Best Homemade Yee Sang Salad

Yee Sang (Prosperity Toss Salad)

Written by Published on in Asian, Chinese, Salad, Salmon, Seafood
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Best Homemade Yee Sang Salad

Yee Sang (Prosperity Toss Salad)

Mike Nadelman
Yee Sang, Yu Sheng or Prosperity Toss is a refreshing appetizer consisting various ingredients that is served during Chinese New Year. This dish is believed to bring you abundance and prosperity. The tradition is to toss everything high and it is okay to make a mess. While you are tossing, you should say auspicious greetings. We chose salmon to accompany the dish but you can always replace it with jelly fish or abalone slices.
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Total Time 2 hours
Course Salad
Cuisine Asian, Dairy Free, Pescatarian, Salad, Seafood
Servings 16 Servings

Ingredients
  

Salad:

  • 5.3 oz wonton skin wrapper
  • 1 sweet potato orange, small
  • 1 sweet potato purple, small
  • 3 cups vegetable oil
  • ⅓ red pomelo
  • 2 carrots medium
  • 1 white radish medium
  • 1 cucumber large
  • 1 bunch coriander
  • 1.6 cups jellyfish instant natural
  • ⅓ cup ginger pickled
  • 4 tbsp peanuts crushed
  • 2 tbsp sesame roasted
  • 3.7 cups salmon sashimi grade
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste

Salad Dressing:

  • 1.3 cups plum sauce
  • ½ tsp Chinese five spice powder
  • ½ tsp pepper white
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1½ lemon juiced

Instructions
 

Wonton Wrappers and Sweet Potato:

  • Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut the square wonton wrappers into 6 rectangles. Cut a few sheets at a time. Separate each layer and place on a plate ready to be fried.
  • Peel both the orange and purple sweet potatoes. Then using a 3mm julienne slicer, slice the sweet potatoes. Set aside separately, ready for frying.
  • In a small pot or a wok, heat vegetable oil to medium, drop the cut wonton skin wrappers a few at a time, and deep fry them. Once golden brown, remove them quickly with a slotted spoon. Set aside for assembly.
  • Place the shredded orange sweet potato into a saucepan of medium hot oil and deep fry in 2-3 small batches. Separate sweet potato while frying, so they do not stick together.
  • After about 4 minutes, take the sweet potato out and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Set aside for assembly.
  • Scoop out burnt remnants from oil.
  • Repeat process for the purple sweet potato.

Pomelo:

  • Peel pomelo, remove all the pith of the pomelo and extract the segments. Break the segments down further by separating the pink pulp. Be gentle and try not to break the juice sacs.
  • Set aside for assembly.

Rest of the Salad:

  • Peel and grate carrot with a 1.6 mm julienne slicer or julienne peeler.
  • Peel and grate white radish with a 1.6 mm julienne slicer or julienne peeler. Squeeze the sliced radish with your hands to take out the excess water. Then let it sit in more paper towels until you are ready to assemble the salad.
  • Peel and grate cucumber in the same way as the white radish. If using a julienne peeler, try avoiding the seeds as that part contains a lot of water.
  • Wash the coriander leaves well and roughly tear or chop off leaves.
  • Prepare jellyfish. Drain the liquid, mix in the packet seasonings and leave aside for assembly.
  • Squeeze out liquid from packaged ginger and let it dry on paper towels.
  • On a small pan, toast the crushed peanuts for about 2 minutes until there is a nutty aroma. Set aside.
  • If your sesame seeds are not pre-toasted, toast the sesame seeds for about 2 minutes until there is a nutty aroma. Set aside.
  • Slice the salmon into very thin slices, about 5 mm. Set aside in the fridge until assembly.

Salad Dressing:

  • In a small microwave-safe bowl, add the plum sauce, Chinese 5 spice powder, white pepper, sesame oil, hoisin sauce and lemon juice. Mix until combined.
  • Microwave on high for 1 minute.
  • Allow to cool.

