Chinese-style pickled raw fish with steamed mussels

An ‘entrée’ to the New Year—this is a dish often served between the second and fifteenth day of Chinese New Year, and welcomed by young and old. Traditionally it is stirred by all members of the family so that prosperity for the year is ‘stirred’ from its sleep to touch all present. Rawness, usually shunned by the Chinese, is here a celebration of freshness, but disguised subtly by the flavour of the ‘pickle’. Traditionally the chosen fish is killed, cleaned and sliced just before serving.