Yee Sang or Yu Sheng – Chinese New Year Prosperity Salad

Today is the 7th day of the Chinese New Year which traditionally lasts for 15 days. Today is also known as the Birthday of Man so Happy Birthday! This is also the day when Yee Sang (Cantonese) or Yu Sheng (Mandarin) is usually served.

Picture Credit of chee.hong

Contrary to what people think, Yee Sang is a truly unique Malaysian / Singaporean Chinese New Year tradition and did not originate from Hong Kong or China. In fact, I’d go so far as to call it the Chinese version of our Malaysian rojak (mixed vegetable and fruit salad).

A Yee Sang dish would comprise of a plate of various pickled strips of vegetables and fruits in various red and green shades, fresh grated strips of carrots and white radish, strips of pickled ginge, spring onion, shredded pomelo, toasted sesame seeds and fried flour crackers. These are arranged in little piles all around a large platter with a little platter of raw fish on the side.

The fish element ranges from raw salmon to carp and luxury versions of Yee Sang even include thinly sliced scallops and abalone. The fish is usually served raw and thinly sliced and before serving, a lime is squeezed over it to add a citrus tinge.

The fish is then placed on top of the vegetables, and some oil and sweet-sour plum sauce is poured over the mixture together with some flavoured salt and pepper. Then, everyone at the table will raise their chopsticks and dig in, to toss and mix up the salad (lou hei).

Everyone is supposed to say good things e.g. “May your business prosper” as they toss the salad, and everyone tosses it high because of the significance that “the higher you toss, the more properous you will be”.

If you ask me, it does end up being a bit of a mess, but I participate for the fun of things and because everyone else is doing it. This dish used to be served on the 7th day of Chinese New Year, but now, you can find it being served way before the Chinese New Year and during every day of the new year celebrations. It is a sure sign that Chinese New Year is here, when restaurants have Yee Sang on the menu! Even fast food places like Sushi King is starting to have small portions of Yee Sang on their menu.

This dish can be easily prepared at home these days, as you can get prepacked pickles and sauce from the supermarkets. So, if you are hosting a dinner at home during this Chinese New Year, don’t forget the Yee Sang and may you have a Happy and Prosperous Year ahead!

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