covers a person’s weekly needs of Omega 3, according to the European Food Safety Authority recommendations.  Salmon is also a rich source of iodine, selenium and other key nutrients.

The Norwegian Fjord Trout is similar to salmon but its flesh has a deep red-orange colour with white marbling that gives the fillets a luxurious feel. Norwegian Fjord Trout has a remarkably rich flavour, with a pure aftertaste. It has a lustrous and silvery skin like salmon and grows to a weight of 2.5 kilos, which is a bit smaller than salmon.

Both Norwegian salmon and fjord trout are a nutritious, tasty and versatile fish, perfectly suited to Chinese cooking, as well as other kinds of cuisine.

Norway has the perfect living conditions for salmon and fjord trout, being surrounded by ice-cold waters with fjords stretching deep into its coastline. They are farmed in the ocean, in the pure, cold Norwegian fjords where seawater meets fresh meltwater from the glaciers and snow, in a process meeting the highest standards in regard to environment and sustainability.

Norway is a world-renowned pioneer when it comes to modern trout and salmon farming. Generations of experience with harvesting from the sea, has given Norwegians unique knowledge in what it takes to manage these resources in the right way and deliver fish of the highest quality possible.

Norway is the second largest seafood exporter in the world, and the world’s largest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon and Fjord Trout. Harvesting from the seas has always been an important part of Norwegian culture and history. In fact, fishing was a vital premise for the first Norwegians being able to settle and live along the cold, windy coastline of this northern country.

For centuries seafood has been both a basic source of food and an important trade for Norway. This has given Norwegians unsurpassed knowledge and experience in every aspect of handling these precious treasures from the sea.

Norwegian Seafood Council: Cooking Healthy and Prosperous Chinese New Year Dishes with Norwegian Salmon and Fjord Trout

NORWEGIAN SALMON YU SHENG

–        carrot, white radish and green radish ‘noodles’ [  enough for 2 platters ]

–        enoki mushroom – 2 pkt

–        roasted salted peanuts – 200 gms

–        sesame seed white – 2 tsp

–        Japanese pickled red ginger – 1 pkt

–        Japanese pickled yellow daikon – 1 pkt

–        dried mango – 1 pkt

–        dried figs – 1 pkt

–        dried apricot – 1 pkt

–        dried cranberry – 1 pkt

–        dried pineapple – 1 pkt

–        Lee Kum Kee plum sauce – 2 btl

–        olive oil – 1 btl

–        lime – 20 nos

–        Kaffir lime leaf – 10 pcs

–        ginger flower – 1 pc

–        pomelo – 1 no

–        pomegranate – 1 no

–        honey – 1 btl

–        rice vinegar – 1 btl

–        Thai rice crackers – 1 pkt

SWEET SOUR SOUP WITH NORWEGIAN FJORD TROUT

–        fish stock – 10 lit

–        chingkiang black vinegar – 1 btl

–        chili oil – 1 btl

–        woodear mushroom fresh – 2 pkt thinly sliced

–        oyster mushroom – 2 pkt – thinly sliced

–        soft tofu – 2 pkt cut cubes

–        shitake mushroom – 1 kg thinly sliced

–        potato starch flour – 1 pkt

–        Norwegian fjord trout – 3 kg sliced thinly

–        chicken stock cube – 1 pc

–        salt/pepper/sugar

–        coriander to garnish

   Method

–        bring stock to a boil and adjust sourness of soup with black vinegar

–        season to taste

–        add all the ingredients into the soup except for fish

–        bring soup to a boil and adjust thickness of soup with potato starch

–        place sliced trout in bowl and top with a piece of coriander

–        pour hot soup over and add chili oil

STEAMED NORWEGIAN SALMON HEAD WITH FREMENTED AND SALTED SOYA BEAN GARLIC CHILI SAUCE

–        salted fermented soya bean – 1 btl wash and soak

–        black fermented soya bean – 2 small pkt soak

–        red chilli – 3 pcs chopped

–        garlic – 10 cloves chopped

–        spring onion – 200 gms chopoed

–        oyster sauce – 1 btl

–        sesame oil – 1 btl

–        ginger – 100 gms chopped

–        3 tbsp oil

–        sugar/salt /pepper to taste

–        chicken stock – 500 ml

–        potato starch – 1 tbsp

–        2 whole salmon head – cut half

Method

–        in a pan or wok sauté garlic, ginger until fragrant

–        add black and salted soya beans, cook till soft and then season with oyster sauce, sesame oil and stock, bring to a simmer

–        adjust seasoning and then add chopped chili

–        thicken with potato starch

–        cut salmon head into half and steamed with some ginger for 10 minutes

–        remove and pour away water

–        spoon sauce over fish and garnish with spring onion

DEEP FRIED NORWEGIAN SALMON CUBES, SZECHUAN PEPPER SALT

–        peanut oil – 5 lit

–        corn flour – 1 pkt

–        Szechuan pepper – 1 tbsp

–        salt – 1 tsp

–        white pepper – pinch

–        Togarashi chilli  – 1 btl

–        5 spice powder – pinch

–        salmon belly and top loin – 2 kg cubes large

Method

–        season salmon cubes and then coat with corn flour

–        heat oil and fry salmon to golden brown and set aside

–        light toast Szechuan pepper till fragrant then pound

–        mix peppers with salt, 5 spice, togarashi and pepper

–        serve on the side with panfried salmon

41C NORWEGIAN FJORD TROUT WITH JAPANESE MUSHROOM BLACK PEPPER SAUCE

–        shimeiji mushroom – 2 pkt

–        Lee Kum Kee black pepper sauce – 1 btl

–        green bell peppers – 1 no

–        fjord trout top loin only – 2 whole fillet

–        garlic – 5 cloves chopped

–        ginger 100 gms chopped

–        salt/pepper/sugar to taste

–        chicken stock 300 ml

Method

–        salt trout for 20 minutes and wash away salt after. Dab dry.

–        wrap loin tight with cling film

–        baked in oven at 41deg C for 1.5 hours, once done remove and allow to cool in fridge

–        in pan sweat garlic and ginger than stir fry mushroom and green peppers

–        add black pepper sauce, stock and adjust seasoning

–        cut trout to portion and place on plate

–        pour sauce over and garnish

SLOW COOKED NORWEGIAN SALMON WITH CHILLI BEAN TOMATO SAUCE

–        Lee Kum Kee toban sauce [ chilli beans ] – 1 btl

–        roma tomatoes – 500 gms – diced

–        red onion large – 1 no – chopped

–        garlic 5 cloves – chopped

–        ginger 100 gms – chopped

–        spring onion 1 sprig – chopped

–        chicken stock 300 ml

–        salmon fillet – 1 whole fillet

–        oil 2 tbsp

–        salt/pepper/sugar to taste

–        red chilli 2 nos – sliced

Method

–        put salmon on tray and baked whole fillet in oven at 55deg C for about 45 minutes

–        once done remove from oven

–        in pan heat oil and fry garlic, ginger and onion until fragrant

–        add chilli bean sauce and stock, adjust seasoning

–        add tomato and sliced chilli, bring to a boil

–        pour over fish and garnish with spring onion