Celebrate Chinese New Year with Yee Sang and UMAMU Wines

I love Chinese New Year.  Roll from 1st Jan celebrations straight to CNY celebrations this year as it falls on the 29th of January.  The festivities start on the eve of Chinese New Year.  And we start the feast with a salad called ‘Yee Sang’. Yee Sang is a ‘Prosperity toss’ where you toss a salad with particular ingredients that have symbols of Abundance, Prosperity and Good luck.  Traditionally bringing wishes for reaching higher levels, for Households to be filled with gold and silver, Prosperity for the business and for Life to always be Sweet… 
Traditionally this dish is served on the seventh day of the new year but nowadays it is enjoyed in the lead up to the new year as well as during the 15 days of new year.
Here is a lovely entrée for eight people or so depending on your appetite!

How to Make Yee Sang Salad for Chinese New Year

Yee Sang is a fun and interactive dish where everyone tosses the ingredients together, wishing for good health, wealth, and success. The higher the toss, the better the fortune!

INGREDIENTS FOR YEE SANG SALAD:
Eight pairs of chopsticks (or however many or few people are having the salad!) and a big round plate
250g Smoked salmon – (traditionally raw fish is used but smoked salmon is delicious and an easy substitute)
Two bags of julienned/ shredded raw vegetables from the supermarket which saves all the shredding. If you can’t find the pre sliced bag then julienne/ shred the following,

• 2 carrots
• 1 radish
• 1 cucumber
• half a lettuce
• 1 beetroot

Few segments of pomelo / grapefruit – into pieces
White pear sliced
Two tablespoons of pickled ginger
Two tablespoons of pickled onion
Five wonton skins sliced and fried
Three tablespoons of chopped peanuts
Two tablespoons sesame seeds

FOR THE DRESSING:

Two tablespoons of lime juice
Three tablespoons of plum sauce
One teaspoon sesame oil
Three tablespoons of any mild oil you like e.g. macadamia, olive.
A pinch of 5 spice powder
A pinch of salt

METHOD: 

To prepare the dish, place all the veggies on a big round plate and top with the smoked salmon. When you are ready to start your meal, add the dressing and the idea is to use your chopsticks to toss the ingredients into the air to mix the salad while saying auspicious wishes such as good health, good wealth, good everything! The belief is that the higher the toss, the higher one’s growth in fortunes so let’s toss as high as we can. So do stand up and toss the hell out of the salad!

Pair this with our CNY lunar feasting pack including our Trophy Winner Sauvignon Blanc 2011!

Here are some fun yee sangs.  This one is massive, the use the table as the round plate!

I just read that there has been the longest 1.211m long yee sang by Lotus stores that has made it into the Malaysia Book of Records!  Image below taken from The Sunday Star newspaper 5 Jan 2025.  Amazing wish I was there.