Assembly:

  • For this salad, you need a large shallow platter.
  • Start from the outer edge of the platter, work your way around the rim and then start moving towards the centre. Leave a place in the centre of the platter for the salmon.
  • Each in two separate piles, assemble the ingredients to include white radish, cucumber, jellyfish, carrot, coriander, orange sweet potato, purple sweet potato, red pomelo and pickled ginger.
  • Place the salmon in the center, divide the fried wonton skin "golden pillows" into four piles and placed around the edge (or on top if you don't have room), and finally scatter the roasted peanuts and sesame on top.
  • Place a ⅓ of the dressing into a bowl for guests who may like more sauce, leaving the remaining ⅔ for the prosperity toss. Just as you're about to do the toss, pour the dressing all over the salad.

Video

Notes

WHAT TO SAY DURING LOU HEI
It is customary to say auspicious sayings while tossing the lou hei together as the belief is that it brings good luck for the new year.
Like many traditions, there are proper steps to follow in terms of assembling the yee sang, and each step comes with a poignant saying. As you’re building it step by step, you can say these out loud for good fortune.
Step 1: Yee Sang platter is placed at the centre of the dining table.
Cantonese saying 1: 恭喜發財 Gong Hei Faat Choi
Mandarin saying 1: 恭喜发财 Gong Xi Fa Cai
English translation 1: Congratulations for your wealth and prosperity
Cantonese saying 2: 萬事如意 Maan Si Yu Yi
Mandarin saying 2: 万事如意 Wan Shi Ru Yi
English translation: May all your wishes be fulfilled
Step 2: Raw fish is added.
Cantonese saying: 年年有余 Leen Leen Yow Yu
Mandarin saying: 年年有余 Nian Nian You Yu
English translation: Abundance every year
Step 3: Pomelo is added.
Cantonese saying: 大吉大利 Dai Gut Dai Lei
Mandarin saying: 大吉大利 Da Ji Da Li
English translation: Good luck and great prosperity
Step 4: Carrot (and other pink ingredients such as ginger) is added.
Cantonese saying: 鴻運當頭 Hung Wan Dong Tau
Mandarin saying: 鸿运当头 Hong Yun Dang Tou
English translation: Good luck is approaching
Step 5: Green vegetables are added (in this recipe, we use cucumber and coriander)
Cantonese saying: 青春常駐 Cing Ceon Soeng Zyu
Mandarin saying: 青春常驻 Qing Chun Chang Zhu
English translation: Wishing you eternal youth
Step 6: Seasonings are sprinkled over.
Cantonese saying: 招財進寶 Jiu Choi Jun Bo
Mandarin saying: 招财进宝 Zhao Cai Jin Bao
English translation: Let wealth and treasures enter the house
Step 7: Plum sauce dressing is poured over ingredients in a circular motion.
Cantonese saying 1: 一本万利 Yut Boon Maan Lei
Mandarin saying 1: 一本万利 Yi Ben Wan Li
English translation 1: Make 10,000 times of profit with your capital
Cantonese saying 2: 甜甜蜜蜜 Tim Tim Mut Mut
Mandarin saying 2: 甜甜蜜蜜 Tian Tian Mi Mi
English translation 2: May life always be sweet.
Cantonese saying 3: 財源廣進 Choi Yun Gwong Jun
Mandarin saying 3: 财源广进 Caii Yuan Guang Jin
English translation 3: Money and treasures will be plentiful
Step 8: Peanut crumbs are poured over.
Cantonese saying: 金银满屋 Gum Ngun Moon Knuk
Mandarin saying: 金银满屋 Jin Yin Man Wu
English translation: May your home be filled with lots of gold and silver
Step 9: Sesame seeds sprinkled over.
Cantonese saying: 生意兴隆 Sang Yi Heng Loong
Mandarin saying: 生意兴隆 Sheng Yi Xing Long
English translation: Wishing you prosperity for the business
Step 10: Deep-fried wonton skins are added.
Cantonese saying: 满地黄金 Moon Dei Wong Gum
Mandarin saying: 满地黄金 Man Di Huang Jin
English translation: May the whole floor be filled with gold
When the yee sang is assembled, served and the tossing commences, everyone involved would shout out all the above sayings randomly and rarely follow a sequence. There are other sayings too, but these are the most common ones.
Of course, you are more than welcome to shout out these well wishes in English as many of our friends and family do.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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