Yee Sang

Yee Sang

Yee Sang is a Chinese New Year dish in Malaysia and Singapore and is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.  It is only a young dish, apparently taken from China to Singapore then Malaysia, in the early 1960's. There are lots of different representations of this dish, with each one suggesting that theirs is the better one!

My yee sang recipe is from my good friend Monique, who shared many of her recipes with me.  Every year, my family has a reunion and this is always the first dish.  The higher we toss, the more prosperous we get!

1 daikon grated
8 celery stalks grated
4 carrots grated
1 telegraph cucumber grated
1 iceberg lettuce, sliced finely
4 spring onions very finely sliced
1 bunch coriander, leaves picked
1/2 bottle pickled ginger, finely sliced
1/2 bottle pickled leek, finely sliced
1 packet ready to eat jelly fish
3 fillets salmon, cut finely (without skin)
2 packets Changs fried noodle (or deep fried noodle)
crushed peanuts
toasted sesame seeds
crushed prawn crackers
crushed deep fried wonton skins

Sauce:
1 large (1 1/3 cup) bottle plum sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp five spice powder
Mix the above together.


Place half of the grated daikon on opposite sides of the platter. Place half of the grated celery on the right side of each pile of daikon, so that it looks symmetrical.  Follow with the rest of the ingredients, according to the list above. Pile on the jellyfish and salmon.  Place the crunchy ingredients just before serving, then top with sauce.

Gather friends and family around the platter, each with a pair of chopsticks, ready to toss.

Toss, enjoy!

Kong Hei Fatt Choy!