Yee sang (prosperity toss salad)

Yee sang is a colorful salad commonly eaten during Chinese New Year in a number of communities around the world. It starts off as separate components that are tossed together for luck and prosperity - hence the name prosperity toss salad. Whether you mix the traditional way or not, it's a delicious combination of flavors with plenty of variety and crunch.

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Early on when I started sharing recipes here, I remember asking a Chinese Australian friend about the dishes her family enjoyed for Chinese New Year to give me some ideas. One of the first she mentioned was yee sang. At the time, it was unfamiliar to me but I have since grown to know the dish better. 

I may not enjoy it with the traditional ritual, but I love the mix of flavors and textures, between the crunchy wonton strips, the sashimi salmon and the slightly sweet dressing. And I appreciate the symbolism it holds as well. 

Origins of Yee Sang

Yee sang (Cantonese, also transcribed as yusang), or yusheng (Mandarin), means "raw fish". The idea of having raw fish during the Lunar New Year apparently dates back to China over 2000 years ago, but it was initially a very simple dish. It almost disappeared from China and only really continued as a tradition in the South in Guangzhou and Chaozhou.

The dish here was relatively simple, combining fish and some simple seasonings and additions like pickled ginger, onion, sesame seeds, soy sauce and peanut oil.

The dish that is probably better known today is a more recent evolution after the dish was taken to Malaysia and Singapore by Cantonese immigrants. Both places have their claims on who created the more modern prosperity toss salad with a range of vegetables and other ingredients alongside the fish.

Each place lays claim on the more modern version evolving in restaurants in Singapore or Malaysia around the 1930s and 40s. It continued to evolve, with the more typical version now using a ready mixed dressing evolving more in the 1960s or 70s.

These days, the idea has spread to Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia, though typically without quite as much of the symbolism and ritual as you might find in Singapore and Malaysia. 

The significance of Yee Sang prosperity toss salad

It's probably fair to say most foods eaten for Chinese New Year are symbolic in some way. Sometimes the name sounds like something else (a homophone), such as mandarins in the Southern dialect sound like the word for luck.

Other times it's the shape - dumplings looking like silver ingots and spring rolls looking like gold bars, both symbolizing wealth. In the case of fish, "yu" the word for fish, sounds like the word for abundance, and "yusheng" is an increase in abundance.

In this dish, not only is the fish symbolic, but also the other ingredients and the ritual of tossing it. While ingredients can vary, those you might choose from still typically have significance.

For example, the fried wonton strips are like gold bars for prosperity, pomelo and carrot both symbolize luck. Peanuts are seen as an icon of longevity and sesame seeds are seen to symbolize growth in business. 

The traditional way to serve this is as a group, with each ingredient being added one at a time. Typically fish is first then pomelo, the vegetables, followed by garnishes like the peanuts, sesame and dressing. (I have the order a little wrong in the video as I wasn't quite thinking on keeping with tradition, more just how things fit). 

You make wishes or say other words with meaning as each ingredient is added, then everyone takes their chopsticks and tosses the salad up in the air - hence the name "prosperity toss salad". The idea is that the higher you toss in the air, the more prosperity or luck in business you will have in the coming year. (This article, amongst others, talks about how the ritual may go)

The salad components

As mentioned, the ingredients can vary and there is not really a set list. Some versions have seven colors, sometimes natural or sometimes using food sye, while others have a smaller or larger list of ingredients. This gives a certain amount of scope to vary to your taste and what you have. 

To me the parts that are key are fish, the fried wonton strips, and a variety of thinly sliced or shredded vegetables. 

I have included sashimi salmon as is these days common, but some places use other local fish instead. If you are nervous about the raw fish, you can also get versions with smoked salmon. Vegetarian versions typically use soy salmon. Feel free to adapt to your taste.

While you might be able to buy wonton strips, they are easy to make, too. You simply slice wonton wrappers then either shallow fry them, as I have here, or deep fry if you prefer to crisp them up. Just keep a close eye as they cook as they can burn easily. And frain the strips on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

The wonton strips have a wonderful crunch that makes them great for snacking on if you have any leftover. In fact, you may want to make extra! Assuming you have leftover wontons, you might want to try my easy wonton soup to use some up.

In terms of vegetables, I suggest choosing a mix of colors and textures. Here I chose carrot, daikon radish, cucumber and lettuce. These are all fairly common. You might also see green radish, red pepper, yam and red cabbage. 

The dressing can also vary. Some add components, such as a combination of sesame oil, soy sauce and five spice powder. Others make a mixed sauce to drizzle over, often combining plum sauce and hoisin sauce, as I have made here.

Preparing ahead

While you don't really want to mix everything together too far ahead, you can prepare many of the components for this salad ahead of time and store until ready. You can prepare the vegetables a day ahead and store in the fridge. The wonton strips keep at room temperature, stored in an airtight container, for a day or two as well.

Just take care with raw fish which you should not keep more than a day, but ideally use the day you purchase. 

You typically eat this as an appetizer with friends, family or business associates before enjoying other courses in a meal. However if you are going less traditional anyway, as I often do, it makes a great lunch as well (though typically serves less people that way). 

Yee sang is a delicious, crunchy salad that while traditionally eaten for Chinese New Year is something I could eat any time. The mix of flavors, textures, and the symbolism behind it make this well worth enjoying both traditionally or otherwise. Color, texture and flavor, this salad is such a good combination.

Try these other dishes with raw fish:

• Salmon tartare (French style with lemon and Dijon mustard)
• Tiradito (Peruvian sashimi with a chili-lime sauce)
• Shrimp ceviche toastadas (another dish combining vegetables, seafood and crunch)
• Salmon poke bowl
• Hoedeopbab - Korean sashimi rice bowl
• Plus get more Chinese recipes in the archives.

This was originally published in January 2017 and has been updated, primarily with new photos and some additional information.

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