Eu Yan Sang presents ready-to-eat pen cai for Chinese New Year 2025

Pen cai, also known as poon choi, is one of the most symbolic Chinese dishes. Its legacy dates back to the Song dynasty, where pen cai was created as an elevated army stew, of sorts, to feed the emperor and his army during a battle. Since then, the dish has come to symbolise gratitude, good fortune, abundance, and unity. As such, it’s no surprise that pen cai has become such a fixture on the reunion dinner table, as these values are blessings many families hope for in the Lunar New Year. There’s one problem, though: pen cai is notoriously annoying to prepare.

Each stew typically requires you to make a superior seafood broth from scratch, and then layer multiple premium seafood ingredients before the dish is stewed. These ingredients, which include abalone, sea cucumber, and prawns, are also finicky to prepare before cooking. With Eu Yan Sang’s ready-to-eat pen cai, you can leave the fuss of cooking and preparing this dish to the pros.